Fenix 5s - 0 floors climbed!

Hi,

I just bought yesterday my Fenix 5s and overall I'm happy with the product.

Only 1 big issue: no matter how many floors I climb it shows me 0 floors climbed

For example today: I've not use elevator today and got till 13th floor by foot, climbing the stairs. Still 0 floors climbed - in the widget or in Garmin Connect app.

Altimeter seems to work as I going up the altitude seems to raise. Barometer it shows me 1014/1013.

Any advice please?

Or I got a defective unit? Should I go to store and change the watch today?

Thanks.

Calibrate the height by hand or do a GPS activity.

Hi,



I've changed in Barometer Settings -> Watch mode - from 'Auto' to 'Altimeter' and now it seems to count floors.

Anyway - my Barometer could be defective or should not expect more from this sensor on Fenix 5s?

Is someone having floors counted OK with Watch mode = Auto value? If yes, what's to be done.

In Altimeter settings I've Autocalibrate=true (probably using GPS)

thanks.

Another thing is to make sure you understand what a "floor" is. It seems to be the change in air pressure that relates to about a 10'/3m change in elevation. Stairs in some homes may be a bit less than that, for example, so no floors.

Also, there seems to be a time component - the change has to occur within a certain time. Close to where I live, there's a walking bridge over a road, and on both sides is a ramp and set of stairs. If I take the stairs, I'll get floors, but almost never if I walk the ramps. There may also be a "that was too fast" thing, so you won't get floors if you ride an elevator.

If you want to watch when you do get floors, I have an app in the store called "simple walk" (it records a walk). One of the things it does, is when you get a floor up or floor down, you get notice (like a lap screen) of new floor up or down, and on the screen where it maps your route, a "U" for a floor up, and "D" for a floor down, so you can see (within a second or so) when you get "floors"

@CatalineEnache, given you say the barometer is detecting the changes in pressure as you go up and down, it seems the hardware is OK. But one simple thing to check, do you have activity tracking turned Off (Settings>Actvivity Tracking>Status>On or Off)? It needs to be On to track floors climbed.

@CatalineEnache, given you say the barometer is detecting the changes in pressure as you go up and down, it seems the hardware is OK. But one simple thing to check, do you have activity tracking turned Off (Settings>Actvivity Tracking>Status>On or Off)? It needs to be On to track floors climbed.

Hi @Crispin_Ellisdon,

Yes, I've Settings>Actvivity Tracking>Status = On

Just to clarify what's my concern:

1. if my barometer has no physical defect as I've to switch to altimeter (Barometer Settings -> Watch mode - from 'Auto' to 'Altimeter') in order to detect floors climbed.

I do not know what 'auto' means in above settings = sort of combination barometer/altimeter? If someone is using auto mode here - climbed floors are detected or not?

2. in the morning it was cloudy and now(after4-5 hrs) is more sunny so barometer should show a raise/change of pressure right? my barometer is still around 1013/1014 as in the morning. Is this normal?

3. when I said that I've climbed at 13th floor by foot this was true - doing this I've seen a change in the altimeter widget but not in the barometer widget. Again, is this normal? One floor is around 3.5 m high.

I've like 48 hrs to change the watch in the store with another one if something goes wrong - that's why I'm asking how it should normally work the included barometer. And...if there is something in software or not...because if yes..I could use altimeter settings till next firmware.

I have the same settings (barometer on auto) on my F5. Same issue with floors not being counted. If I change to altitude in watch mode, then yes, the floors get counted. Until I clearly understand the pros and cons of the barometer modes in watch mode, I will stick with auto.

Hoping someone here can offer insight.

3. when I said that I've climbed at 13th floor by foot this was true - doing this I've seen a change in the altimeter widget but not in the barometer widget. Again, is this normal? One floor is around 3.5 m high.

When you look at the baro itself, it's likely adjusted for MSL (pressure at sea level), so what you see shouldn't change when you change elevation. Otherwise, going up 12 floors would show a baro trend that the pressure was dropping, when it's really not.

When you look at the baro itself, it's likely adjusted for MSL (pressure at sea level), so what you see shouldn't change when you change elevation. Otherwise, going up 12 floors would show a baro trend that the pressure was dropping, when it's really not.

So...just to clarify: going up by stairs from 0th floor to 13th floor (1 floor = 3.5m) I should see a decrease of the value in the barometer widget right?

I'll do this test and comeback with the result.

If not, it means my barometer is defective or...not well calibrated or it's a software problem?

I have the same settings (barometer on auto) on my F5. Same issue with floors not being counted. If I change to altitude in watch mode, then yes, the floors get counted. Until I clearly understand the pros and cons of the barometer modes in watch mode, I will stick with auto.

Hoping someone here can offer insight.

Here is what I've read in the Fenix 5 online manual and make me change the settings:

Barometer Settings -> Watch Mode:

Sets the sensor used in watch mode. The Auto option uses both the altimeter and barometer according to your movement. You can use the Altimeter option when your activity involves changes in altitude, or the Barometer option when your activity does not involve changes in altitude.

So...from manual it seems that also the Auto mode should detect floors climbed right?

Quite confused right now....