Altimeter inaccuracy

Hi,

I have software version 15.19.

Lately i've noticed problems with altimeter/elevation. It gives too much elevation gain/loss during activity and in meantime too. Most of the days watch tells me before lunch that ive climbed 10 floors already. I've tried to calibrate the sensor and clean the watch with no results.

SETTINGS: Sensor mode - AUTO, auto cal. - ON.

Does anyone else noticed similar issues?

Top Replies

Garmin-Sierra over 1 year ago in reply to Jochem +1 verified

This guidance is not official Garmin content and is from 2016. For best results, we still recommend following guidance in our FAQ which is updated regularly: Elevation Reading on FR 955/955 Solar is Wr…
Garmin-Sierra over 1 year ago +0 verified

All,

Please try soaking the watch, with the instructions listed in Elevation Reading on Forerunner 955/955 Solar Is Wrong?

"To clean the sensor, locate the port on the back of the watch (it will be…
Kalmer over 1 year ago +5

With the latest software still no fix to inaccurate altimeter data.

I just did 10k race few days ago with my friend. She has Fenix 7s and i have FR955 Solar. Race was 2 x 5k laps so 2nd half of the graph…
9610916 over 1 year ago in reply to MartinRA +4

Seriously thinking about getting a Suunto, I'm kinda fed up with Garmin. The watch feels like an expensive toy generating a lot of fake metrics. About the only thing that's actually working well is the…
6912237 over 1 year ago +3

This watch is really just a piece of junk. Clearly there are big problems with the altimeter, but no acknowledgements or fixes. Definitely this was the last time I bought any kind of garmin product.

All Replies

0 Jochem over 1 year ago in reply to Martin Serafín

Translation:

The sum of floors traveled is apparently inaccurate
The device uses a built-in barometer, which measures changes in altitude when climbing floors.
One conquered floor corresponds to a height of 3 m.
Find the small barometer holes on the back of the device near the charging contacts and clean the area around the charging contacts.
If the holes are clogged, the barometer may not work properly.
You can use compressed air in a spray to clear clogged holes.
You can also clean this area by rinsing the device with water.
After cleaning, allow the device to dry completely.
When going up the stairs, do not hold on to the handrail and climb the stairs one at a time.

+1 Garmin-Sierra over 1 year ago

All,

Please try soaking the watch, with the instructions listed in Elevation Reading on Forerunner 955/955 Solar Is Wrong?

"To clean the sensor, locate the port on the back of the watch (it will be a small hole at the 6 o'clock position). You can rinse the port with water or you can also soak the watch in water for 5 minutes, agitating it every minute to help breakdown and remove any debris, such as sweat crystals or skin cells. After cleaning and/or soaking, allow the watch to dry completely."

0 Jochem over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

Would like to hear back from everyone if this method helped or not, Thanks!

+1 Garmin-Sierra over 1 year ago in reply to Jochem

This guidance is not official Garmin content and is from 2016. For best results, we still recommend following guidance in our FAQ which is updated regularly: Elevation Reading on FR 955/955 Solar is Wrong.

If anybody still has inquiries about their elevation data after soaking their device, please reach out to Garmin Product Support directly. They will need to view your activity examples in order to bring this particular topic down to an individual level.

0 Alexander over 1 year ago in reply to Jochem

There are not any changes.

0 Nika over 1 year ago in reply to flanintheface

Do you remember when your watch with faulty sensor was bought?

0 Kalmer over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

I tried soaking my watch into water and cleaning the sensor. After cleaning i tried manual calibration again but with no luck. Altitude data is still wrong. When i started running altitude went from calibrated 34m to 46m within the first 500m on a flat terrain. No wind or bad weather either.

Ive used different garmin devices for years and FR955 for a year. It has been some false readings here and there or so called "bad days". But i dont remember it to be so far off for a long period of time. Its probably somekind of software problem.

To the point where watch tells me elevation gain where it should be elevation loss/running downhill. Closed loop runs give me tens of meters elevation difference between same starting/finishing location. My local "everyday loop" should be about 25-30m elevation gain/loss. "Bad days" used to be around 35-40m not more. Now it tells me over 60m, sometimes even 100m or more.

It all started somewhere in april for me. In march everything were fine. Ive installed all the latest software incl. beta sw.

0 MartinRA over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

Garmin-Sierra

I wrote a separate thread a long time ago about problems with the altimeter and and the problem still persists:

https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/running-multisport/f/forerunner-955-series/325231/altitude-gain-inaccuracies-altimeter-differences-indoor-climbing-bug-on-fr-955

None of your advice helps and has nothing to do with this problem, it's probably a bad or very sensitive barometric sensor in this watch...

0 hpaixao over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin-Sierra

Hello. I did all that was recommended on that FAQ without any success.
For example, i run forward and backward on the same circuit, that is flat and at sea level... and i get this results:

Elevation: 152m (doesn't make any sense)

After exporting to Strava it continues to give 152M:

If i request to Strava recalculate the elevation, it gives me 2M ( much more realistic)

So what's your opinion on this?

i send to you the GPX.https://www.transfernow.net/dl/20230707wufSjGcR

0 MartinRA over 1 year ago

Still the same problem with most activities, the problem with the difference in the climbed and lowered height. Mountain biking on a nice sunny day with start and finish at the same place, calibration done before the start, height difference in ascended and descended meters = 43 !!!