Accidentally deleting/saving activity by swipe! GARMIN: Please make one more step in-between pause and save/delete activity!!!

Yes, on Epix the touchscreen is disabled by default for all activities

OK, I mis-spoke. I should have done experiments before posting, but I was outraged over an instance yesterday where an activity was saved that I didn't want. With apologies, I'll attempt to clarify the record.

There doesn't appear to be any problem with data loss from an "unlocked" touch screen during an un-paused activity - in fact, during runs, that's the means for scrolling through the [up to] four available data screens and can be quite convenient. I go back and forth between the distance/time and heart rate zone screens. I can find no "damaging" interaction that can be initiated via touch screen while the activity is ongoing. Using the "lock screen" feature during activity may be desirable to avoid accidentally switching to a different data screen, but it's not protecting activity data from save or delete. Additionally, not only does the "lock" prevent accidental screen touches, it also makes using either side button a 2-step operation (first unlock, then perform the desired action). For example, you need to press and hold the "2 o'clock" button to unlock before you can press the "4 o'clock" button to indicate a lap. I guess if you want accurate lap times, you have to plan ahead and unlock before achieving the desired lap objective.

In mis-speaking, I claimed you could delete a paused [run] activity accidentally with an errant screen touch. This is NOT THE CASE. From a paused run screen, touching the red trashcan icon initiates a dialog asking you to press the "2 o'clock" button to confirm the discard, and the "4 o'clock" button to cancel the request. That's the behavior I'd hope for when it comes to deletion, and I perceive the risk of ALSO bumping the side button at this point to be reasonably low. The PROBLEM OF SAVING [and therefore terminating an activity] by accident is what has happened to me multiple times, and probably what the OP was referring to. While the run is paused, the green checkmark icon at the bottom is not protected by a dialog asking you confirm, as happens for the trashcan icon. It appears this behavior is the same across many other types of activities, like walking, hiking, breathwork, etc., but I didn't investigate those activities.

There is actually an approach to the "accidental save" problem of which I was un-aware. The "lock" feature can be employed during a run's pause. Immediately after pausing a run, press and hold that same "2 o'clock" button and NOW lock the screen. This will indeed keep the trashcan and checkmark items as well as the side buttons from being accidentally touched. You will then need to unlock the watch when you are ready to resume, save, or delete. So, for those of you locking the screen during activity, press and hold the "2 o'clock" button to unlock so you can click that same side button one more time to pause the run, then press and hold that same button again so you can lock the watch against accidental saving/deletion.

Locking the watch while a run is paused still doesn't prevent the auto-save "feature". Auto-save will ask if the pause is to be continued, and you have 30 seconds to reply, and you must unlock before you can declare that you want to continue the pause. If you're an ultrarunner taking a nap longer than 20 minutes, make sure someone awake is keeping your paused run 'alive' (and knows how to unlock your watch - LOL). I don't know why we can't choose a desired time-out duration when pausing, but that's a topic for a different thread.

I dont want hijack the thread, I just share how funny life is, because my story is not about stopping, saving or deleting, but about that is quite easy to start an activity accidentally.

I have a daily (ok, I shouldnt exaggerate, a weekly) household job to delete fake activities recorded by my wife with her Venu 2s.

As she depicted the situation, the accidental starts happen when she gets out of her car and puts on her coat. So the gps tracks start always at the very place where the car is and normally end “within” the building of her workplace, when and where she realizes that an activity is being recorded. So the stops are not accidental, she does it after she takes off her coat.

And she is typically in a big hurry, thus does not concentrate on whether she is actually saving or deleting the activities.

My only advice was that she should swipe down or up her Venu 2s before putting up her coat, so she has a couple of seconds to dress up without any risks to record anything. :-)

But frankly speaking I do think that it has been a huge mistake by Garmin to devise that a short press/push itself can start anything. Garmin thinks menus should be hidden a bit, so normally you need a long press to get them on the majority of Garmin devices.

But on Garmin watches before starting an activity you do not have to long push any buttons from the initial screen (= watchface, = display zero).

If I were Garmin I would create an activity center where one can get to only with a long press. And afterwards it would be enough to use short presses to select, to start etc.

My advice is valid as for devices with daily watch functions. Because in case of any other devices this sort of operation is already in place evidently, it is the switch on of the device with a long press.

Am I right or am I right? :-)