Background:
I recently purchased the Fenix 5 watch around Christmas time. I live in Boulder, CO and do a lot of trail running, backcountry skiing, and general outdoor activities. I was a Suunto user for the past 5 years, but I wanted to give Garmin due to a variety of perceived upgrades. There are a lot of things I like about my move to Garmin, but a major issue seems to be surfacing regarding elevation reading and tracking. For the past few weeks I was under the impression that I didn't understand the Barometer/Altimeter settings and that this was likely the source of my problem. However, after trying different settings and reading information on these forums I've unfortunately concluded that regardless of what setting I have the elevation is simply never accurate.
Issue:
Inaccurate elevation reading and tracking throughout the day and during activities.
Most Recent Examples:
1) I calibrated my watch manually last night before bed. When I woke up, the elevation reading changed from approximately 5,300 ft to approximately -6,700 ft.
2) I calibrated my watch manually when I arrived at the office and since I have typed this message I've gained roughly 3,000 ft in elevation.
3) I went for a run and upon finishing my watch informed me that I gained roughly 2,700 ft when I know for a fact it was only 1,500 ft. This is really troubling since I'd hope that when GPS is on that the elevation would be accurate, but evidently this isn't the case.
On other random days I've looked at my watch and it has varied from -65,000 ft to 67,000 ft. I simply have no idea how it is even registering those types of elevations.
HELP!!!! This is a very frustrating issue. Am I correct to think my only option is to send the watch back to Garmin and hope to receive a replacement that has functioning sensors?
Any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.