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GPS not tracking open water swim.

Former Member
Former Member over 5 years ago

Have gone on several open water swims and the watch is not tracking the distance. It may track some but not all. App is up to date and the watch is synced with my phone. Why is this happening?

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    Make sure you get a proper GPS fix before starting the activity. Also please note that GPS won't work with breastroke or other style where the watch remains permanently under water. 

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to tmk2

    The GPS is fixed and I wait till it is up and ready before I get in the water. There may be some breaststroke initially but the rest is all freestyle and it still won't track the distance.

  • 0 over 5 years ago

    If you submerge the watch for any period after getting a GPS fix, it may not regain a signal. If I stop to tread water, I keep my hand above the surface. I am uncertain what would happen if you did breastroke, and then stopped as above and waited to get a fix again (not sure if it would just interpolate). Worth a try. Otherwise, it is freestyle, backstroke or butterfly only.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Have same problem. Did 30 mins swim, recorded 5 km. Freestyle, gps fix, apps up to date. No solution from garmin. I m using 735 xt

  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 4 years ago

    I have fenix 5x Sapphire  ; same issue ; looks like GPS is not working well (recorded only ~ 300 meters out of ~ 2KMs) 

    I swim free style - so hand goes out frequently 
    tried to set the GPS to 1 sec and smart - same results 
    tried also to add Galileo and Glonass, same results 

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

    Make sure you get a GPS fix (even let it soak for a couple of minutes before starting the timer), and pause every few hundred meters to see if it has been recording or lost GPS. When I stop, sometimes it "catches up" by interpolating the signal. This is especially important if you are turning so that it tracks the full length of each segment. Sometimes when I swim near a sloped/wooded shore I seem to lose the signal but then it interpolates when I pause at an appropriate point. You can also try wearing the watch on the opposite wrist as some people have asymmetric strokes from breathing. Good luck.