Running Dynamics Data Dropouts

Sorry to hear you're still having issues. I returned mine for having this issue believing I was the only experiencing it. It now seems there are a few people reporting this issue so hopefully it's a firmware issue. I still have an f5 silver on order but I'm still tempted to cancel to wait for the dust to settle.

Let me know what Garmin say to you.

Garmin support just mentioned to send the watch back. They would like to take a look themselves and either repair it or send a replacement. Don't know at the moment what i am going to do, since I would be left without watch for about 5-10 days.
STRYD does work great for me, an therefore I have most of the data anyway. As soon as the STRYD sensor is going to have dropouts, I'm going to return it.

Garmin support just mentioned to send the watch back. They would like to take a look themselves and either repair it or send a replacement. Don't know at the moment what i am going to do, since I would be left without watch for about 5-10 days.
STRYD does work great for me, an therefore I have most of the data anyway. As soon as the STRYD sensor is going to have dropouts, I'm going to return it.

Sorry to hear they're wanting you to send it back. I know it's a pain being without it but if you send it off at least you'll get it sorted once and for all. Perhaps garmin suspect a hardware issue if they've asked for the unit back. Did they run through the usual standard checks like getting you to reset it before requesting that you send it in?

Sorry to hear they're wanting you to send it back. I know it's a pain being without it but if you send it off at least you'll get it sorted once and for all. Perhaps garmin suspect a hardware issue if they've asked for the unit back. Did they run through the usual standard checks like getting you to reset it before requesting that you send it in?

Actually, I had a case pending since two weeks. Initially I was asked to unpair and repair, then to do a reset and redo a run, then to do a run without Bluetooth on, after that I was asked to install the latest beta 2.96. All without success obviously. Apparently the Garmin support believes a firmware upgrade would/will to the trick, but they want me to send it back anyway.

Angus from Stryd here.

I want to address some comments relating to Stryd.

Hi CYCLEGUY,


I recommend contacting Garmin Support and seeing if you can get a repair/replacement offer for the Fenix 5 like orofab. Based on the previous reports from this forum, the Fenix 5 has problems with all ANT+ sensors including Run Dynamic pods, bike power meters, and Stryd. I invite you to email at angus [at] stryd.com if you are interested in Stryd!



Hi orofab,



Could you email me at angus [at] stryd.com? We would be happy to fully support you from the Stryd side if you have any issues at all.

Based on the previous reports from this forum, the Fenix 5 has problems with all ANT+ sensors including Run Dynamic pods, bike power meters, and Stryd.

I find this extremely concerning as Garmin has denied that issues exist (despite many of us experiencing this). ANT+ functionality is core to the device. Surely Garmin must own up to the issue and launch a recall / replacement program?

How do we get Garmin to take ownership? My experiences with Garmin support have been dismal.

i have same issue with RD data and HRM TRI:( HR is ok all the time.
today, i have found out, that when i hold the watch in hands or turn it 180degrees on wrist (facing the body), i have no dropouts.

can you check that behaviour?

I'm starting to think these issues have a strong relation to an individual's anatomy. The watch almost never has direct line-of-sight to the paired sensors, hence the RF waves have to travel through some parts of the body. From a physical point of view, biological tissues are highly lossy materials (especially skin & muscle, fat and bone not so much) - so someone with a more muscular wrist would absorb more RF energy in the body compared to someone with a very slender build. With too much loss, there's just not enough signal to extract the sensor data from. At 2.4 GHz, we're talking about a wavelength of ~12 cm, and since the body is significantly closer to the watch than that, the radiation patterns of the antenna can be potentially significantly distorted. Taken together with the reduced reception fidelity due to shielding effects of the metal housing, it is entirely plausible that a bit more absorption in more muscular individuals can lead to dropouts. Let's see if firmware can somehow mitigate this, but I have my doubts...

So after having had my F5 for almost 2 weeks I finally went for a run with the HRM4 chest strap this morning and I had no issues at all with the RD data. Not a single drop-out.
I have had minor HR data drop-outs during crossfit sessions, but these are no different from what I used to experience with the F3 and I had previously put down to knocking the chest strap (this also happens with my Wahoo TICKR chest strap).

My pace chart also looks fine. I'm starting to think that pace might be based on the cadence data from the HRM-Run4 rather than from the watch cadence or GPS? Can anyone confirm if that is or isn't the case?

So after having had my F5 for almost 2 weeks I finally went for a run with the HRM4 chest strap this morning and I had no issues at all with the RD data. Not a single drop-out.
I have had minor HR data drop-outs during crossfit sessions, but these are no different from what I used to experience with the F3 and I had previously put down to knocking the chest strap (this also happens with my Wahoo TICKR chest strap).

My pace chart also looks fine. I'm starting to think that pace might be based on the cadence data from the HRM-Run4 rather than from the watch cadence or GPS? Can anyone confirm if that is or isn't the case?

So my f5 wouldn't show dropouts on every run, perhaps more like every other run. I could make it show dropouts by holding my arm down whilst running. I received a replacement yesterday so I'll get out later to test it.

As for Pace, I suspect it will use the hrm.

Found this post on the FENIX 3 forum from the user WillCW https://forums.garmin.com/showthread...M-Run-vs-Both:

"You get cadence from Footpod, HRM-Run and F3 (internal accelerometer) and only the latter is likely to be less accurate (as it is not always in sync with your step/leg movements). The run cadence hierarchy: HRM-Run > Footpod > Watch.

For pace the hierarchy is Footpod (Always) > Watch (indoor) > GPS > Watch (outdoor). Only the Footpod, when correctly calibrated, will give you accurate instant pace (both outdoors and indoors) when set to Always. "

HRM is only used apparently for cadence...