This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Altimeter seems unreliable....always have to fix elevation post run

It doesn't matter if I calibrate the altitude to my home address daily, my elevation for runs using GPS is almost always needing to be corrected on Strava etc.

Does anyone else have this issue - is it a known issue? I live in London.

Top Replies

All Replies

  • Yes - I have been getting a lot of negative elevations in central London. The only course of action is to calibrate to a better number at the beginning of an activity. This seems especially true with rapid changes in barometric pressure (most of this winter!).

  • Even if I do that it seems to go astray. Is there a way not to use it and have GPS provide elevation?

  • I’ve had mine replaced once thanks to a fault with the pressure - if it goes wildly off even after calibration I would raise a support ticket. 

  • Even if I do that it seems to go astray.

    Are you also calibrating the barometer to the correct pressure when calibrating the altimeter?  As you know, the altimeter will drift.  When you calibrate the altimeter, it's also going to adjust the barometer.  Once you begin your activity at the correct elevation, the barometer will also adjust to the correct pressure.  If your barometer is in "auto mode" it will then guess why the pressure is changing and it will like think it's due to elevation change.  If you're not doing so now, always calibrate both the altimeter and barometer to the correct readings prior to starting an activity.  If possible, also do this at the same ambient temperature the activity will started at.

  • I have a similar issue where the elevation is always incorrect on my watch. Even after resetting it to sea-level (while at the sea) within a few hours it will go to 36,000+ feet. I have the same issue with my temperature, it always shows 500+ degrees. My watch has been this way as a long time, I'll be finally raising a ticket with Garmin on this in the next couple of days to have it resolved. I use training peaks, and I have to continually log into TP to correct my elevation.

  • If you're elevation is displaying 36K+ feet and the temperature 500+ degrees, you either have a obstructed barometer port or a defective sensor.