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Time is often off by about 3 minutes after just few days without GPS

Luc
2 days ago

Hi,

Anyone seeing the issue that suddenly the time is 3 minutes back (always back)? I turned off the watch at night for few days, not sure if that could cause it.

I've seen this issue few times now and can't pinpoint what causes it since it doesn't take long since last GPS time sync that it gets several minutes off.

I have latest FW as well.

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  • 0 2 days ago in reply to bluefish

    9.20.

    I checked last GPS sync which was 2 weeks ago. 3 minutes behind in only 2 weeks is bit much. What is odd that it's to the second precise 3 full minutes behind. Could be coincidence but looks like a bug to me somewhere.

    I did do a soft reset after the update.

  • 0 2 days ago

    Honestly, I’ve seen this before on my previous Instinct models (1, 2 Solar, 2x Tactical) but have yet to see this on my I3 50mm Tactical yet.

    The general theme seems to be when there’s inactivity with the watch,  sometimes it does that until you turn your wrist and look at the watch.

    A bit annoying but unless there’s mass reporting of a problem, Garmin usually ignores it.

  • +1 2 days ago in reply to Odie21

    Hello, I am sorry to hear you are having this issue. For time updating, I would recommend checking the following:

    • Do you have the location services enabled on the phone, and for the Connect always? 
    • Do you have the app running in the background on the phone? 
    • Do have any low power mode or battery saver disabled on the phone? 
    • Since this started, have you tried powercycling the watch and phone? 
    • If you start the GPS, does the time correct, and maintain correct? 

    If you have tried this, and there is no change, please feel free to reach out to me via Private Message. 

  • 0 2 days ago in reply to Odie21

    The time though doesn't correct itself by looking at it and activating the watch. Once it's off, it says off by that 3 minutes until I do a time sync again. Happened 3x so far. I'll try to keep the watch running at night as well now.

  • 0 2 days ago in reply to Garmin-Laurie

    No phone connection and I already did a full reset of the watch month ago when this happened first time. I also did a soft reset but still off.

    Yes when I do GPS sync it corrects itself. But after only 1-2 weeks, the time shouldn't be off by a full exact 3 minutes. It seems a bit random when that happens. Not sure what triggers it.

  • 0 2 days ago in reply to Luc
    Luc said:
    No phone connection

    Without an active phone connection, the displayed time on the watch will vary quite a bit - the nature of the beast.

    Unlike a normal quartz watch, there is no onboard crystal oscillator in your Garmin watch to provide a time reference for adjustment. Without GPS or an active connection to your phone, the displayed time has no reference as to what the "correct" time should be.

    Simply put, since the Garmin watch time display is like a running program, the displayed time relies on the speed of the CPU controlling it.  If there is more demand on the CPU which makes it a bit "laggy," then the time will slow down.  This time "program" relies on periodic checks with Wi-Fi, phone, or GPS to correct the displayed time to display a more accurate time.

    The more the watch connects with Wi-Fi, phone, or GPS, the more accurate the displayed time will be.

    HTH

  • 0 2 days ago in reply to gaijin

    That's not how cpu kernels work typically. Time control does not run off the same processing thread.

    That said nothing is running so it should be more accurate. But also I never seen this on other Garmin watches. Last it's also suspicious it's always off by exactly 3 minutes 3x in a row to the second precise.

  • 0 2 days ago in reply to Luc

    Then it is truly a mystery.

  • 0 2 days ago in reply to Luc
    Luc said:
    But also I never seen this on other Garmin watches.

    I have.

    The first time I measured what I was observing was with the original fenix back in 2013.  At the time, here were my observations:

    It wasn't very sophisticated, but the time drift was significant enough that precision was not really required to see the drift.

    The first 2 days were when the watch was not sync'd with any time source - observed drift was approximately 3.5 seconds slow after two days.

    Then I sync'd the watch and isolated it again for a further 2 days - observed drift was again approximately 3.5 seconds slow after two days.

    Then I allowed the watch to sync normally for 4 days and observed a time variance of about 0.5 seconds fast to about 0.75 seconds slow.

    Just FYI.

    Even up to my present tactix 7 and Instinct 3, I observe daily time variances of about +1.0 - 1.5 seconds/day.  Regular connection with phone, wi-fi and GPS keeps the variance well within these limits - usually within a second.

    HTH