Any Advice? My Garmin FR220 doesn't really work...

RunnerElizabeth

And I kind of hate it!!

Am i doing something wrong?

I live in Boston so there are things like buildings, trees, clouds, etc. that make it take a while to acquire a signal. I guess this is no big deal. But there's more!

It worked at first when i got it in winter, but it started taking more and more time to acquire the signal, it wanted me to stand outside for 20 minutes in 15F weather holding my arm up. So i decided to put it away until spring. I decided it just doesn't fit into my winter life style and it wasn't the watch's fault.

So i started running with it in spring since i can wait around to pick up a signal now. It still takes awhile, but not as long. I do use the auto pause feature. Now what's happening is that it is often telling me that I'm stopped when I'm not and my runs are constantly measuring short. There is one particular section on the Charles River that i always lose the signal for about .3 of a mile. It's when I'm running next to a bunch of cars on Storrow Drive, going by a bunch of fences, boathouses and trees and running by the construction at the Longfellow bridge.

Is this just how the watch works? Are my expectations too high? Is this how everyone else's watch behaves too? Or is this normal for city running?

Is the gps in the 620 more sensitive? Would I have been better off with that?

I have tried the factory reset twice. Each time it's better at first but starts behaving the same after a week or so.

SonicDeathMonkey80

I've pretty much given up on any accuracy in my 620 when going through trees, running before 7am, or in cloud cover. It's very, very annoying and I don't have any advice, just commiseration.

Carrieendar

The only time this happened to me it was fixed by doing the update. (connect to garmin connect, see update box in upper right corner). sometimes it auto updates, but that time I had to do it manually.

TheBrolympus

I had issues with my FR305 when trying to run in NYC but once I got to Central Park it was fine. If the buildings are high enough to block the line-of-sight to the GPS satellites then you will have issues. However, trees and clouds should not cause GPS issues.

I don't have a 220/620 but have an older 910xt and don't have any issues in trees. It would be hard to believe they put an inferior GPS antennae in their newest product.

I would go with Carrieendar's suggestion and look for a fireware update. I know when the 910 first came out there were at least 6 updates in the first couple of months.

lulukittie

Yeah I would definitely update the firmware. I've had mine for a few months and there have been a ton of updates in that time. I haven't had any issues getting a signal-- I run in a very hilly area with lots of trees.

PinkNinjaLaura

I have the Garmin FR210 and just used it on a wooded trail yesterday. It kept working even when I was surprised by a torrential rain shower. Sometimes it will take up to 5 minutes to acquire a signal but usually it's a minute or less. I was having some other issues and the update seemed to help.

RunnerElizabeth

Thanks for the info Doug! So the answer is not sell it, buy the 620 and be happy.

Thanks Carrieendar and co. for the update suggestion. I haven't done this yet. I rarely actually log into garmin connect when my garmin is plugged in. Usually it automatically syncs up to garmin connect and i look at the data some other time so i haven't noticed the updates. I'll do this tonight!

sassycraftyfit

I would definitely recommend doing the firmware updates regularly. I have a habit of not connecting my garmin 220 regularly and I missed a few updates and couldnt get a signal at all. Now I just check every week and I havent had a problem since.

wombat94

I've only had my 620 for a week (previously had a 610) but on my mix of suburban streets and tree lined trails during both clear and very cloudy weather, it has been every bit as accurate as my 610 was.

I can't speak to it in an urban setting... I will say that my 610 was always pretty inaccurate as well in "urban canyons" like running in the Philly Half Marathon last year.

There have been a lot of complaints - though very inconsistent - some people have great results, some have horrendous results.

Two things to note - the 220/620 are some of the FASTEST watches on the market to get a satellite lock in normal operation - but that is dependent on syncing up a table of expected satellite locations to the watch at least once every 10 - 14 days.

The 620 will get this automatically itself via WiFi if you connect to a WiFi network at any time in the 10 days... the 220 doesn't have that, so you have to connect it to a computer and it will sync that data to the watch then. If that data is out of date, it will take a long time to find satellites.

If you have synced up the watch and updated to the latest firmware (new firmware came out just about 10 days ago) and you are still having satellite lock issues, I'd definitely suggest contacting Garmin and getting a warranty replacement. The behavior you are describing with the long waits for satellite locks is not normal for the 220/620.

Ted

Sirinya55

my 220 said I ran 15 miles at my HM :ohwell:

MeanderingMammal

A coupleof observations, noting that I don't at the moment have a Garmin, but I've done a lot of work with military GPS and associated systems.

The GPS constallation transmit the signal in the microwave range, which makes it very sensitive to moisure in the environment and to obstruction. So if you're working under heavy cloud cover, or vegetation, then you'll find that the signal from the space vehicles can be very weak. Given the compromises around antenna size the watch, or indeed phone, is already working at a disadvantage.

One of the biggest contributions to acquisition speed is updating the ephemeris table on a regular basis. The watch works on the basis of last known location and as long as the ephemeris table is up to date then it starts searching in the appropriate place for the space vehicles to be, before widening it's search.

I have worked in a couple of areas where the signals from the SVs are very weak, as a result of environmental factors. NE US wasn't one of them though, and from memory there was never a suggestion of these factors applying in your area.

All in all it sounds like you may have a defective model.

SonicDeathMonkey80

my 220 said I ran 15 miles at my HM :ohwell:

My phone GPS said the same exact thing (same distance) at that same HM last year too lol

DonPendergraft

My 910xt locks satellites fast enough so I don't worry about it, but in my old FR305 days, while getting dressed for the run, I would toss the watch into the flower bed. When I went out the door to run, it was good to go. You can try that. If you live in an area where this wouldn't be wise, you can try a window sill with a fairly clear view of the sky. That works too. Better than waiting around in the cold!

DavidMartinez2

Someone posted a rather detailed analysis of Garmin accuracy a few months ago from "Fellrunner" (?) that seemed to imply that the 210 was more accurate than the 220. The other thing I would suggest is deleting your history on a regular basis; I have taken to clearing everything out on the first of the month and my watch performance seems to be better.

SteveTries

Someone posted a rather detailed analysis of Garmin accuracy a few months ago from "Fellrunner" (?) that seemed to imply that the 210 was more accurate than the 220. The other thing I would suggest is deleting your history on a regular basis; I have taken to clearing everything out on the first of the month and my watch performance seems to be better.

^this solved a multitude of issues and niggles with my Garmin 310xt. I think I had about a year of data on there and it was playing up terribly; refusing to pair, refusing to transfer data, taking ages to find a signal etc.

kristinegift

I just got one about a week ago, and I haven't had any problems so far, but it's life is young Maybe try deleting the history? Or reset it and connect to the satelites again standing outside? If you figure out a good fix, let us know!