Surge adding time to run after closing workout

[SunsetRunner]

Ok, so actually 3 issues:

1) My Surge GPS run tracker has taken to shutting off at the first distance cue - whether 0.5mi or 1mi. Not all the time, but it is inconsistent enough to cause me problems (i.e. make me guess and do math in my post run analysis, which defies the whole point of having an expensive tracker). I've figured out that if I just reboot the device before the run, it doesn't do this. This brings me to the bigger, more recent problems.

2) The Surge is having trouble finding GPS, both Tuesday and today (Thursday). Tuesday, I was in a hurry, so I just said "Whatever, I know the distance, what I really need is the time, steps and heartrate data. I'll miss having the splits, but... What'reyagonnado?" Today, I actually waited 5 minutes, rebooted, and then waited about another 3 before doing the same thing as Tuesday - quickstart the run.

3) The Surge added time to the run somewhere between the summary on the device and the sync to the website. Tuesday, after the run, I was certain that I had completed 7+miles in 50 minutes and change. When I went to look at the results later, the website told me 51:35, but I thought, "Maybe I was just tired, and I'm mis-remembering." I felt like I had done better/faster on the route than last week, but actually I was 15 seconds per mile worse.

Today, the GPS kicked on pretty much exactly at the mile mark, and (glancing down) the device told me I'd run a 7'16". Ok. I got home and didn't mark total time, but noted on the workout summary (on the watch) that it shorted me .05 miles, and that I averaged 7'04". Not my best time on the course, despite putting up some major effort, but ok, and well within expectations. When I got on the computer a few hours ago, I saw that it had changed the average time to 7'29" per mile, and had the total time at 45 1/2 minutes. Looking closer, I saw that although the "Lap" split for the first mile was 7'16", the "Mile split" for the first mile was 9'58", even though the distance estimates hadn't changed (still .05 miles short of the known route distance).

So apparently, the device added 2'42" to my first mile - maybe the time I'd stood around waiting for the GPS to sync before pressing the start button? Looking back at Tuesday's results, I saw a similar result: 7'41" on the first "Lap" (which again seems to fall at the right point on the course), but 8'02" on the first "Mile split."

So here I am, second guessing and doing more math than I want to. Yes, I expect the results to merely be "ballpark," but accurate enough within a narrow margin. An extra 2'42" on 6+miles blows that margin away.  Not to mention that the discrepancy between the device and the website is a bit of gaslighting. Not something I need from my fitness device.

[YojanaFitbit]

It's great to see that you've visited the Fitbit Community @SunsetRunner! You comments are really important for us.

Let me tell you that I'm impressed! Thanks a lot for taking the time and putting all that effort in using and troubleshooting your Fitbit. Whereas GPS gives you a more accurate measure of distance than step counting alone, the actual accuracy depends on both your environment and the weather. You can read more information about accuracy in this help article: How accurate is GPS?

Must likely the Surge had issues connecting with the satellite to get all your stats and not sure why it will change the information while it is syncing. Please restart your Surge in case that it is having hardware issues. Are you using WiFi on your device to sync? For more effective syncing please check this article: Why won't my Fitbit device sync? and confirm if your device is mentioned here. 

As you may know Fitbit Surge has built-in GPS. When you select a GPS run or exercise, you'll feel a vibration that indicates Surge has found a GPS signal. If Surge doesn't find a signal immediately, keep in mind that environmental factors including tall buildings, dense forest, steep hills, and even thick cloud cover can interfere with your tracker's ability to connect to GPS satellites. 

For best results, keep waiting for Surge to find the signal before you start your workout. However, if you don't want to wait you may be able to use the Quick Start option. Quick Start begins tracking your workout without GPS until it finds the signal. Keep the following tips in mind:

• Quick Start is not available if you're tracking a bike ride because cycling requires GPS to track distance. 
• If you see the Quick Start option and want to use it, press the Select button and then press Play. 
• While Surge continues to look for the GPS signal it will use your step count to calculate distance traveled. In this scenario you can expect that your total distance calculated for the workout will be slightly less accurate than if GPS data was available for the duration. 

About the discrepancies that you've seen with the Dashboards, please send us some screenshots to compare the date that you can see from your end. This will help us to further investigate.

If you still have trouble with tracking your workouts please let me know so we can check with Customer Support, they will be more than glad to help you with this!

Till next time!