FENIX 6X JUST UNACCEPTABLE!

what gps version do you have?

Do you have beta or normal FW?

Yes, 6X is bad with GPS.

How bad?

its not perfect, but its not that unsuable

Wiggyben said:

Either a weak GPS receiver or the receiver in the wrong place.

Is the GPS track really wrong, or significantly worse than the one of your wife? If not, then it is not a problem of the GPS, but rather of the pace calibration. The watch uses the accelerometer and gyro data for the pace and distance calculation, whenever the GPS accuracy is under the threshold level, so if the watch in not well calibrated, it will result in an inaccurate distance.

If you have your Garmin Connect account linked to Strava, you can verify how accurate the GPS track is, by enabling the Distance Correction at Strava (available only on the web interface):

If not using Strava, export the activity as GPX file, and check the distance with one of many online GPX tools. Do the same with the activity of your wife, for comparison.

Thanks for the comprehensive reply and I didn’t realize about the accelerometer and gyro use if GOS signal was weak.

I do often use the correct distance via Strava, especially if I run anywhere under trees. On this instance when I corrected the distance changed from 2.81 to bang on 3.00 mi and my pace jumped from 9:00/mi to 8:30/mi.

Wiggyben said:

On this instance when I corrected the distance changed from 2.81 to bang on 3.00 mi

In that case it sounds like the GPS is all right. To get better calibration, you'd need to make some runs under better GPS conditions. The best would be if you could reset the built-in calibration data in the same way as it is possible when using the HRM-Pro strap, but as far as I know you can reset it only by performing the master reset of the watch.

Another solution is using the HRM-Pro, or the RD Pod - the pace/distance estimations are much more accurate from them, and you can also reset and recalibrate the calibration data anytime. 

And a low-cost solution, that I used too, before getting the HRM-Pro, is doing the Distance Correction at Strava, and then entering the corrected distance in Garmin Connect too.

Yes, the Fenix 7X has better GPS accuracy than the 6X. For running, I would have chosen the forerunner 955 tough. Much cheaper and almost the same functionality. Maybe even slightly better GPS because it does not have a metal body that may shield the signal. 

It would be really great if this drunken hangover gps track would get its *** together and stop running around in ransoms people's gardens (which I obviously didn't do)

wschoot said:

It would be really great if this drunken hangover gps track would get its *** together

Try deleting the CPE file in the folder //GARMIN/REMOTESW/ and then checking for updates and syncing over the USB cable with Garmin Express. Sometimes a corrupted CPE (ephemeris) file may cause such problems, despite that the watch reports the "current" status at CPE. Do it shortly before you go out, to have a fresh ephemeris data. Using Garmin Express is preferable to Garmin Connect - GC works too, but there is a higher chance of the update failure, or data corruption.

Also do a soft-reset of your watch (hold the Light button for ~20s till the shut down) - especially after firmware updates, issues with GPS are rather common, but the soft-reset helps to get it back working right.

Otherwise, there are some tips also at Improving the GPS Accuracy, Distance and Speed Readings of an Outdoor Watch | Garmin Customer Support 

If nothing helps, contact the Product Support

Interesting comment about the HRM PRO. I have this but don’t use it for every run. I didn’t use it yesterday but did today during a 10 miler and was pretty accurate this morning although mainly an open sky’s run. So, I may have recorded more than 2.81 yesterday if I’d worn the HRM? That’s what you are saying? because the GPS low signal calibration is better.