Tactix 7 compass not working properly

Is Garmin ever going to fix the compass issue in Fenix 7 / Tactix 7? Compass needs to be calibrated all the time and still it is showing wrong. If I squeeze the wristband from the lugs, compass reading changes.

the abc glance or compass glance is useless, because I still have to go to the settings and calibrate the compass and there’s still no guarantee that it’s showing correct reading.

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trux over 2 years ago in reply to Marko1478 +2 verified

Try removing the wristband and both spring bars holding it, and check the stability of the compass then. There are countless posts of owners of diverse Garmin watch models having compass problems when…
sfainbraun over 2 years ago in reply to bluefish +2

Not mine either - T7 works great. I thought I had an error but noticed my compass was set to magnetic north and not true north. Figured it out when I noticed the error was exactly my declination. I check…
trux over 2 years ago in reply to Marko1478 +1

Marko1478 said:
Let’s hope that the next Tactix watch will be perfect whenever it is released.

It has nothing to do with the watch. As long as you have moving magnetic fields around the watch, the classical…

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0 bluefish over 2 years ago

Tactix 7 Pro here. No issues with the compass.

0 bluefish over 2 years ago

Marko1478 said:
Compass needs to be calibrated all the time and still it is showing wrong.

I work on machines every day, with extremely strong permanent magnets. I last calibrated the compass about two weeks ago. It is still accurate.

0 Marko1478 over 2 years ago in reply to bluefish

Mine is accurate propably 5 seconds after calibration. Fortunately when doing activities, gps provides the compass. But the compass glance or the app is totally useless because it used the magnetometer.
There are many posts online showing this. Some say it is a software issue, others say that the pins in the lugs have gotten magnetized.
Garmin customer service doesn’t do anythibg about this issue. They only say that calibration should be done outdoors. I have done that, but after a few seconds it is wrong again.
I’m trying to see anyone else here has the same problem and if Garmin customer service has helped or given any signs of fixing this issue.

0 stschwar73 over 2 years ago in reply to Marko1478

We have the same problem on 2 different Fenix 7 (both on 10.43).

We have to calibrate the compass, then it works for a few hours, then we have to calibrate it again. Otherwise it's not possible to use it (and it's not possible to use the navigation cause the map direction is completely wrong)

I knew, that they had solved that issue with one of the 9.xx firmware but before 10.43 I never had problems.

+1 trux over 2 years ago in reply to Marko1478

Try removing the wristband and both spring bars holding it, and check the stability of the compass then. There are countless posts of owners of diverse Garmin watch models having compass problems when the spring bars get magnetized. For example here:

To fix the issue, you can either demagnetize the spring bars (try asking a local watch repairman whether he can do it, or buy a cheap demagnetizer), or replacing them. Hitting the spring bar gently with a hammer may demagnetize it too, but it is a risky operation, so having a replacement handy is recommended. Some people just glue the spring bars in place, to prevent the rotation.

0 Marko1478 over 2 years ago in reply to stschwar73

I have had the same problem with all the 9.xx and 10.xx firmwares. And yesterday I found out that if I take the band off, the compass is correct. As soon as I put the band back on, compass is incorrect. So the band/pins must interfere with the compass or something. I glued the bottom pin and it helped a little.

I don’t have issues navigating because then it uses gps and shows everything correctly. I find it really frustrating that over 1000€ watch isn’t capable of working correctly.

0 Marko1478 over 2 years ago in reply to trux

Yes I did the glueing trick and it helped a little. If I take the band completely off, then the compass is correct. Just by putting the nylon band back, it might go a bit off still. Let’s hope that the next Tactix watch will be perfect whenever it is released.

0 trux over 2 years ago in reply to Marko1478

Marko1478 said:
Let’s hope that the next Tactix watch will be perfect whenever it is released.

It has nothing to do with the watch. As long as you have moving magnetic fields around the watch, the classical compass will not work. You can maximally change the compass mode to GPS, to avoid the influence of the external magnetic field.

0 Marko1478 over 2 years ago in reply to trux

Well I think it has something to do with the watch. As I said, glueing the pin helped a little. Also my other garmin watches (instinct and instinct 2) are working just fine, so this problem is on the Tactix watch itself.

0 bluefish over 2 years ago in reply to Marko1478

Marko1478 said:
Well I think it has something to do with the watch.

Marko1478 said:
so this problem is on the Tactix watch itself.

Not on mine.