GPS Improvements?

Enabling Galileo in firmware would help. Appears from the reviews of the 5x Plus by dc rainmaker that is has a noticeable improvement. That's not to say there isn't an improved hardware change to antenna in the plus too which also helps, that I don't know. Either way I think it should now be enabled on the 5 model as standard.

Fenix 5 Plus series has a newer GPS chip. That is different than older Fenix'es and other Garmin watches. So I think it may be better than Fenix 5X even without Galileo or Glonass. Also Galileo coverage is not complete yet. Sometimes my phone fixes to six Galileo satellites and sometimes to only two. So I think even without these additional constellations it may perform better. Also there are watches in the market that only supports GPS but more accurate than Fenix'es...

I figured it might be a combination of better hardware and Galileo getting the results. I'd like to think that if Garmin tested switching it on with the 5x and it did help improve the average GPS then they would push it out via firmware. I could live with that - We enabled it for you and its better but the physical changes in the 5x+ make it EVEN better. That sugar I could buy. :-)

The Fenix 5 has the MT3333 built in.
Garmin once said:
This is What Garmin says about it: “On December 15th the European Commission announced that the European satellite system Galileo will start offering its initial services. Over the next few years Galileo will increase the number of satellites from the existing 18 to the full operational capacity of 30 satellites. We at Garmin have been tracking the development of Galileo for over a decade and will continue to track its development. Many of our products are Galileo capable, and now that the Galileo system has reached its initial operational capability, we will carefully test and validate our Galileo capable products and provide selected updates at a future date. We are committed to delighting our customers with best in class positioning capabilities, and look forward to integrating the Galileo service into many of our products.” https://support.garmin.com/faqSearch/en-US/faq/content/gwhwlwegEx3iAUBY9UEbd9“
Lets see if they fulfill their promises. An Improvement for the Fenix 5 GPS accuracy would be very helpful.

The Fenix 5 has the MT3333 built in.
Garmin once said:
This is What Garmin says about it: “On December 15th the European Commission announced that the European satellite system Galileo will start offering its initial services. Over the next few years Galileo will increase the number of satellites from the existing 18 to the full operational capacity of 30 satellites. We at Garmin have been tracking the development of Galileo for over a decade and will continue to track its development. Many of our products are Galileo capable, and now that the Galileo system has reached its initial operational capability, we will carefully test and validate our Galileo capable products and provide selected updates at a future date. We are committed to delighting our customers with best in class positioning capabilities, and look forward to integrating the Galileo service into many of our products.” https://support.garmin.com/faqSearch/en-US/faq/content/gwhwlwegEx3iAUBY9UEbd9“
Lets see if they fulfill their promises. An Improvement for the Fenix 5 GPS accuracy would be very helpful.

You wanna bet ?They will never enable galileo on fenix5 watches.They will only enable this system in new watches like fenix5 plus.Just for buy their new products!

This is a little off topic, but I'm really thinking of returning my F5x (still within the REI window) and getting the Suunto 9. I'm a little worried the Suunto 9 (very similar to your Baro HR) is a step backward from the F5x and there is no mapping. I've come to like the course routing and topo, but OMG mine seems so inaccurate.

Since you've used both the Baro HR and F5x, what are your thoughts on the two?

Well I purposely went that route, because of the turn in the bottom right hand corner, there is a junction of about 3 trails there, and the F5x was quick to show me the correct trail via the map. I also tested it, and it did let me know when I went too far. On the Suunto, it did beep when I was approaching the waypoint, and when I continued the wrong way, it told me I was wrong, this is with the 'breadcrumb" trail. My thoughts? I'm using the Baro HR, and the F5x is back at the store for a number of reasons. First, and probalby the largest is the GPS variability you see in the comparison. Weight, Suunto is lighter. MUCH lighter. Baro? I set the altimeter on the Suunto about once a week, and it is within 3-5 feet all the time, no matter where I go. If I drive, and have my arm resting on the window of the car, and the wind gets to it, it only takes about 5 or 10 minutes to settle down when I stop. The baro is within .02 of all 3 weather stations here, airport, Weatherbug, and Weather Underground. With the F5x, I could watch the altitude change sitting on my front porch, and I mean change 10-20 feet. Battery life has to go to the 5x, I do need to charge my Suunto about every 4 days if I'm using it as a daily step tracker, sleep tracker, activity tracker, while the F5x lasted almost 2 weeks. But IMHO that's the ONLY place that the Garmin excelled. I never could get the VO2Max to work correctly, as my knees won't let me run, and I don't have a bike power pod, so that one's out too. The Suunto does give recovery time, and estimated VO2Max for each exercise, (along with EPOC), so that's enough for me.
I hope that helps with your decision, however, I am in a very specific niche, I'm a 70 year old man, who has bad knees, who walks both outside trails, and inside malls, does gym classes a couple times a week, yoga, and occasionally rides my bike. I'm trying to recover from weighing over 300 pounds, (over 100 of which I've lost), and 35 years of smoking, and having a sitting job. Now that I'm retired, I can devote time to trying to render out a bit of the lard I've accumulated, and actually being able to walk a ways without having to stop. Your mileage may vary. :-)

That makes sense. This would only help if there is an issue with the main unit's firmware interpreting the GPS data. If the issue is in the GPS, then nothing changes.

Gonna go out on a limb here, and say judging from the track that I had made in the original post, that if the firmware FILTERED the extranneous, and obviously off track readings, the track would be a lot smoother. Perhaps not perfect, but definately better. You can see away from the trees, the tracks are very similar, it's only in the "difficult" parts that they vary, and I honestly believe the difference is in how the firmware interprets, and finalizes the data from the satellites. Just my opinion.

I am on FW 9.2 and GPS 4.40. Decided to see how 1 sec recording would work while out for a walk on a cement breakwall walking right down the center both ways, and visible clearly on satellite. While I normally use GPS plus Glonass on the trails, This Track Me was just GPS. It doesn't appear to display 1 sec intervals on this very simple exercise. Not too concerned but I switched data back to Smart as the data isn't any cleaner in the end in this example. I should test GPS plus Glonass and both Smart and 1 Sec but don't believe would be better from what I can see. Slightly cloudy day due to minor marine layer. When ocean paddling I always just use GPS since I am in clear view hypothetically. I expected to see regular interval data points and a much more accurate double track. Maybe due to wrist facing one way and then the other.ciq.forums.garmin.com/.../1366102.jpg

You wanna bet ?They will never enable galileo on fenix5 watches.They will only enable this system in new watches like fenix5 plus.Just for buy their new products!

well hope you didnt bet with anyone because galileo just got enabled in fenix 5x beta software :)

well hope you didnt bet with anyone because galileo just got enabled in fenix 5x beta software :)

Nope, i did not!But you saw that they have enable it and you need to downgrade your gps firmware.Also how do i know that i am using galileo on the watch ?If i don't have a widget where i can see the satelites where i am connected.You now that expression : i don't believe until i see it :)