fenix 6 pro run distance accuracy ??

So I tried this today - and it worked - it corrected the distance from a 7.3 mile run to 7.7... thanks for the tip - but it is also interesting that this is the SAME correction Strava made to the run when I corrected in that platform - 

Are you on Garmin’s payroll or you just can’t accept that this 1,000$ watch is rubbish when it comes to distance measuring?

Today i run another 1/2 Marathon, partly on paved roads and 60% on trails. It’s funny that up to 12km today the Fenix 6 was matching the real distance (and my Polar Grit X on the right wrist was 20 meters off) then on the last 9.1km the Fenix 6 lost 270 meters!!! And the Grit X completed the course measuring within 40m of the real distance of 21.1km. 

Said that, I downloaded the GPX file from Garmin Connect, after I synced my Fenix 6, then I uploaded the very same file and the result was 21.04km, pretty accurate for a 21.1km run. 

My point is: if the GPX file is generated by the same GPS, why Garmin can’t just show on the watch the same distance that is already IN the watch?

On top of that, everyone is talking about this Sony chip and bla, bla, bla... on my right wrist I have a watch with a Sony chip as well and with metal on top as well, but sold at 1/2 the price, therefore after investing so much on a device that is advertised as we all know “One of the best GPS watches money can buy” I pretend to see a result at least close to the one I see on a competitor sold at 1/2 the price. 

are you asking me if I am the payroll? - not sure why you would come out with that - ummm - I am the one that started this topic - and have been critical throughout - and I thanked you for giving me the pro tip about the upload aspect - or are you referencing someone else?

cfimarco said:

My point is: if the GPX file is generated by the same GPS, why Garmin can’t just show on the watch the same distance that is already IN the watch?

Maybe you were asking this rhetorically, but a GPX file contains only GPS coordinates.  This is why the trick to download the GPX and then reupload it to Garmin Connect makes a correction in the distance.  The FIT file that Garmin Connect is reading from the watch has all of the watch’s “corrections” to the distance in place.  Obviously, in certain conditions Garmin appears to be doing too much correction.

I’ve been doing some of my own comparisons but most of the issues I have experienced end up coming down to the tracks between the watches I am comparing not matching.  Your recent example sounds interesting because they matched almost 100% until the final 9k of your 21km run.  Have you put both FIT files through a comparison tool like DCRainmaker Analyzer?  I’m curious if the tracks line up the same between the two watches and it is just the distance that is wrong or if they are all messed up.

For what it’s worth, my current theory is that the distance errors come from the watch’s poor accuracy on pace, especially pace changes.  I’ve just started messing with a Stryd sensor and doing some comparisons there.

No, I’m not asking you. I know we are on the same page.  It’s not my fault if the nick name of the guy to which I replied it’s “who knows”

I don't think that Garmin is advertising it as the most accurate GPS watch on the market. You pay for music, maps, pay, and the trillions options that you can use on it also. It doesn't make it necessarily better than the others because a lot of functions are of no use. Or are very average. But some of them are impossible to find anywhere else (offline maps, with hours of battery). Then of course, GPS and pace accuracy will be more important for a lot of runners. And then indeed, the price is too high. And some other brands are able to make the Sony GPS chipset works quite fine (polar, Coros). But Suunto can confirm that it's not a piece of cake... So it's about defining the expectations one has for his watch, then the Fenix can be very good or it can be very disappointing. I'm often frustrated by the distance problem. But at the same time, I can't find maps anywhere else, and it's a unique mix of functionalities I can't find anywhere else. So Garmin can have my money. I still think it's indeed priced too high, and I'm staying because of a lack of competition and because I can totally live without a very accurate distance, in my case. To each his own conclusion on those watches, depending on how important is distance accuracy. After all, running is only one of the numerous sport modes. 

oh - I see - you RE to "who knows" - kinda odd - if you are gonna be in a forum then use some sort of real name - :-)

Garmin is unwilling or unable to deal with this issue. Last time I send them email was late Feb 2020 and what I got as an answer was:

"...Thank you for sending the files. We are doing some research about the issue and I'll get back with you early next week with our findings. Have a great weekend! Thank you for choosing Garmin,

Heather
Product Support
Garmin International"

<Q#:1006206> << Reference ID: 15930360K1 > if anyone at Garmin is reading their logs

Since then no one has contacted me regarding this problem...and this an ongoing problem on a top of the line product

Well, it's a software CHOICE by Garmin, more than a software problem. I mean that it's not a bug, they do that on purpose to try to fix the GPS errors. Every brand does it (I didn't check polar files though, if you can send me a fit file, I can check). But Garmin does it more heavily. 

In some cases, it's indeed giving a more accurate distance than the GPS, because the the GPS errors are adding too much distance. 

But then on the trails, and in other situations, it's cutting the distance too much. Why is Garmin not allowing to turn this off? I don't know. It could be useful for people who knows when it's efficient and when it's not. 

I hope that if Garmin gets better GPS results (with a better antenna, better chipset, better technical implementation, whatever they can do), they can get rid of it or reduce it to very little adjustments like Coros or Suunto. But it won't be on this model... I'm not THAT optimistic ;-)