Newbie Question

Exactly how high is it? Unless it’s 2x an American flight of stairs it’ll only measure as 1flight.

Well, to give you an idea, there is a rock climbing wall next to it. It is definitively 2x an american flight. although i was in a different building today and climbed another staircase that was not as tall but taller than my home and it registered as 2. i will check again tomorrow
What about the first part of my question ? do i need to calibrate or leave as auto ?
Thanks

It should autocalibrate at the start of an activity against GPS, although you should wait for a solid GPS lock before pressing Start.

You do need to check the altimeter mode though, as it changes the watches assumptions as to whether the barometric sensor readings are interpreted as elevation changes, or as changes in ambient air pressure.

At the gym, i climb 14 steps, then there is a flat area and 14 steps again. It did register as 1 floor. It is fine. I thought it was high enough to be considered as 2 floors but i am fine.

Pierrotsc You may need to calibrate your barometer regardless of what mode you are using, (Auto, Altimeter, or Barometer). The best way to find out is to check a weather station close to you and compare the pressure readings from that station and your barometer. Out of the box, my 935's barometer always read .11 inHg higher than the actual sea level pressure for that location. I have a weather station less than 1/4 mile from my house for a reference. After I offset my barometer by -.11 inHg, my barometer now matches the sea level pressure wherever I'm located.

TMK17 I live 1 miles from the ocean. Do you get the weather station from a google search ? I have not looked at any settings from the watch yet. everything is on auto. I do not recall reading that in the manual but will double check again.
Thanks for the tip.

I've never bothered calibrating mine. I don't actually care too much about the exact altitude; I'm more interested in the elevation gain/descent.

Pierrotsc I use the Weather Underground widget on my watch for local readings. I also use their website which shows me the location of weather stations.

TMK17 thank you..i will do the same then. this morning i took my bike for a spin along the ocean. i used the gps to calibrate the altimeter. it told me it was 0. i said ok. then i used the gps to calibrate the barometer. the altimeter said 1. i said ok. after it asked me if i wanted to calibrate the sea pressure i think. i saod no as i did not know what to put. i will check in the next few days on how climbing steps and elevation behave.