GPS Constantly "Connecting"

[Fozzy0007]

I went on a 5 mile run around the Fremont/Ballard area of Seattle last night.  not a lot of huge buildings... some trees over the sidewalks.  i found that the GPS was showing "connecting" on the screen for most of my run.  i understand that GPS will drop from time to time, but this was concerning during my run.  the overall result wasn't as bad as i had thought, definitely a rough trace of my course, but better... granted, it had me ending about 5 or 6 blocks away from when i did (i ended when it was, of course, trying to connect to gps. so i'm assuming it just didn't record where i stopped). 

I got the initial gps lock fairly quickly, and during my run i even held my arm out and stayed in the middle of the street for a bit to try to get a signal and it felt like it just wasn't getting one.  

Are there current issues with GPS?  with other watches I've used, once i had gps, it seemed to "stick" pretty well.  

Also, regarding the UI for telling me it was "connecting"... it completely covered the top stat.  which was annoying because i wanted that stat and had turned that stat off on the middle stat that i could cycle through because i thought that one would be displayed all the time.  I've since reorganized for my next run, but it seemed like a waste to completely remove the top stat for 80% of my run because it kept saying "connecting".  maybe just an icon? or find a way to fit it on the watch without completely removing the stat.

[romanpines]

Wow. I just posted something here with a similar situation. I did a chat with Fitbit customer service and they just asked me to update the app and resync with the watch. I had a Fitbit Surge for around 2 years and never experienced anything like this. I bought it on the 1st of october and have already done 4 4 miles runs and 2 times I had this issue. In my case it ends up logging a run of around .20 miles less than the actual mileage. That really sucks!

[Fozzy0007]

i was VERY close to moving over to garmin and then the ionic was announced.  i had a blaze, which was very unreliable in many ways.  i know people with the surge and it seems to be a solid watch, but i couldn't get myself to buy something 2 years old... as i was about to give up, ionic is announced... i know new things have their issues, but i had hoped with the success of the surge this would be ok at least in the running/gps aspects.  i can deal with the smart watch features maturing... I'm running my first marathon in a month and would really like to have something i can trust... would like to stay with Fitbit, as i do like it (assuming the kinks are worked out).  Not sure how quickly i can get to trust it in the next couple of weeks.  

i'm on android... my app is updated (i check every day, knowing these fixes are hopefully coming in quick).  they said resync, not factory reset, correct?  I've done that every day since there was the sync issue (which does look to be resolved).  

my first run with the ionic (also about 5 miles in similar urban/treed environment) worked well.  the only difference i can think of is that i had paired the Bluetooth classic so i could control music (although i couldn't figure out how to actually use it during the run.  heard you have to hold the top right button, will try next time).  didn't know if the classic Bluetooth could mess with the gps receiver or not... at least that was the only difference i made.  

[romanpines]

I definitely understand your frustration! I've been running for many years already and I just started running again 2 months ago after 2 month off due to 2 different running injuries (shin splints and hip flexor strain). I'm training hard for a half marathon in 3 month from now and rely on my data to track my performance. It sucks not been able to trust your watch for this purpose. I had the Surge for over 2 years and honestly it was almost perfect (only issue was the charger). Yes, the guy from customer service only instructed me to update the app and re-sync. I honestly don't believe that updating the app will solve this issue and I'm sure that the customer service guy just told me that to make me feel like he knew what was the issue. I am pretty sure we got lemon units and if that is the case I will return and give it a second chance to a second unit... if the problem persist I'll just move away from Fitbit.

[Fozzy0007]

I'm assuming (and hoping) a fitbit report is reading this forum and will respond. Even if not fixed yet, having knowledge that it is being looked at actively would be nice.  Long run this weekend. If this fails, I'm going to be seriously considering something else. 

[Fozzy0007]

btw, unless the "update the app" and resyc to the watch provided a firmware or watch update of some sort, i don't see how that would fix this gps issue... that is the point of the internal gps... be self-contained.  hmmm

Fitbit, any information on this issue?

[romanpines]

Exactly, I know that didn’t do anything to solve the issue. I’m sure it will happen again. I will post here during my next runs to inform if the problem persist.

[Fozzy0007]

what version firmware is on your ionic?  apparently there is a new one coming soon... would be good to see if ours match and if/when we get an update report back and see if it may have been fixed

[Fozzy0007]

So, I ran a long run this weekend (18 miles) and the Ionic did a decent job as far as I can tell... it kept gps connected most/all of the way.  and I was under a lot of tree cover (much more than my last run that I started this thread on).  

[shipo]

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@Fozzy0007 wrote:

So, I ran a long run this weekend (18 miles) and the Ionic did a decent job as far as I can tell... it kept gps connected most/all of the way.  and I was under a lot of tree cover (much more than my last run that I started this thread on).  

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I did an eight mile trail run (under heavy foliage) on Friday, and then pretty much the same trail run with an extra two miles added in the middle yesterday; the eight mile run track was an absolute mess and measured almost a  half mile short, yesterday's ten mile track looked almost spot on, it measured about a tenth of a mile short.  Given my last two and a half years experience with my Surge, and another two years before that with a Garmin, none of these issues are at all surprising.

[Fozzy0007]

yeah, i'm not that surprised on the accuracy.  And honestly, I'm basically ok with it having a little wiggle room in that area.  my main complaint on this thread was the constant "connecting" both in the fact that it looked like GPS couldn't get reconnected AND the UI to tell me covered up data i could have still found useful.

that said, i wanted to post that my 18 mile run went well and i didn't experience any of those problems.  As far as i care, i ran 18 miles.  and if most people's accounts are true, maybe i actually ran 18.5 miles 😉

[romanpines]

Well, I did my morning 4 mile run today and didn’t experience any of the issues I had last week. The fitbit measured 3.94 which is pretty accurate and comparable to what the Surge used to measure for that same route. I’m still not convince and will give it a few more tries before calling it a good performer !

[MichaelGrundie]

Ive hit this issue a number of times during runs. It makes it a gps fitness tracker that isnt fit for purpose. 

[pedris]

My Ionic has dropped GPS on every run over the last few days. It also doesn't seem to be able to reacquire a satellite lock if I continue running, necessitating a stop of up to 2-3 minutes. 

[freddan84]

I think the problem has been more noticeable after last firmware update than before. I've also noticed other issues with the GPS lately, for example it exit GPS/training mode if you pause for more than 5 min, without leaving any trace of that workout.