GPS fix takes +30sec

I have the same problem with my Fenix 8 Solar 47mm. I also have on-hand an Enduro 3 and an Epix Pro 47mm. Almost no matter the circumstances, the Enduro 3 and Epix Pro take about 3-8 seconds to find a GPS lock. The Fenix 8 takes anywhere from 5 seconds to two and a half minutes. I'd say the most typical time-to-acquire for the F8 is about 45-60s.

However! I've noticed something really interesting: the Fenix 8 always takes roughly 5 seconds to acquire after a reboot. If I reboot the watch and then start an activity, it will acquire GPS as fast as the Epix Pro. But on subsequent activities it's back to 45-120s. This behavior makes me think it is a bug rather than a defect.

As far as I can recall, the F8 has never failed to quickly acquire GPS on the first activity following a reboot. And I checked that it's actually a real GPS connection, too: the GPS tracks for that first-after-reboot activity are accurate. I've followed all the advice in this thread about syncing the watch, checking the Ephemeris file, etc.

I'm going to do a rigorous test in which I go into an open, empty field with all three watches and repeatedly connect to GPS and rebooting, and comparing the time-to-acquire between first connect and non-first connects.

I have on-hand another Fenix 8 and it has an older GPS version - I forget which but it was 1.XX. That watch connects very, very quickly, even if it's not paired with a phone and thus without an Ephemeris file.

My Fenix 8 Solar 47mm is very inconsistent. After a reboot it invariably takes about 8-10 seconds. After that, it will usually take 30, 45, 60, or even upwards of 2m30s to acquire GPS. Though every now and then, it goes back down to 8-12 seconds. If I reboot, it's 8-10 seconds the first time, and then it goes back to 30-60 or 2-3 min.

Weird! I really wish we could roll-back firmware to try and diagnose the issue. I also enrolled in the beta program to try and fix it, but, as you say, GPS is still on version 2.08 in the beta version.

I already tried resetting to factory defaults and also enrolling for Beta (right now with FW 11.87 / GPS 2.08), but the problem with slow GPS fix still remains unfortunately. Interesting you say that in a earlier FW there was a lower GPS version. I searched the forums and earliest i could find is v11.59 with GPS 2.07:

https://forums.garmin.com/outdoorrecreation/outdoor-recreation/f/fenix-8-series/382000/fenix-8---51-firmware-11-59-bug-headache-issues#pifragment-1292=2

But if this is really a problem with the recent GPS version shouldn't this problem with slow GPS fix far more wide spread?

Same problem takes long time to connect to gps / 51mm amoled 

Soft 11.87

Gps 2.08 

when I start the map, the triangle shows the place where I am, but when I move, the triangle does not follow me for about 800 m and keeps showing the place where I started the map, as if it was hanging.

I have the same. Takes a few minutes to get gps. My forerunner 955 only takes a few seconds. 

I could not find any report with this problem in the beta channel. So I created a thread there:

[all soft] Catastrophically long GPS readiness catch (50-90second)

Here in the general section of the forum somehow we don't get through with this problem and no response from garmin :/.

Maybe there it will be noticed somehow?

Let's try to escalate the problem and motivate the developers to address the issue.

bluefish said:

I ASSUME that Garmin's CPE also contains the ephemeris in order to be able to make a hot start if possible. This is why the CPE is only valid for a few days TOTAL.

There's a good document here that discusses the challenges of the kind of extended ephemeris that is delivered in EPO/CPE files. Key thing from a user's point of view is that the GPS satellite data transmission is so slow that 4 hours is a compromise between getting an accurate lock reasonably quickly & ephemeris lifetime, which is much less of a challenge with a file downloaded via Bluetooth.

Ten years back when the Leikr watch was on the market, it had a fairly short-term extended ephemeris (maybe 24 hours if memory serves), and things the makers posted on the forums gave me the impression that it cost more to license longer extended data; that could be the reason why it varies between Garmin devices.

1920384 said:

However! I've noticed something really interesting: the Fenix 8 always takes roughly 5 seconds to acquire after a reboot

For anyone who is interested, i tried yesterday to verify this reboot experience with my Fenix 8 AMOLED 47mm (Beta FW 11.87 / GPS 2.08) and rebooted the watch right before a run. But i still had the slow GPS fix, around 30 seconds this time.

I already contacted support, who asked me for a lot of additional info, even a video proving the slow GPS fix. Before i go through this hassle i also wanted to try out the beta firmware, hoping this would fix this problem. So this yielding no positive result now i will go back to factory defaults and send everything Garmin asked for.