Bug or not? Please share your ascent/descent dates

Folks, I have already started a thread because my Fenix shows completely wrong "total ascent" and "descent". In the meantime I am in contact with the support and the beta-team. Unfortunately Garmin has not considered this behavior as a bug yet. And therefore they aren´t working on this.

That´s why I want you to share your dates concerning "total ascent" and "descent" (ideally compared with other watches that measured in parallel and/or the dates which you get on Basecamp when you upload the gpx-file that the Fenix has recorded. And please add if you have Fenix 5 oder 5x because it seems that the 5x doesn´t have this bug.

I would appreciate if you join this thread because I can figure out if only my watch has a problem or if there is bug in the firmeware ...and if so this thread can/should accelerate Garmins activities.
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These are some of my dates:

Fenix 5: ascent 722 m, descent 584 m
Edge 500: ascent 792 m
Fenix 5-gpx-track on Basecamp: ascent 798 m, descent 780 m

Fenix 5: ascent 783 m, descent 815 m
Edge 500: ascent 890 m, descent 879 m
Fenix 5-gpx-track on Basecamp: ascent 869 m, descent 891 m

Fenix 5: ascent 716 m, descent 638 m
Fenix 5-gpx-track on Basecamp: ascent 748 m, descent 735 m

Fenix 5: ascent 513 m
Fenix 5-gpx-track on Basecamp: ascent 587 hm

Fenix 5: ascent 1347 m, descent 870 m
Edge 500: ascent 1423
Fenix 5-gpx-track on Basecamp: ascent 1402 m, descent 1383 m

0 JensenB9 over 8 years ago

So what is your problem? That the numbers don't match exactly?

Those numbers seem to be tracking quite well with each other. I'd say that's working fine.

It is calculating ascent from the barometer. Small changes in air pressure will influence the altitude value. I wouldn't worry about it.

0 tosonny over 8 years ago

Dogwood salida

The problem is not that the dates don´t match exactly but they are completely wrong.

After my very first bikeride with my very new and very expensive Fenix 5 (in parallel to other guys with Fenix 3 and so on) I had realized that the absolut altitude is shown pretty correct but the shown/calculated ascent is completely wrong. Always too few meters.

So I made a lot of testrides with my Garmin Edge 500 (which is also barometric ...so changes in air pressure is no argument), with fellows with Polar watches and also compared the altitude profile (the gpx-track) that is recorded by the Fenix 5 with the calculated ascent and descent.

Watch my first example:

Fenix 5: ascent 722 m, descent 584 m
Edge 500: ascent 792 m
Fenix 5-gpx-track on Basecamp: ascent 798 m, descent 780 m

At first I did calculate manually the ascent with the altimeter profile I got on Garmin Connect. It was of course not exact but already obvious that the difference between altitude at start and maximum altitude was already more than the Fenix 5 showed as "total ascent". So I installed Basecamp to get the dates exactlier.

So, that´s definitely not working fine. If you get back almost to your starting altitude the descent cannot be 584 m (while ascent was 722 m). And if the difference between starting altitude and max. altitude is already more than 722 m and there were also some small ups and downs than total ascent cannot be 722 m.

0 tosonny over 8 years ago

That´s what a Fenix 5X-User has sent to me:

Bike ride last night - 791 feet up (242m) - 791 feet down (242m)
I have uploaded his gpx-track to basecamp: ascent 349 m, descent 349 m

Sunday ride - 1,007 feet up (307m) - 1,014 feet down (309 m)
I have uploaded his gpx-track to basecamp: ascent 443 m, descent 446 m

Saturday ride - 1,181 feet up (360m) - 1,175 feet down (358m)
I have uploaded his gpx-track to basecamp: ascent 477 m, descent 475 m

Ascent/descent-relation is perfect ....thats a big difference to my Fenix5. But there is a big difference to basecamp.

Edit: just saw that these altitude profile has a lot of ups and downs ....maybe therefore there is a big difference to basecamp. Maybe the Fenix 5/5x smoothes the profile somehow and calculates therefore wrong ascent ....but the altitudeprofile itself seems to be ok.

0 timo231072 over 8 years ago

Local avenue

I think basecamp doesn't show the height from the watch it uses the information from the map which may be based on STRM elevation data. Depending on the terrain there could be a big difference especially when the recorded track doesn't follow the road

0 tosonny over 8 years ago

Basecamp is not my reference concerning ascent ...this is rather my Edge 500 and other Watches (Fenix 3 which was for example pretty similar to all the other watches). I show you the altitude profile that my Fenix 5 has recorded (relates to the above example that I have mentioned again):

Fenix 5: ascent 722 m, descent 584 m
Edge 500: ascent 792 m
Fenix 5-gpx-track on Basecamp: ascent 798 m, descent 780 m

How is this from the Fenix shown descent possible if it records an altitude profile like this?? ...which means startet at 397 m and ended at 414 m. Descent must be at least in the range of ascent if there is no big difference between starting and ending altitude.

And: Garmin Connect shows the altitude if you go with the mouse over the line. This is not related to Basecamps. That is exactly the altitude that the Fenix has recorded. Check out this difference of total ascent if you calculate it manually:

0 tosonny over 8 years ago

I am in contact with the beta-team. They have started a table ...and I continued it right now with all my bike rides. Watch the interesting result:

My opinion and response to the Beta-team:

Here we go! Watch the new Excel-File!

Starting and Ending Elevation on the Fenix and Basecamp is the same.
Difference Ascent/Descent is significant bigger on Fenix (I suppose the bigger the more ups and downs are in the track)
Difference Ascent/Descent Edge 500 and Basecamp is exactely the same ....Bingo! Edge 500 works fine. Fenix 5 does not!

So: the Fenix 5 has a Problem!

Edit: the dates "from Garmin Connect" are exactely the dates from the Fenix 5

0 tosonny over 8 years ago

FYI:

Beta-Team has got the fit-files from the watch right now to determine which steps to take next.

0 tosonny over 8 years ago

FYI:
I will update a soon as possible ...because it seems that the problem maybe doesn´t exist anymore. The latest track (comparison between Edge 500 and Fenix 5 and Basecamp) was pretty ok. I´m still on the way to check every bike-ride. Maybe a third party app is the problem.

0 tosonny over 8 years ago

Nothing has changed unfortunately

I have compared the very first ascent of my bike ride yesterday (Fenix-fit-File imported in Basecamp respectively dates on the Fenix/Garmin connect):

Garmin connect/Fenix 5: ascent 258 m
The same lap on Basecamp: ascent 280 m
The graph on Basecamp shows ascent 268,7 m (but it seems to show only the differene between elevation 680,3 m and starting elevation 411,5 m and ignores the few up and downs)

So: how is it possible that the Fenix 5 calculates 258 m ascent when the peak has an elevation of 680 m (which is also shown on Garmin connect) and the starting elevation was 411 m/the lowest 409 m. The difference (as the graph shows) is already more than the Fenix 5 calculates as ascent.

This is such an obvious bug which is not acceptable any more.

Edit: tomorrow the next bike ride is on the schedule. This time I will use the native Garmin-MTB-app and no third party app.

0 tosonny over 8 years ago

FYI: several fit-files have been sent. What is obvious in the meantime: sometimes ascent and ascent/descent relation is completely wrong. If you import the fit-file in basecamp and mark all waypoints it shows exactly the same (wrong) dates as the Fenix and GarminConnect do. But if you mark only parts of the waypoints (it?s enough that you don?t mark the very first or last waypoints) the dates (total ascent and ascent/descent relation) turn completely.

Beta-team has informed the devs about that. Unfortunately it is not clear yet when this happens and when not. So it has to be observed. But this is definitely a bug. Just wondering that I am the only one who has observed this.

PS: What?s up with this forum. Cannot log-in any more and if it works I am unable to post (you are not authorized and other failure messages). Get logged-off every second and so on. Crap ...