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Forerunner 265 elevation bug

jbodeven
2 months ago

Hello,

I have a problem with the altimeter on my Forerunner 265 for the past few weeks.

The readings are completely wrong.

An example from an activity:

An example from my watch

Do you think it is a hardware problem?

I should mention that I have already done a reset which did not fix anything.

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to DoctorCool

    Update on floors tracking.  Definitely not working.  I was running up and down stairs yesterday, not as part of  workout just as part of my day, and what normally triggers a floors climbed notification did not kick off.

  • 0 1 month ago in reply to DoctorCool

    So today I went for a run and I wore both my 265 and my 745.  Check out the differences between the elevation profiles.

    Forerunner 745 profile

    Forerunner 265 elevation profile

    The irony of ironies is that I bought the 265 because the 745 was having elevation issues.  Now the 745 is fixed and the 265 is messed up.  Gesh.  Please fix this ASAP as I find it super frustrating and disappointing. 

  • 0 28 days ago in reply to beachchick82

    Same exact problem. I am on my 3rd replacement watch from Garmin and the issue persists.

  • 0 24 days ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

    Can you please have an update on this.  Is this a hardware issue or a software issue?  I do not want to go to the trouble of sending my watch in if I am just going to have the same issue again with the new hardware.  Thank you.

  • 0 24 days ago in reply to DoctorCool

    It seems like a software issue. My watch was fine, hadn’t worn it in a while, updated software then bam elevation issue. 

  • 0 23 days ago in reply to 2911843

    <sigh>  That's kind of what I thought.  Thanks for letting me know.  I guess I just need to wait for a software update.

  • 0 9 days ago in reply to DoctorCool

    Whelp.  Same issue even after the most recent software update.  Just did a run this morning.  Total elevation for the run:  27,678m.  For reference the height of Mount Everest is 8,848m.

    Please please fix this.  So frustrating to have bought the 265 to get away from this bug on the 745 only to have it reappear here.  Thank you.

  • 0 9 days ago in reply to DoctorCool

    - We are investigating an elevation bug where elevation is flatlining during activities. However, there is a current workaround to stop the activity, resume it later, and restart it. If your watch is showing erratic elevation like you described- that is likely hardware related. Please contact Garmin Product Support so an agent in your region can assist you. 

  • 0 8 days ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

    I am having the flatlining issue as well.  If you look at the elevation screen caps above you will see what I am experiencing.  I have nothing but flat runs with sharp spikes in elevation. 

    I am reluctant to move to a new watch because I worry I will have the exact same issue no matter what 265 I am using.

  • 0 1 day ago in reply to DoctorCool

    I just ordered a 265 which should be available after Dec. 5th. I will test it and let you know if (in general) it functions as it should. My runs typically don't have a lot of elevation change but I've been using a 245 for the last 3 years and the history is there so it will be easy to tell. Same for the HR.

    In the 1st week after I got the 245, Garmin pushed out an update that killed the response of the Optical HR sensor (abnormally low), In that instance product support offered to replace it but since I'd had the watch less than a week, I just took it back and got a replacement (which by chance had older firmware by default than the 1st one I received). Regardless, I disabled software updates on the watch. I made an exception just before the warranty expired and updated it, so if there was an issue I could still get a replacement and at that point if I received a re-certified watch, it was less of an issue as mine was no longer new.

    A surprise was that I also have Garmin car computers and had to use Garmin Connect for a map update. The same day, I uploaded an activity from the watch and on disconnect got the message did I want to update the watch firmware now, or later?

    What the heck I had software updates turned off in the watch, but Connect must ignore that?! I said later and found from other forum posts how to prevent the update; I made sure the Garmin tray app on the computer was closed, hooked the watch back up to the computer using the USB cable, navigated to the Garmin folder on the watch and deleted the GUPDATE.GCD file. The firmware update file was gone, so later never happened.

    I think I still got a GPS file update that happened but it didn't create any issues. The big thing for me was avoiding the base firmware update...at least until I had read through enough forum posts by people who had updated to be reasonably certain nothing I cared about was going to be bricked. There's features I don't use, don't care about, i.e. the Pogo stick app doesn't work, I don't care, why risk the update?

    If the new 265 doesn't work out of the box, it will be returned. In my opinion if that happens enough times maybe Garmin will eventually change their policy about letting folks downgrade firmware (to a known stable, working version), or revert back ( after an upgrade) to the version they were using before the upgrade. The only exception to that policy as it exists now (as I understand it) is if a Beta Version has been installed, the watch can be downgraded to the last released version (not necessarily the version that was in use before the beta installation).