Navigation / map issue

I have very occasionally seen this too and assume that it is some information popup where the text does not get displayed. I usually see this when starting navigating a course. It's never been a problem when I am actually out on my run, but I have not used turn by turn navigation yet.

That is certainly a TBT base screen but never seen one with no information on. Very strange.

I have had a chance to test a route out using a course generated and downloaded from Garmin Connect, rather than the RouteCourse app which is what I was using, and I am still experiencing the same issues.


This is definitely distance alert/TBT related because sometimes there will be a distance metric in the black pop-up but other times nothing. However there is no setting on the watch that allows you to configure TBT for a 'follow course' route, only for 'use map' routes. Even then TBT is on a separate data screen...


Best regards,

Ben

This is definitely distance alert/TBT related because sometimes there will be a distance metric in the black pop-up but other times nothing. However there is no setting on the watch that allows you to configure TBT for a 'follow course' route, only for 'use map' routes. Even then TBT is on a separate data screen...

This is not entirely accurate. The watch has different TBT behavior depending on the activity mode and the routing mode. For example, if the activity mode is "pedestrian" then you get the half screen alerts like you're getting but with distance to the next turn (and you never get a separate screen for TBT). If the activity mode is one of the cycling options, then you'll get full screen TBT alerts.

Have you tried using the "use map" setting? That setting ignores whatever predefined alert data (turns, waypoints, etc.) might be in the course file, and instead plots the course points onto the built-in map against the mapped trails and streets in order to generate its own list of turns. If that solves your problem, then the answer might be that whatever courses you're trying to load using "follow course" have some kind of embedded alert data that is either blank or isn't rendering properly in the watch. The "use map" setting should ignore that data.

I think we are saying the same thing.

What I meant, was that this 'issue' looks like a half screen alert to the next turning that is sometimes blank. However there is no option to turn this alter off as far as I am aware (when using the routing mode 'follow course' + activity mode 'pedestrian'). Can others confirm that this is how their Fenix 5X's work?

When using the routing option 'use map' this issue does not occur as you say, as the watch uses the automatic routing function instead so you don't get this half screen alert. There is actually another data screen you can use instead that gives you full screen TBT instructions if you prefer to the full screen map view and that's what I meant.

I think we are saying the same thing.

What I meant, was that this 'issue' looks like a half screen alert to the next turning that is sometimes blank. However there is no option to turn this alter off as far as I am aware (when using the routing mode 'follow course' + activity mode 'pedestrian'). Can others confirm that this is how their Fenix 5X's work?

I'm seeing the exact same behavior (the bottom half blank as in your image). My recent test was using a course through my neighborhood that I created in BaseCamp (Mac) and transferred to the 5X, then started via Activities > Walking > Navigation > Courses. My 5X is set for "Follow Course", and even though I setup the route in BaseCamp with each leg marked as a shaping point (won't alert), I still get a ton of alerts. Sometimes it has a distance noted in the bottom half (and often the distance is way off), but many times the bottom half is just blank.

I'll try it again with it set to "Use Map" - hopefully that gets rid of the alerts and half-blank screen, but really it shouldn't be showing this blank area either way.

I am having the same exact issue on my Garmin 935. It is driving me crazy.

Garmin support are on the case but it sounds like this is a quirk of the software on a watch that is still in its infancy. I will report back once they have finished testing.

I could almost forgive the blank alerts if you could at least switch them off or could manage the number of marker points which the watch seems to add outside of the users control. Given the excellent configurability of the watch I am surprised there is not an option to change the setting on this.

I tried the same course again, this time with the "Use Map" option selected instead of "Follow Course". From what I understand (from the very sparse manual), the "Use Map" setting will allow the Fenix to use its routable maps and recalculate if off course, whereas "Follow Course" is for basic courses. Not sure of the net effect of one vs. the other - the manual doesn't say.

When I started navigating, the top area of the watch had a status area showing me the connection status for my phone, heart rate monitor, and some other icon I couldn't make out. The bottom area of the watch had the same message area as before. The combination of these two areas left about 1/3 of the screen showing the map.

The message area said "Calculating", and then the watch froze. Nice.

I was able to restart it and restart navigation. The status area at the top went away, but the bottom message area remained. Instead of alerting with a single chime and vibration at each turn as it did with "Follow Course", it seemed to randomly chirp five or six times in quick succession for no reason, every 30 to 90 seconds. As annoying as the alerts were with "Follow Course", these were even more so.

I noticed a bunch of blue dots on the map, and I think I knew why it was chirping like a parrot on meth: the Fenix had peppered the course with a bunch of points, and it was alerting at each one. Even on a 100 yard straight street with no intersections, the Fenix had placed about five points.

That also would explain another weird issue I was seeing: while walking along a street with about 50 yards until the next turn, the bottom message area would say "75 feet", then alert, then change to some other distance, then alert again. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I could deal with these issues if I could 1) get rid of that message area at the bottom, and 2) get rid of these annoying alerts.

People that buy the 5X are getting it for the map, and it stands to reason they're not going to use it for any car-based activities. I could see cyclists and runners wanting an alert when a turn was coming up, but there are probably more activities where you wouldn't want these alerts. You'd at least think there would be an option to turn them off.

I bought this to use primarily while hiking, and if this is the way it's going to work, it's much less than desirable (the only chirping I want to hear are the birds). I'd like to believe Garmin will fix these issues - if they don't, it's $700 pretty much wasted. I only have 12 days left on my Amazon return window, so I guess I'll have to decide if I trust Garmin to get the software on this right before hiking season really kicks in.

I imagine they had a decent product testing cycle before releasing it, and you'd think that when they asked "Hey - do you want the bottom 3rd of the screen blocked off with a message area, and no way to remove it?", more than a few people said "No". Same response to the "Would you like a dozen alerts that you can't turn off while walking down a 50 yard street?".

These seem like really basic things that should have been caught right at the beginning, but maybe it's just me.

I tried the same course again, this time with the "Use Map" option selected instead of "Follow Course". From what I understand (from the very sparse manual), the "Use Map" setting will allow the Fenix to use its routable maps and recalculate if off course, whereas "Follow Course" is for basic courses. Not sure of the net effect of one vs. the other - the manual doesn't say.

When I started navigating, the top area of the watch had a status area showing me the connection status for my phone, heart rate monitor, and some other icon I couldn't make out. The bottom area of the watch had the same message area as before. The combination of these two areas left about 1/3 of the screen showing the map.

The message area said "Calculating", and then the watch froze. Nice.

I was able to restart it and restart navigation. The status area at the top went away, but the bottom message area remained. Instead of alerting with a single chime and vibration at each turn as it did with "Follow Course", it seemed to randomly chirp five or six times in quick succession for no reason, every 30 to 90 seconds. As annoying as the alerts were with "Follow Course", these were even more so.

I noticed a bunch of blue dots on the map, and I think I knew why it was chirping like a parrot on meth: the Fenix had peppered the course with a bunch of points, and it was alerting at each one. Even on a 100 yard straight street with no intersections, the Fenix had placed about five points.

That also would explain another weird issue I was seeing: while walking along a street with about 50 yards until the next turn, the bottom message area would say "75 feet", then alert, then change to some other distance, then alert again. Lather, rinse, repeat.

I could deal with these issues if I could 1) get rid of that message area at the bottom, and 2) get rid of these annoying alerts.

People that buy the 5X are getting it for the map, and it stands to reason they're not going to use it for any car-based activities. I could see cyclists and runners wanting an alert when a turn was coming up, but there are probably more activities where you wouldn't want these alerts. You'd at least think there would be an option to turn them off.

I bought this to use primarily while hiking, and if this is the way it's going to work, it's much less than desirable (the only chirping I want to hear are the birds). I'd like to believe Garmin will fix these issues - if they don't, it's $700 pretty much wasted. I only have 12 days left on my Amazon return window, so I guess I'll have to decide if I trust Garmin to get the software on this right before hiking season really kicks in.

I imagine they had a decent product testing cycle before releasing it, and you'd think that when they asked "Hey - do you want the bottom 3rd of the screen blocked off with a message area, and no way to remove it?", more than a few people said "No". Same response to the "Would you like a dozen alerts that you can't turn off while walking down a 50 yard street?".

These seem like really basic things that should have been caught right at the beginning, but maybe it's just me.

fully agreed - I do hope Garmin is sorting out all these navigation glitches (also the altimeter screen with remaining ascent is screwed up)