Waypoints with elevation

I can't find the post (which may have been in one of the app forums, not an iR forum). But I am pretty sure that this is a known bug with Explore web site. Unfortunately, with a legacy device like the Explorer+, you only have two options for sync. You can sync OTA via the Earthmate app or you can do a wired sync via the PC and the desktop sync application. You can't get at the data directly (as an external USB "drive") and none of the other Garmin software will talk directly to the device.

You don't say which type of sync you did. Since I can't find the post, I don't know if there was a workaround. The only thing I can suggest is to try whichever sync method you did not use the first time. You will need a new waypoint for the test.

I just messaged tech support. I think i've only ever synched using the desktop app. I'll try using Earthmate sometime. Thanks.

Is there an update to this? I just got a response from an inquiry to customer support about my inReach mini not including elevation data on waypoints (before I saw this related issue on your support site). Their answer was basically “inReach doesn’t include elevation data on waypoints.”

When I send a location-enabled preset message from the device, elevation is included.  When you look at the gpx file of my waypoints and location messages (see screenshot below), there is clearly a field for elevation in the xml, it’s just set to “0” for the waypoints, but it is populated for a preset message I sent (considered a trackpoint / "trkpt" in the xml).

This is just crazy.  How is it that my 6 year old automotive garmin gps includes elevation of every location I save, but an outdoor-focused product seems to go out of its way to exclude it?  The inReach mini clearly had the elevation on the screen when I saved these waypoints, so the data were available. It seems like the programmers have gone  out of their way to not include it in the waypoint data.  Question is: why?

And no, this can’t be added manually in the field via Earthmate. I’ve found I can only edit the waypoint on the “explore“ site’s version of my map. Just not sure why there’s inconsistent implementation of the data between waypoints and messages, and on which versions of the map I can edit this, and garmin’s products in general.  
Please fix this because elevation data is important, even if not 100% accurate. Not just seeing it on the map but as DATA that is part of the record.  Shouldn’t this be an easy fix? Even if Earthmate could be updated to allow us to manually enter elev at the moment of creation, as annoying and puzzling as that would be (because I would just be taking it off the device anyway), i could live with it.  But if no fix is in the works I think I’ll have to return the device. Sad. 

Similar problem: I've a GPSmap 62st with a lot of waypoints saved in the last 10 years. Most of them have an <ele> tag. Some weeks ago I realized that the waypoints do not appear in the list on the device, but are still available in the \Garmin\GPX folder. New waypoints are perfect, having however no <ele>. Deleteing <ele> from older waypoints makes them visible again. Is there a device setting which could explain this change in the behaviour? Firmware: 7.20

This forum is for inReach devices. Nobody here will have a clue about the 62st. IMO, this behavior is a bug. The forums are not an official support channel. I would suggest that you open a support ticket. The more people who complain about the bug, the more likely it is to be fixed sooner rather than later (or not at all).

There are no US forums for handhelds other than the iR devices. I believe there are German forums for handhelds. You can also try posting over there.

Can you share some of those waypoints for testing, please?