After 26.00 'Follow a Course' does not work for elevation on a Smart Trainer

No it doesn’t either. If you set for example 150W, the trainer is set to 150W for a couple of seconds and then the ERG stop working and goes into free mode (recording power still but not adjusting the magnetic break). Tested with both Elite Justo, Elite Suito T, Zycle ZDrive 

• They want us to buy Fenix7 by not resolving this. I don’t belive that they are trying to fix this. It was working so changes in code of that function should be undone within a week but we hear that this is too complicated for hundreds of programmers in past 7 months.  

I agree with everything you said. Except it's 8 months since this was logged ...

Software Beta 26.86 - February 19th 2024 (Issue first reported by me on June 18th 2023 - others may have reported it sooner)

As Garmin Tech support don't seem to know if the latest Beta has fixed the issue despite it being confirmed as a repeatable error months ago, I've tested it on behalf of Garmin tonight.

Hardware: Fenix 6x Pro Solar / Saris M2 (Magnus 07651) / Garmin HRM1G Chest strap

Software: 26.86 (daa9196) Garmin Connect on iOS (fully updated)

Experiment - Follow a course.

I created a new course and exported it to the watch immediately prior to testing.

I viewed the profile before starting - it looked like this

I then started the ride. Exactly as happened 8 months ago, the profile then changed to look like this - a much more 'digital' verssion with a few steps, and with meaningless elevation figures. I think the blockiness is because the watch thinks the elevation is so extreme it cannot represent it properly - as we shall see the elevation figures in Connect are different to the watch. This has not changed in 8 months.

I continued to ride. As I got to each 'step' it flattened out. At no point did the resistance change on the trainer. This behaviour has not changed in 8 months.

At the end of the ride the watch said I'd climbed nothing at all.

Exactly as was happening 8 months ago, when you look in Connect on a browser, the elevation is all over the place, reporting a ride that took place at a consistent 485,070,752 metres - which is over 3x the distance to the sun ...

Conclusion - nothing at all seems to have changed in 8 months despite assurances here that Engineering are doing their upmost to fix the issue they created.

Garmin-Christopher let me know if Engineering need any more information

I'd appreciate a quick summary of what they have tried changing as nothing at all seems different. Also - and most importantly - when can I expect my watch to work as advertised?

I am sure you understand that after 8 months of claimed attempts to fix this issue which has resulted in no change whatsoever in the user experience, an statement that they will fix it "if possible" by an unspecified date is not very reassuring. Especially Garmin have been saying the same thing for 8 months.

Could you give either a firm guarantee with a reasonable time frame (given the 8 months that has already elapsed)  or a replacement device that does work, please?

I note that none of my questions about what has been changed, and which other devices have the same issue have not been answered.

I’m afraid that we will hear in next software update cycle something like this: „Unfortunetly it was not possible to fix it yet but engineers are still working on this.” - I see it that way. But maybe one day we will get for what we’ve paid. Maybe. I was trying to be patient and calm but I think it’s time to say sorry to Polar devices, especialy to my M400 - it is like a dinosaur compared to Fenix but all of it’s few functions works to this day :)

3657904 said:

Could you give either a firm guarantee with a reasonable time frame (given the 8 months that has already elapsed)  or a replacement device that does work, please?

I do understand the frustration with waiting for a fix. Since this concern is software related, and something that is actively being investigated for solution, I could not speak to a specific time frame. Also since this is software related, a replacement device would not resolve the issue. 

I meant a Fenix 7 as a replacement. I bough a Fenix 6 specifically for this feature, which it was advertised as having, and which worked until version 26.0 rolled out.  I find it unacceptable that a product with a lifecycle of 2 - 3 years should have a key feature broken in software for such a large percentage of that time. In short I feel I was mis-sold the product. Had you said 8 months ago that it would not work in 8 months time I would have returned it for a refund.

I have been told that this issue is being "actively investigated" or "looked into" or "a fix is being worked on" for 8 months.

I can only conclude that either the statements about attempts to fix it are incorrect, or the engineers are unable to fix it. Which one is it?

I purchased a Fenix 6 Base about 6 months ago and am disappointed to discover this particular issue persists. I work in data security, and the Fenix 6 Base was determined to be the last Fenix model authorized for use in my workspace. This decision was based on specific criteria, including the absence of WiFi and user-accessible storage (music).

While I could consider purchasing a newer model, the inconvenience of having to take it off daily before and after my shift negates the purpose of enjoying its other features. As a result, I find myself stuck with this model hoping Garmin will address the issue.