fēnix 7 Series TopoActive display is adjusted according to the sport.

TopoActive display is adjusted according to the sport.

Hello, I’m on version 23.31, but this issue has been around since several versions ago, starting from 15.33.

I’ve noticed that the active topo rendering isn’t the same depending on the activity, and I haven’t found any information anywhere about whether this is normal or an issue on our side.

For my test, I only enabled TopoActive,nothing else. No SkiView, no popularity, etc. I just wanted to see the TopoActive rendering on its own.

What I’m noticing is for the activities:

running, trail running, hiking, and cross-country skiing

road cycling and mountain biking

Ski and ski touring

So I’m assuming that it’s the watch that changes the TopoActive rendering depending on the activity.

But Garmin told me they couldn’t reproduce it. Am I the only one experiencing this?

Thank you very much for your feedback.

Top Replies

aseccaud 25 days ago +1

I can confirm that on Fenix 8 there is also a difference in rendering between the Running and Cycling profiles with the TopoActive map and the same layer options.

There is much less detail with the cycling…

All Replies

0 aseccaud 25 days ago

I can confirm that on Fenix 8 there is also a difference in rendering between the Running and Cycling profiles with the TopoActive map and the same layer options.

There is much less detail with the cycling profile.

0 Steven_TNR 25 days ago

I confirm that I’m experiencing the same issue on my Garmin Fenix 8 Pro — the map display is different between Running and Cycling activities.

0 3144687 24 days ago

I'd made the same comment a few weeks ago, with some tips.

forums.garmin.com/.../topoactive-activity-rendering-contour-lines

But now I’m using the OpenTopoMap img with my own rendering, and it’s better. Much better

No issues anymore.

Salutation de France

0 Alexis_Lecanu 24 days ago in reply to 3144687

Are you able to get your own rendering for skiing? Because my problem is that I have a rendering, but if I mention it, Garmin keeps saying it's not a bug on their end. So I'm trying to get them to admit that the issue isn't the third-party rendering, but rather something coming from their end. For mountain biking and running, my rendering isn't overloaded, but for skiing, it's all over the place.

0 3144687 24 days ago in reply to Alexis_Lecanu

OpenTopoMap is different from TopoActive. It is an open-source alternative map. https://opentopomap.org

With Garmin's TopoActive, I had found a trick to have the “classic” rendering for all activities. But it isn't stable. If you change some parameters on the watch, the rendering can be reset. So back to square one.

I decided to start installing an alternative map, OpenTopoMap, and I am now fully satisfied. The rendering is unique and detailed regardless of the activity. And you can change the rendering with some third-party software.

I do mountain biking, I don't know if OpenTopoMap would be useful for skiing. Take a look at their website to see.

0 Alexis_Lecanu 24 days ago in reply to 3144687

I know OpenTopoMap very well. Could you check if the display on the watch is the same for mountain biking and skiing?

0 3144687 24 days ago in reply to Alexis_Lecanu

Yes, it seems you’re right. The rendering still changes for a few sports.

With OpenTopoMap, the sport "skiing" erases houses and buildings, and the colors change. But you can still clearly see all the roads and paths. The contour lines are still there. However, the colors aren’t really great. They’re better than with TopoActive, but not the same as with mountain biking.

0 Alexis_Lecanu 24 days ago in reply to 3144687

Thank you

0 socorsu 20 days ago

Same like you, and it's very annoying