So I've been following this forum, probably too much, (a bit like Googling ones medical symptoms, will just make things worse) seem there are bugs and issues, and speculation of whether things are HW or SW issues. I have been hanging on to my device in the hope that it is SW and will be fixed, I like the garmin ecosystem.
My problem is still the barometer, I liked being able to compare elevation with pace and HR on my VA hr. But on my VA 3 the barometer has not worked at all. And have had no elevation data. Viewing an elevation graph on a saved activity, the graph is wildly erratic and bearing no relation to the ascents and descents of the route. Calibrated before the activity! It has been an education researching barometers, GPS and elevation.
I did a simple test using the ambient pressure widget on the watch and weather reports and a local weather station at an airport under 10 miles away. Today's reading is 1010 mb verses the watch saying 965 mb, the barometer on my phone is reading an ambient pressure of 1001 mb, watches ambient pressure reading is 954 mb. When I recalibrate the elevation the pressure readings will change too? And then elevation readings can fluctuate anywhere from minus figures to over 500m. In a very short time, Without a pressure change.
I have mainly had auto calibrate selected in settings, which I don't think has any effect at all, for example saving a position with the navigation app will give you a lat. and long. Obviously using the GPS, but also gives an elevation of what ever the barometer happens to be set to at the time, it seems the VA 3 doesn't use the GPS to get an elevation reading at all. I suppose my question is has anyone had similar experiences, and trying to find out if it is a hw issue with my device or if it is sw, and if it is sw is there anyone with more experience with garmin products to speculate on how long we might have to wait for a update. Sorry for the long post by the way.