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Wrong weather forecast

Tasman
3 months ago

I would like to ask, which source Garmin uses for weather data, because here where I live (Czech Republic) are the data totally different from openweathermap, windy.com, apple weather. The weather forecast is completely off on Enduro3, and its not only Enduro3 it was same on my previous watches like a FR945, Fenix5Plus.

The watch is paired with the phone, the app Garmin Connect is on and the watch shows that the data is up to date, I tried to set the exact location to Brno and the data was the same. Even after a few hours... over time the readings changed slightly, but were still completely out of reality.

The picture shows that the temperature is above 10 degrees and it's going to snow? By the way, it's not just the display of the icons, it's that the forecast for this week is 15-19 degrees at high and it's not even supposed to rain.

Will this problem be addressed in the future? Because I've already searched on several forums (Garmin forum, Reddit) that has multiple users with this issue and still it's not resolved.
I was hoping that a $900 watch would already handle basic things like weather perfectly.

I'm honestly a bit upset because I paid a lot of money for a premium model, there are multiple problems but Garmin chooses to overlook these problems and yet decides to demand Garmin Connect+ from their customers, so I would expect the basic features to be perfected and only then can they demand additional monthly fees for extra features.


I don't want to seem negative, but aren't there plans to do something about it? Maybe change the source of the forecast? For example, the current temperature tends to be more realistic, but the forecast is almost always wrong. Of course there is the option to install a weather app via GarminIQ, but that's usually not ideal.

Sources:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/142fe2t/garmin_weather/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/1hfgeyp/garmin_weather_has_never_been_accurate_for_me/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/1euerah/garmin_weather_is_not_accurate_at_all_any/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/rzct2l/tips_re_inaccurate_weather_on_watch_weather_widget/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/1jgtb8v/how_to_fix_weather_inaccuracy/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/1hc0s86/incorrect_weather/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/1gk9fyt/weather_app_right_temperature_now_but_wrong/

https://www.reddit.com/r/Garmin/comments/sjhnlw/weather_widget_poor_accuracy/

https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/fenix-7-series/346862/completely-inaccurate-weather-forecast-on-my-fenix-7x-solar

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  • 0 3 months ago

    Too many external links, so the forum system flagged it as potential spam until further review. I've approved.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to seilogramp

    Thanks, it wasn't intention, I just wanted to point out that there are plenty of users whose have this problem too. :)

  • 0 3 months ago

    Which weather station is being used for the weather reports? It is usually the closest airport. If you are unlucky it can be in a location that makes the weather very incorrect, for example different altitudes or close to the sea or not close etc.

    You can get an idea which station is being used if you look in an activity in Garmin Connect Web and click the weather bubble. You can there see an acronym for the source.

    My weather station:

    It is ESGP.

    Some googling and I get that it is Säve Airport: https://www.windy.com/airport/ESGP 

    Which is about 10 km from my home.

  • 0 3 months ago

    I am from CZ too and have a same problem :-)

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to e7andy

    Thanks for your answer, but it's just a half true, because this is for current activity, I know, they are using the weather for activities especially for count power wattage, because of wind direction and speed. But it doesn't have something in common with weather and especially forecast in Garmin widget, the data are different. And also meteostation did not create forecast for next days.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to Tasman

    Yes, the whether data provider for the maps is different than what is used for the weather widget. Better told, not necessarily the same. However, what e7Andy wrote is true - the weather widget uses data from a weather station usually at a nearby airport. And if you are not lucky, the system may pick a station that is at a different altitude, or at a quite distant airport with different weather.

    If you feel the data for your location does not match your local weather, try setting a different location in the setting of the Weather Widget. I mean directly on the watch. Formerly it was possible also doing it in the User Settings of the app, but it was taken away from there, recently. Preferably enter the coordinates of a nearby airport, that you know has similar weather.

    BTW, the running Power, and some other features, use the weather data from the Weather widget on the watch, not the ones from the map on the app. The weather on the map (indeed usually from a different provider), is used just for the visual information, and for some temperature-related badges.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to trux

    Thanks, I appreciate your answer. About “Running power” is interesting information, how did you find it out? Anyway, I feel like I'm still not being understood properly. I don't want to spend my evenings troubleshooting weather issues and trying to figure out how to fix faulty data, hoping I have a weather station nearby, have the right altitude, or change a weather station 50Km away from me to get the forecast working correctly. I am the end customer, I buy a product and expect it to be finished and work as declared. If there are hundreds of users who have this problem, and this problem has dragged on for several generations of watches, then there should be a solution from Garmin in the form of switching to a different weather source, or a different software solution.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to Tasman
    Tasman said:
    I am the end customer

    We too are end customers, and as such we cannot help in other way than giving you some troubleshooting tips. If you are not looking for this kind of help, then your best choice is contacting directly the Product Support at https://support.garmin.com.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to trux

    I appreciate your advice and thank you, especially for the time you took to do this. This problem has been with me for quite some time, and so I have looked into all the options before to solve such a problem. Anyway, I have written to them, so we will see. I thought that here on the forum, maybe some of the developers will comment on it and it might have the effect of getting someone to address it.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to Tasman
    Tasman said:
    About “Running power” is interesting information, how did you find it out?

    Well, without a wind sensor (such as Stryd has), there is no other way the watch can calculate the wind effect on the running power, than using the weather data available on the watch (since it happens in real-time), so it is actually the only possibility. However, if you prefer the official statement, you can find it here: How Does Wind Factor in When Using the Garmin Running Power Apps? | Garmin Customer Support