GPS Drift

Hi All. I wonder if someone could please help me ? I have a Garmin Instinct watch and I keep seeing some large gps drifting from the course I have taken. It looks like it’s happens more after tracking for 5-10 mins.

it’s really weird. On a straight road it can be as much as 20m left or right and on some corners it completely smooths the corner out. Eg on a road junction the corner will go nowhere near the actual junction it will show the route cutting through the garden of the house on the corner.

You can really see it on Garmin Connect Maps and when you zoom in.

Has anyone any ideas of whether this is normal.

Thanks

0 razmichael over 3 years ago

Might be easier if you posted (and made public) an activity so we could actually see the track. Also, what activity are you using (run, bike ..) and what are your GPS settings. Keep in mind that under the best conditions you could well be expecting about 3m accuracy. If under trees or in a built up area this will decrease. The GPS settings that will influence this is what systems you are using (GPS, Glonass etc) and then what tracking mode (normal or Ultratrack). Even with 1/second tracking you can see some corner cutting given you can move a good distance in 1 second if going fast. Being shifted off a road by a small amount is very normal as well. The satellites available are constantly changing so accuracy is very dynamic. Nothing more to add without knowing your current settings and seeing a track.

0 bobchappuis over 3 years ago

I had a similar question about GPS accuracy but regarding distance measurement. I have been running a 6 mile loop for over 10 years. First with a Garmin Forerunner 305 then a Forerunner 35. The 3 one mile lap point for my outwoard loop have been well established. I got a different brand smart watch as a gift two years ago and it was extremely inaccurate, off by 20 percent per mile. That is what led me to purchase my Intinct. Initially it agreed with he one mile lap points of the previous garmin watches. Until software version 15.10 My intinct is now showing my one mile points at about .06 miles further than previously.