Projected Elevation profile when navigating a route MAYBE FIXED (Was a bug between v 7.10 and 21.0)

On my Fenix 5x I noticed a very strange thing when looking at the 'projected' elevation plot when navigating from point A to point B in a straight line rather than following roads or tracks. Not a closed route. (i.e. point B is 11 km from point A in a straight line) Version of the software on the Fenix 5x is 7.10 and the maps involved are Aus and NZ Tope lite V5 and Garmin Cycle Aus/NZ 2016.0. Both maps are turned on in the navigation settings. Navigation setting for routing is set to 'direct'. (Although note that it also does something similar if I set it to Pedestrian, or Mountaineer or one of the other choices)

So, just to clarify, I am talking about the profile that is calculated for the projected route, not the route travelled already. i.e. this is what the navigation sw is telling you you will go up and down if you walk in this straight line from where you are to where you want to be. What an excellent tool this would be IF ONLY IT WORKED PROPERLY!

The elevation plot looks strangely symmetrical. In fact it looks like the elevation plot I would expect, but doubled and reflected around point B as if it is the plot for A->B->A again rather than just A->B
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Above is a picture, and I assure you that the real elevation between A and B should not be symmetrical like that. It's showing as green not blue because I haven't hit the 'start button yet. Starting doesn't change the shape of the graph, though as I hike along the route, the elevation profile changes from blue to green and corrects itself until at the end it looks about right.

I have also seen similar strangeness when looking at elevation plot for routes that follow roads and tracks out in the bush whilst hiking, though I don't recall them being symmetrical, they were definitely wrong and overshot the destination by about a factor of 2 as well. Drove me crazy trying to work out what it was doing!

This doesn't always happen. Sometimes abandoning the navigation and starting again gets the correct elevation plot, but very often it doesn't. More often than not it is wrong.

I haven't noticed this on closed routes that I have recorded, i.e. ones that come back to their beginning.

Looks like a bug to me.

Anyone else noticed this problem, or is it just me, or maybe the particular maps or settings I have chosen?

Thanks

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0 Merkur41 over 5 years ago

The lates BETA solved some of the altimeter related issues - maybe try this.

0 renton82 over 5 years ago

This issue is present also in Fenix 5 Plus line! In latest beta too!

0 Mistamb over 5 years ago

Hi!
i have the same issue with V10.00. it looks like it calculates the correct altitude profile and then it went back to starting elevation. like you would do a round-trip routing.
i think it depends on which activity is used. most times i don't have the issue with "bergsteigen" (i think its climb in english) but always with hiking or walking.

0 Tcornall over 5 years ago

OK, Version 10.20 and still the problem is there. It's nice that the dev team are tackling other important things like swimming lap length and battery life when using GPS, but I do look forward to this particular problem being fixed. It is a critical part of the navigational suite, after all.

0 Tcornall over 5 years ago

Hi!
i have the same issue with V10.00. it looks like it calculates the correct altitude profile and then it went back to starting elevation. like you would do a round-trip routing.
i think it depends on which activity is used. most times i don't have the issue with "bergsteigen" (i think its climb in english) but always with hiking or walking.

Thanks Mistamb I'll try the 'climb' activity and see if it does or doesn't suffer from this issue. (See the next few lines to discover that it also has the problem)
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If I 'start' the Climb activity, then press the 'settings' button then choose 'navigation' then choose 'saved-locations' then 'go-to' it does 'calculating' and then projects the elevation profile. First time I tried, it did it correctly, but that happens usually in the other activities like 'Run' too. So I pressed 'settings button' then 'stop navigation' then did 'navigation' 'saved location' and chose the same location again, then 'go to'. Unfortunately, on the second time I tried it, it gave me the 'reflected profile' that I initially reported as being incorrect.
So unfortunately, the 'climb' activity suffers the same problem.
Sigh.

Terry

0 renton82 over 5 years ago

Same issue still here in Fenix 5 Plus!

0 Mistamb over 5 years ago

Thanks Mistamb I'll try the 'climb' activity and see if it does or doesn't suffer from this issue. (See the next few lines to discover that it also has the problem)
.
If I 'start' the Climb activity, then press the 'settings' button then choose 'navigation' then choose 'saved-locations' then 'go-to' it does 'calculating' and then projects the elevation profile. First time I tried, it did it correctly, but that happens usually in the other activities like 'Run' too. So I pressed 'settings button' then 'stop navigation' then did 'navigation' 'saved location' and chose the same location again, then 'go to'. Unfortunately, on the second time I tried it, it gave me the 'reflected profile' that I initially reported as being incorrect.
So unfortunately, the 'climb' activity suffers the same problem.
Sigh.

Terry

thank you Terry for testing it. i did the same. you're right. i got the same. i also tried restarting the watch. and it's kind of "luck" if it is correct or not. i also tried to deactivate all other maps except the Topo active if it makes a difference. and i tried the topo and the DEM map. does not change anything.
i wrote that to the support. but the answer was: "first i have to understand how the altimeter works, with the link to the manual" :-)
hope there is somebody reading this from Garmin, and sending it to the software team. it would be nice to be fixed.

Mario

0 Tcornall over 5 years ago

thank you Terry for testing it. i did the same. you're right. i got the same. i also tried restarting the watch. and it's kind of "luck" if it is correct or not. i also tried to deactivate all other maps except the Topo active if it makes a difference. and i tried the topo and the DEM map. does not change anything.
i wrote that to the support. but the answer was: "first i have to understand how the altimeter works, with the link to the manual" :-)
hope there is somebody reading this from Garmin, and sending it to the software team. it would be nice to be fixed.

Mario

I'm afraid that 'support' is not very good at understanding the problem sometimes. This issue is clearly NOT connected to how the altimeter works. That is ANOTHER problem...
Great that you confirm and extend my findings. It'd be nice to have a procedure, even if it was something silly like 'turn off and on your watch before using this' that made the route elevation reliable. Sadly, we are yet to find one.

0 Mistamb over 5 years ago

I'm afraid that 'support' is not very good at understanding the problem sometimes. This issue is clearly NOT connected to how the altimeter works. That is ANOTHER problem...
Great that you confirm and extend my findings. It'd be nice to have a procedure, even if it was something silly like 'turn off and on your watch before using this' that made the route elevation reliable. Sadly, we are yet to find one.

i tryed so many Things, but could not find something. Even tried to go as fast before the gps was fixed. i live with it. if it is wrong. i stop Navigation and start it new. :-)
For your Info! This night i got the released V11.00 (not the beta) and the Problem is the same. so i think i don't care About it any more. :-)

0 renton82 over 5 years ago

Every time a new beta or new stable release is out, i send the same email to beta team with the same bug report...