Google Pixel Watch 2 GPS data missing

[DrWatson]

Just took my Pixel Watch 2 LTE for its first parkrun today and recorded on it on Fitbit exercise. I don't have data on the watch but it was connected to my phone by Bluetooth. It only tracked just over the first KM of the run before the GPS cuts out. Final distance is correct (estimating from stride length?) but there is no map tracking beyond that point. Any solutions?

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity.

[DrWatson]

This was basically what I saw for my second failed run tracking (GPS correct at the start then not updating after a certain point in the tcx file). 

I had my first successfully recorded run with my watch on Saturday. I don't know if I was just lucky or if it was something I changed.

I'd suspect I was just lucky since other people have had inconsistency. I will have to go for a few more runs this week to find out. 

There were two things I'd changed since my last run.

One was to turn off automatic tracking (based on comments here, that might not be the issue).

The other was that I didn't carry my phone with me. I was wondering if maybe the issue was in the way the watch switched between using its inbuilt GPS vs the GPS from my phone (I have no evidence that is the case).

[SunsetRunner]

I did a second run yesterday to try the various suggested fixed including turning off automatic tracking for all exercises and I have always left my phone at home - no success unfortunately. I tried a full wipe of the watch last night and will see if that has any effect in my next run.

[kow]

Exactly same issues but the sync with Strava won't happen because the core issue is missing GPS data with your exercise. Strava recognizes only GPS led activities from Fitbit and associated devices. The issue unfortunately is not fitbit-strava connection but that the pixel watch 2 is malfunctioning 

This does not help with core issue

[TheWanderingK]

Unfortunately, I had the exact same issue. I had the app open with frequent monitoring as I was watching my heart rate for this run and it looks like only 1.5km was recorded on the map, while I presume the distance was accurate overall. I had my GPS set to only be using while in the app, but it was on my screen but showing "GPS Connecting" for the majority of my run. Would be great to figure out how to fix this, otherwise I'll be looking to return my watch as well.

[ShawnPHX]

I'm not 100% certain but I believe it's falling back on average step distance instead of GPS, my pacing seems off on runs once the GPS drops.

[chromium]

So that explains why it shows the finishing flag at the point where the tracking messes up. The map thinks you've been jogging on the spot lol

[Chris_uk35]

Thats exactly whats happening, when it drops GPS, its guessing using strides etc, and my pacing drops.

[BenW49]

 

 same thing here. Fit bit tracking stops halfway through. Was tracking on Strava as well which shows the actual route I took. Strange I went for a run the other day and it worked perfectly.

[Chris_uk35]

So if you download the strave app for the watch, does it work ok through that all the time? is it just the fitbit excercise app that is broken?

[Moggy66]

Switching to Strava app on watch resulted in the same issue at the end of the run for me, no GPS data. 

[BenW49]

I tracked through Strava on my phone and Fitbit on my watch.

The Strava run was recorded via my phone with the Fitbit being done through the watch. Would point towards the watches GPS cutting out. Next time I run will keep an eye out to see when it loses signal.

[TheWanderingK]

I wanted to give a bit more detail to my situation in case others have similar / different issues:

• No issues have been found when walking / biking as I did several exercises over the weekend 30+ minutes and the map was correct
• I have the LTE model and left my phone at home
• I had the GPS set to Only While Using the App, but the app was always on as I was monitoring it during my run every couple of minutes as I was working on heartrate zones
• The battery during my run was massive zapped as someone else said, I lost over 50% of my battery in a little over an hour, which suggests there is an issue with a process going haywire and draining the battery while this is happening.

[DrWatson]

@TheWanderingK interesting, a few have mentioned battery drain and it isn't something I noticed (but I wasn't looking out for it). There was no battery drain during the walking/biking?  

Others have had the same issue recording on Stava, so I guess the problem must be related to the way the pixel watch itself is handling GPS data. In which case, probably a wear OS issue?

[TheWanderingK]

Didn't notice the battery drain as severe on the walking / biking but my watch did last the entire day on Saturday when I did lots of walking / biking. I had to immediately charge my watch after my run where the GPS got lost so I don't believe it was happening outside of running.

[DrWatson]

@TheWanderingK Thanks! Interesting. I think you are probably right about a process hanging/ going haywire. 

Based on other people having the same problem when recording with Strava, I suspect there might be an underlying WearOS issue on the Pixel Watch 2, how it is handling GPS data / passing it to other services. 

I've posted on the pixel watch 2 help pages linking to this thread to see if it gets us any further. 

It is frustrating, otherwise, this watch is pretty much everything I've been wanting from an Android wearable, but I'll have to return it if this isn't fixed and move back to Garmin. 

[RodrigoMFitbit]

Hello everyone. Welcome to the newcomers. Thanks for sharing your experiences with the GPS tracking with your Google Pixel Watch 2.

Please note that I am trying to determine the source of this situation by elimination. Many factors come into play and we should check all of them. I really appreciate your cooperation and understanding regarding this matter. I will keep on monitoring this situation and will get back to once I have more information. Thanks again!

[M3th0s]

So, I too am experiencing the same issues.

However, one thing that I found seems to work, is that if instead of using the quick exercise tile, you use the "fitbit exercise" app and tap the workout you wish to take. From my side I've noticed that GPS connection as almost instant and had no issues going for a 3k walk with the GPS walking the whole way.

There are definitely issues here though and they need to be addressed pretty soon!

[Chris_uk35]

I've never used quick exercise tile.. so unfortunately I don't think it's that 

[DeCarteret]

I replied a couple times with the same issues everyone has been having. I tried different solutions with no success. However!!!

The past 3 days, I used Ghostracer with perfect results! I uploaded my finished run to Strava and the route was fully intact. In fact, I compared it with the same route uploaded from my Garmin Forerunner 965 and the GPS, barometer and heart rate matches very closely! I have "auto detect activities" enabled. On one run while tracking with Ghostracer, the watch auto prompted me to start tracking a running exercise. THAT run, also recorded in Fitbit (and Ghostracer simultaneously), matched almost exactly the run recorded with Ghostracer.

One tip if you want to try Ghostracer: the first day I tried I was disappointed with the results which showed the same broken behavior I've been seeing with the native Fitbit app. I (falsely) concluded that the watch hardware must be broken or at least something wrong with the software at a system level. That's when I found the setting on the Ghostracer app (on the phone). Double check the phone app in Settings, scroll down to Wearables, press Android Wear, scroll down to Standalone, make sure [x] Force Watch GPS is checked. "Uses the watch GPS even when it's connect to a phone."

I'm curious (and hopeful) to see if anyone else can replicate my results!

[Chris_uk35]

This is interesting, will you please report back after a few more runs etc?