Open Water GPS Inaccurate in Epix 2

oh no, that stinks. what gps setting did you have?  is it worth trying to change? I was worried about the ows but haven't swam yet

First activity it was All Systems

Second Activity it was All + Multiband

Both with the same issue

Good to see that you are not having any issues with your F6X, which is contrary to some others. I too never had much success with the 5plus series in open water. It got better but was never too flash.

As for the Epix I've not had issues with open water swimming. Far from it, all my Epix tracks are much smoother than the F6 I have and the distance comparable. What software and GPS version do you have on your Epix?

This from yesterday is typical of the results on the same course 3 to 4 times per week:

Epix - GNSS+ Multiband, 1s recording (I think this is important for OWS)

F6 Solar Pro - GPS+GLONASS, 1s recording

To put things in perspective, the only other report of a poor OWS result (AFAIK F7 or Epix) is from someone swimming in an outdoor pool (albeit very large) using GPS. Oh, and someone who decided to compare a walk activity with an OWS activity without actually getting in the water. 

Contact Garmin Support and let them know if you are unable to get a satisfactory result having changed to 1-second recording AND All+Multiband.

A great result from his F6X there eh?

What is the Data recording setting for the GPS? 

- Smart 

- Every Second

If you have it in Smart, it won't work correctly in this kind of environment (having the watch under water most of the time).

Just a tip to check...that's the culprit of the wrong data collection?

Good luck.

There's a bit of a legacy 'thing' with the Smart v 1-second recording. Back in the day, when there was limited storage capacity on Garmin watches, having the option to use Smart recording meant that saved activity files took up less room. 'Unwanted' data, ie long time between changes in some measurements, was discarded and straight lines assumed. Garmin records it's metrics every second irrespective of whether or not the watch is set to Smart or 1-Second. Whereas Smart Recording discards some recorded data, using 1-second recording ensures that all data points are saved resulting in a larger file and generally more accurate tracks. Garmin will tell you that there is no difference in distance between the two settings however, this is generally not the case with OWS. It's perhaps time that Garmin either removed the Smart Recording option or set the default to 1-second recording.

Long story, short, to get better tracks and likely better accuracy when open water swimming, use 1-second recording and maximize the GPS accuracy with All+Multiband.. 

In general, since there is more space available on the newer watches, 1-second recording might as well be left on all the time.

It was Smart.

Just changed. Let’s try again!!

Rafa Siqueira

Have you had a better result? Another data point and useful comparison (I believe anyway). This graph from my Epix this morning shows just how well the watch recorded the swim with minimal fluctuations in pace:

compared to an Instinct 2 which was all over the place.

The Instinct recorded 120m further over the ~2000m course compared to the Epix. 

Have solved the open water issue. I have same issue.

As far as we can tell nothing has been done in terms of any attempt to improve this issue