[OS4.1] GPS accuracy

[pasadena]

Hello

Sometime between 11/01 7am and 11/04 9pm, my Watch's GPS went from super accurate to wonky. When I go for a run, the map used to be pretty much all nice and square and follow the streets. Now it look slike I'm cutting through buildings and cutting corners. Three things happened during that period of time that I can think of :

- I updated to WatchOS 4.1 (and IOS 11.1 on my phone)
- I switched from iphone 6 to iphone X on 11/03
- I'm "running" more and walking less during those workouts (so it went from green to red lol)

I'm also not super confident about the pace the workout app is reporting for some of the segments (not all).

Has any of you noticed the same thing since updating to OS4.1, or maybe it's the iphone?

Gear : Watch Series 3 LTE, running with my phone.

Attaching a screenshot.

 

[mk313]

I ran with the Apple Watch today (Nike app) and my map was all messed up like yours is. It was fine yest rday. Not sure what’s going on but I’m experiencing something similar

 

[pasadena]

I ran with the Apple Watch today (Nike app) and my map was all messed up like yours is. It was fine yest rday. Not sure what’s going on but I’m experiencing something similar

I don't suppose you changed anything since yesterday? Are you running with your phone?

I run with mine, because the app I'm using (Zombies Run 5K) doesn't have a watch app - and I use the built in workout app on the watch. And now that I think about it, the maps on ZombiesLink are just as messed up as the ones in the Activity app. I'm not sure how this works, which GPS is used when you have both the Watch and the phone, but I suppose Zombies Run uses the phone's GPS, right ? Since that's where it's running?

So maybe the problem is with my new phone's GPS ?

 

[mk313]

I’m not running eith my phone so our problems are probably not related at all. As far as I 7nderstand it, the watch will always use the phones gps if it’s available.

 

[Kermit262]

I ran this morning without my iPhone, using S3 LTE and latest watch OS. The track was as accurate (which is to say spot on) as my Garmin Forerunner 935 (I used both during the run). Used the Apple Workout app.

Have you tried restarting your watch? Also give it a minute or two to lock into a strong satellite signal before starting your run.

 

[PatrickNSF]

I ran this morning without my iPhone, using S3 LTE and latest watch OS. The track was as accurate (which is to say spot on) as my Garmin Forerunner 935 (I used both during the run). Used the Apple Workout app.

Have you tried restarting your watch? Also give it a minute or two to lock into a strong satellite signal before starting your run.

I have the 935 also, and when I map the tracks in mygpsfiles.com the Garmin’s seem closer to what I’ve actually run. This appears to be true whether I’m using the Workout app or the Stryd app.

As an aside...I’m curious, do you generally run with both watches or do you have a different system set up? I’d prefer to continue to use my Garmin for running and the AW the rest of the day, but I also like keeping track of general steps, Activity, etc. It seems I need my AW out on my runs if I want to get step credit, unless I’m missing something.

Ideally I’d like to find a service that consolidates all my Garmin and AW data, but I haven’t found anything yet.

 

[pasadena]

So I went for a very quick run without my phone. It wasn't my usual loop so I can't be definitive (it was mostly straight) but it does look better. So I'm thinking the issue may be with my phone instead of my watch.

I've seen a few thread where people complain about the iPhone 8 and X GPS positioning being inaccurate, but most are related to routing functions (Maps or Google Maps), not working out. They say Apple is working on it... Crossing fingers, until then I'll test a bit more (I still have my 6...), and will probably have to live with a drunk GPS.

Note : I did restart my watch twice since the issue began. One of them included restarting the phone too.

 

[Kermit262]

I have the 935 also, and when I map the tracks in mygpsfiles.com the Garmin’s seem closer to what I’ve actually run. This appears to be true whether I’m using the Workout app or the Stryd app.

As an aside...I’m curious, do you generally run with both watches or do you have a different system set up? I’d prefer to continue to use my Garmin for running and the AW the rest of the day, but I also like keeping track of general steps, Activity, etc. It seems I need my AW out on my runs if I want to get step credit, unless I’m missing something.

Ideally I’d like to find a service that consolidates all my Garmin and AW data, but I haven’t found anything yet.

Like you, I run with both and for the same reasons. In fact it's worse than that - I wear them both all day long, because I have a 182 day, 10,000 steps/day streak on my Garmin that I don't want to break.

I thought I read in another forum that it's possible to get your steps and workout/run credit from your Garmin, depending on how you have it setup in the Health app under Sources. But another reason I run with the Apple Watch LTE is so I can be contacted in an emergency, and stream music. So for now at least I've resigned myself to running with both watches.

Also I should add, that generally the Garmin produces better maps than the Apple Watch, but for that particular day when I compared the two they were equal. My Fenix 3 from a few years ago would occasionally produce the types of bad tracks as the OP experienced, so I exchanged it and that solved the problem. I would hope that's not the case here. Getting a strong satellite signal before starting your run is vital.

 

[PatrickNSF]

In fact it's worse than that - I wear them both all day long, because I have a 182 day, 10,000 steps/day streak on my Garmin that I don't want to break.

Congrats on the streak!

I’m considering only taking the 935 out for speed and temp days once the Stryd app gets updated. As for Garmin steps, I have a small Vivofit I keep on me when I’m wearing the AW, though I’d prefer to just move over to AW daily tracking once I can find a way to get all the Health data uploaded and viewable on a website.

 

[Bob190]

Looks like your not getting a good GPS fix. Unfortunately, Apple in it's infinite wisdom, didn't include any type of indicator of whether or not the watches GPS chip has a lock on the satellites in the Workout app. Thus if you start a run without a good lock, it will be very difficult for the watch to lock onto the satellites position while you are moving. Whereas if you stand still, it is much easier for the GPS to acquire the satellites.

If you notice your distance is roughly accurate on 11/5 and 11/8 vs earlier runs since it is using the accelerometer to estimate the distance.

Try standing still for a few minutes with Workout app open prior to starting the run to allow it to get a good GPS fix. Unfortunately, you won't know for sure since Apple didn't include any sort of indicator of the GPS state.

Better yet, ditch the Workout app and use a 3rd party app that gives you information on the GPS signal like iSmoothRun or Runkeeper.

I use Strava, and although it doesn't have a GPS indicator, I never have an issue with the GPS.

 

[ftaok]

I’m not running eith my phone so our problems are probably not related at all. As far as I 7nderstand it, the watch will always use the phones gps if it’s available.

Depends on the app. This is true for the AW Workout app, however, the NikeRunClub app will use the GPS of whichever device starts the run. If you hit start on the AW, then it'll use the AW's GPS. Nike is weird like that.

 

[pasadena]

[deleted wrong thread]

Thanks all for your responses. I really do think it's more an issue with my phone's GPS than my Watch's.