I'm not a heavy activity user. as a result gps connection is lost after a week, requiring a minute or so to find satellites again. im pretty sure my cell phone gets satellite position through the network. why can't the watch get thst same information everytime it uses Garmin Connect?
cell phones use cell tower triangulation to help with getting the location. A minute to get GPS on the watch is very reasonable, as unlike a phone, it's not maintaining the location 24/7.
cell phones use cell tower triangulation to help with getting the location. A minute to get GPS on the watch is very reasonable, as unlike a phone, it's not maintaining the location 24/7.
That's interesting. I thought that Garmin watches DID download ephemeris data from the internet every time you sync with your phone or computer. Are you saying they don't?
No, I didn't say that. It's just that things can be faster using cell towers. On watches like a Fenix, you can see the state of EPO data, but not on the va3, BTW.
Also, with the watch, the location is only know when you have GPS on - during an activity that uses GPS for example.
I have not seen that issue on my Forerunner 735. If it takes a minute to get a GPS signal, that's because i'm next to a tall building or otherwise not getting a good signal. Usually I get GPS lock in 10 seconds or so. Are you sure that your watch is syncing with your phone? I generally have to actually open my Connect Mobile app every day because my phone puts the app in long-term hibernation to reclaim memory. (I don't have to kill it, just open it up). As long as you're syncing, you should have fresh data unless there's something different about the Vivoactive 3
I agree on the 735xt - 10-20 sec for new location unless very different location from last user (different continent, and then up to a minute). Old 305 takes up to several minutes. I would think VA3 would be reasonably quick unless obstructed view to sky.
My Garmin 1000 edge will also take a while to locate the satellites if I don't use it for a few weeks. I don't think garmin products download information. They just remember from the last time you got a fix on the satellites, If it's over a week they have to resync. It would be faster if they could get info from the cell phone.
I found the more frequently you use the GPS feature in the same general area the faster you'll get a GPS lock. As others have stated, the longer its been since you've used it or in a different area, the longer it takes to get a lock. Using cell towers is only helpful if you have your phone during your activity and if you're in an area with cell service. I hike in areas of the Cascade Mountains where cell service isn't an option.
When i read this thread this morning, I selected "run" on my 735 and it got a GPS lock in 10-15 sec. After a few more comments came in I plugged my watch into my computer, which causes it to mount as a USB drive and poked around until I found the Garmin\RemoteSW\EPO.BIN file which is the satellite ephemeris data. The time stamp was when I plugged it into my computer, not the time I selected the Run profile this morning. So it seems like the file is being updated by my computer at least. I can't do the same trick on my phone because my phone can't sync while the watch is plugged into my computer and as soon as I plug my watch in, it will sync. So I can't confirm that it also transfers from mobile.
