Fenix 8 navigation bug :Disable Bottom Black field not possible

Martin said:

This Is exactly what I've done, but there is no 'data field' option in the mentioned Menü... only Layout, order and disable.

Exactly these options described by you are also available on the fenix 7 if you have NOT loaded a course:

4689674 said:

load a course

As described above, you must first load a course so that the desired "Data field" option is available. 

At least that's the case with the fenix 7.

Please check whether it is the same with the fenix 8 and confirm whether the problem persists.

bluefish said:

As described above, you must first load a course so that the desired "Data field" option is available. 

bluefish said:

At least that's the case with the fenix 7.

TL;DR OP said they had a Fenix 7 and implied they knew how to turn off the map (routing information) data field for Fenix 7 in their post, so I'm inclined to believe them when they say it's not possible in Fenix 8 (or at that, at the very least, it's not the same procedure as Fenix 7.)

Also, if the Fenix 7 settings UI is anything like FR955 (which I believe it is, in many respects *), it is absolutely possible to turn off the map data field without loading a course first. You don't even have to be in an activity.

1) From the watchface (or activity), hold UP to open the menu. (It's slightly easier if you do this from the watchface though, as you'll see below)

2) Scroll down until you reach the general system settings (entitled Settings in the UI). Note that if you started from an activity in step 1, you will have to scroll past a menu item called "Navigation" (which may be confusing given the next step)

3) Keep scrolling down until you reach "Navigation" (under Settings) and select it.

4) Select "Data Screens"

5) Select "Map"

6) Turn "Data Field" off

(Yes, there's a faster way to do steps 1-3 by holding UP from the watchface / activity, and pressing UP a few times so the "cursor" wraps around and you enter the system settings from the *bottom*, but that's less intuitive and requires you to use the buttons to scroll)

(*) The manuals for FR955 and Fenix 7 both describe the same procedure:

https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-9D99A9D4-467A-4F1A-A0EA-023184FEA3DD/EN-US/GUID-A302AFEE-C535-4C80-9DDD-95B717620C5B.html?scroll=GUID-A302AFEE-C535-4C80-9DDD-95B717620C5B

https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-C001C335-A8EC-4A41-AB0E-BAC434259F92/EN-US/GUID-D16AC8E8-8748-4EF7-AAB7-F4EDE3EB9C40.html

I think it's irrelevant how it worked on Fenix 7 or FR955 though, as I think OP is saying that this isn't possible in Fenix 8. And as implied in the original post, OP already knew how to do this on their old Fenix 7.

To add anecdotal evidence on the pile, other people have mentioned that it isn't possible to customize the navigation-specific data screens any more (which is what the Navigation > Data Screens menu is all about.)

Another anecdotal data point is that the individual Map and Navigation system settings menus from FR955 / Fenix 7 have apparently been consolidated into a single Map & Navigation menu in Fenix 8, according to the manual (this shows that settings have changed in general and it's not outside the realm of possibility that some individual settings have been removed.)

The FR955 manual actually tells you how to turn off the map data field, while the Fenix 8 manual's section for Map & Navigation settings does not mention anything about being able to turn off the map data field (and I couldn't find anything about that anywhere else in the manual, either).

FlowState said:

I think it's irrelevant how it worked on Fenix 7 or FR955 though, as I think OP is saying that this isn't possible in Fenix 8.

Are you sure that the OP has loaded a course on his fenix 8 to unlock the corresponding menu?

The OP has confirmed that he did it as described above (started an activity first). This way it is necessary to load a course.

I'm wondering because his screenshot shows exactly the same behavior as the fenix 7 when no course has been loaded. Then this menu is not available even on the fenix 7.

So I wonder if the OP has really loaded a course.

Hi, I've tested with and without a course, in general, activity and navigation settings, all that you describe... but Fenix 8 is different than Fenix 7 (or Forerunner945 in my case also). I can turn of see through datafields in datasreens but the big black one always stays there... (And normally i'm quite quick in understanding different operating systems). So is there someone with a Fenix 8 here who has found something? In different Forums the same problem comes up.

Fenix 8 is different

And i've tested inside and outside during activities. 

Thank's for your answers, but it remains a bug i think

bluefish said:

Are you sure that the OP has loaded a course on his fenix 8 to unlock the corresponding menu?

The OP has confirmed that he did it as described above (started an activity first). This way it is necessary to load a course.

Not on FR955 it isn't, as I said above. You can disable the map data field outside of an activity (starting from the watchface), or from an activity without a course loaded.

Even if what you said is the case on on Fenix 7, again OP has stated they had a Fenix 7 and they know how to disable the map data field on Fenix 7.

Again, I'm inclined to take OP at face value, especially as the 955 and Fenix 7 manuals both describe how to disable the map data field, while the Fenix 8 manual does not. Additionally, the Fenix 8 manual already describes a different system settings menu structure (it has a combined Map & Navigation menu, while 955/Fenix 7 have separate menus for each of those things). This is another indication that settings related to the map and navigation have changed.

Martin said:

Hi, I've tested with and without a course, in general, activity and navigation settings, all that you describe...

Martin said:

Thank's for your answers, but it remains a bug i think

Ok, thanks for your feedback! If this function is not mentioned in the manual, I rather suspect that it is not available "by design". 
That would be very annoying.

So @garmin could you please answer this, three more updates and still no information on this bug?