Related
Options

Tactix 7 compass not working properly

Marko1478
over 2 years ago

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. 

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to Marko1478
    Marko1478 said:
    Also my other garmin watches (instinct and instinct 2) are working just fine

    If you look at the links I posted, you can see it concerns practically all watch models, including Instinct 2. Either the spring bars on your Instincts are not magnetized (yet), or they do not rotate much, due to a different design of the wristband. Take the magnetized springbar from your Tactix and move it around the Instinct, and see what it does with the compass.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to bluefish

    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 the watch often against my mil-spec compass and they are pretty much the same - It's great for orienteering and for following a GPS course. If it was a life and death situation on some sort of land nav exercise, I would still use my analog compass. 

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    I'm also having issues with the compass and have ultimately stopped usining it. I contacted my local garmin support and they said having to calibrate the compass every time I use it (and I said specifically that it doesn't work for more than an hour after calibration) was normal... However, they said that the issue with the compass freezing (which mine does shortly after calibration and can be induced by rolling the spring bars) was not something they have heard of and said they've made a ticket regarding that issue. I have not heard from them since (about 1.5 weeks ago). 

    I have the F7 SS

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to SASNo
    SASNo said:
    I'm also having issues with the compass

    I bet it is the same problem. Remove the wristband and the spring bars holding it, and then try again calibrating the compass. I am practically sure it will maintain the calibration as long as you keep the spring bars (and other magnetized objects) at a safe distance.

    Garmin is in denial of the problem of the easily magnetizing spring bars, pretending it does not exist, despite of having reports from hundreds of users on this forum alone. They prefer sending you a new replacement watch, than shipping new spring bars resistant against the magnetizing (worth of 20 cents).