New Charge 5 GPS won't connect

[Geigerin]

My beloved Garmin 310XT gave up the ghost after 12 years, and after some research I decided to get a Charge 5 because I wanted to be able to go out on runs without being tethered to my phone, and I decided that I didn't need all the bells and whistles of a multi-sport watch. I was disappointed today on my first run, but I will continue to try some fixes. 

The main problem is that my watch won't connect to GPS. It's stuck on "connecting..."  Even that stops sometimes. This morning on a well known 4.25 route, on a sunny day, I had to restart my activity 4 times due to the GPS quitting, if in fact it ever connected. (Never got the full white arrow.) The total distance for the morning was almost two miles short. 

Tomorrow I'm going to try pairing with the phone and using the GPS that way, but that is defeating the purpose of why I bought this unit. Does anyone have any fixes they are able to share? 

[Lawdoll]

I have the exact same issue. I reached out to Fitbit and this was the response I received, 

“Thanks for letting us know about this issue. We’re aware of it and are working to identify a resolution as quickly as possible. At the moment we have not identify as known issue with a Charge 5”

[kiendt]

got the same issue, stuck on "connecting..."

connect to phone GPS is ok, but failed when trying to use built-in GPS

[Geigerin]

an update. I finally got it to connect with built-in GPS, but it takes a LONG time, like 10 minutes or more, and then it stops and reconnects. Also, it is WILDLY inaccurate. This morning, a well-known 3.25 mile route showed up as 4.07 miles! This is completely unacceptable, and negates my almost my whole reason for getting the watch.

[Lawdoll]

If you want to be even more frustrated, try connecting your Fitbit app with Strava. Talk about some wild discrepancies.