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Fenix 8: Questions About GPS and Power Modes for Sports Activities

blacktnt
6 months ago

Hello community,
I have a question about the power settings of the Fenix 8 in connection with individual sports activities. For a GPS-based activity, such as running, you can select a specific power mode that I have previously configured. I have set up a power mode with the property "use GPS only."

However, I noticed that for each activity, you can also select a GPS mode in the respective activity settings. By default, the GPS mode is set to "automatic."

Does "automatic" mean that the watch automatically chooses the GPS band, or does it use the settings from the selected power mode? The wording here is a bit unclear. Do the settings in the activity overwrite those from the power mode?

Thanks in advance for your help!

  • 0 6 months ago

    You can also set it in the "Activity Focus Mode" settings. The exact same setting exists in 3 different places (and the watch will let you set different values in each place). Seems really dumb. 

    In my case, I set the same value in all 3 places. But I'm not sure which setting wins if you set them all differently. 

  • 0 6 months ago in reply to Kirk

    It's a hierarchy - or should be. Settings at the top level (ie Power Mode) will apply to anything at the lower level, for instance within Focus Modes. Settings within Focus Mode will apply to the specific mode but not any other mode.

    Same for Satellite selection. Set to Automatic at the top level means that every activity will have the watch determine the best satellite mode. Changes can then be made within each Activity setting that will overwrite the top level.

  • 0 6 months ago in reply to Dr Phil

    Ok, but which is higher level, the Power Mode setting or the Focus Mode setting? And why even include the same setting in both places to begin with?

  • 0 6 months ago

    The Satellites setting for the selected Power Mode will be used unless that setting is “Don’t Change.” In that case, it will default to the Activity Focus Mode setting. 

    It’s pretty unintuitive. 

  • 0 6 months ago in reply to burns3

    The power mode setting makes sense to me, since GPS is a significant power drain. The focus mode setting makes zero sense to me. I've never thought to myself: "I really need to focus for the next hour, so I'm going to adjust my GPS settings".