1030+ gradient issue II

This is common to the 530, 830 and 1030 Plus. All the same hardware. If this could be done with firmware update to the barometer chip they would have done it by now. What is disappointing is that Garmin is unwilling to explain why they can not fix this. 

then they have to allow us to make a return of the 1030 plus and replace it with the next model that will come out that will not have this problem. do you agree with me?

I bought a 1030 plus not long after it was released. I returned it because of the grade delay issue. I purchased an 830 which has the same problem but comes at a much lower price. Not happy with grade or sensor dropouts but sticking with old software has kept the dropouts at bay. The cost to be 1030 Plus beta tester was a bit more than I was willing to bear.

I own a Oregon 600 as well as the 1030+ . The Oregon is a lot quicker. The 20 second delay makes the gradient reading pointless even a joke. 

I find that the reading can be +5 which is assending when infact I am descending at -5 or more.

Seeing that Garmin have changed their tune from "we're working on a fix" to "the units operating within our expectations", this suggests to me two possibilities:

1. Garmin's programmers are completely incompetent and incapable of fixing bugs.

2. The 1030+ has a hardware problem that can't be fixed.

My older 1000 doesn't have the abysmally slow response to elevation/gradient of the 1030+ (I can mount them both on my handlebars and see how slow the 1030+ elevation/gradient display is to update itself compared to the 1000), so I suspect that the problem is #2. However, admitting this might lead to having to issue refunds, so they try to feed us this crap about the units operating within their expectations.

Here in Australia we have a consumer law term "merchantable quality", meaning that "goods must meet a level of quality and performance that would be reasonable to expect, given their price and description. They should also be free from defects that were not obvious at the time of purchase." I'd say the 1030+ is clearly failing to meet this criterion.

Exactly what I am thinking since the first time i wroth on this discussion. They know they F$#$ up and won’t admit it and do the right thing. It toke too much time to come to this and now my device is no longer under warranty.

Wongataa said:

How fast do you think it is actually possible to detect a gradient change?

Considerably faster than the 1030+ manages. I mounted both the 1030+ and my old Edge 1000 on my handlebars, and went and rode up a small local hill which is only about 100m long, but has a fairly constant gradient of 11-12%. Half way up the hill, the 1000 was already registering the true 11% gradient, whereas the 1030+ gradient indication had only struggled up to 5%. At the top,  the 1000 was showing 12%, and the 1030+ had managed to get as far as 8%.

The real kicker was that about ten seconds after I had reached the top of the steep part of the climb, where the road just flattens out rather than immediately descending, the 1030+ finally decided to indicate first 10% gradient, and then a few seconds later 12%. The 1000 next to it had no trouble detecting that I was no longer climbing.

It's quite comically inept. Garmin release a new device that turns out to be markedly inferior to the device it's replacing, and claim that it's meeting their expectations.

You are definitely right. It‘s a shame!

But for me the gradient display is more a gadget and it works a little faster using DIY IQ datafield with 12 sec sample).
 And what more can I say - I oute myself as a Garmin fan boy. Above all, the use of all kinds of maps and IQ data fields makes the Edge my favourite.
(And it's also made easy for me: as a mountain biker, I don't use all the problem areas of the Edge: radar, turn by turn, segments...) 

Garmin programmers are lazy and don't want to work hard. There should be some impulse from the company's management.