Reliable GPS run-app?

StaciMarie1974
StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
edited November 16 in Fitness and Exercise
My faith in MapMyWalk/MapMyRun is lacking at the moment. My husband and I took a walk together in our neighborhood the other night, each using this app to track our walk. Ultimately my app tracked about 5% less distance than did his. When he was at the 1 mile mark, my app showed .95. When he was at the 2 mile mark, mine was about 1.9. I know inside vs outside lane can make a difference, but it was neighborhood streets and I don't think I was really walking a shorter route.

So is there another route/run tracking app that might be more reliable?

Replies

  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,498 Member
    Any app you find is only going to be as reliable as your phone's GPS. The GPS on my phone sucked so I bought a used Garmin Forerunner for just $40. If you're in or near a big city, check Craigslist.

    I would not be surprised at a 5% difference between two phones.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    All apps use the same GPS chip.

    As above, a dedicated GPs device will be improved but you'll still see a discrepancy.

    GPs has a pool of error, so the track its recording is around a 10 metre wide band. Within that band the sample points could go from one side of the band to the other between samples, so adding distance every time.

    Taking a GPS file and running it through a wide range of apps can even give some discrepancy as well.

    Mobile phones generally don't have particularly high quality GPS chips.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Runkeeper and Map My Run both had issues for me (turning off during runs, mostly). I switched to Strava over a year ago and I couldn't be happier with it. I haven't done really detailed analysis of distance tracking, but I know when I run a pre-measured loop with a group, I always wind up with a number close to what the loop is supposed to be.
  • moesis
    moesis Posts: 874 Member
    The Polar V800 has pretty high reviews for GPS accuracy.
  • JenHuedy
    JenHuedy Posts: 611 Member
    Apps are only as good as your phone GPS - which isn't as accurate as a dedicated GPS device, especially for things like pacing. I like to run in areas where the cellular signal can be iffy, so I got a Garmin.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Strava...

    I ride and use strava and it matches up perfectly with my Garmin 510 bike computer.
  • richardgavel
    richardgavel Posts: 1,001 Member
    This is conjecture, but it's certainly possible that an app could take the waypoints your GPS collects and "smooth" them out to create a more accurate view of your run. I don't know if any actually do this, though.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    richardgavel wrote: »
    This is conjecture, but it's certainly possible that an app could take the waypoints your GPS collects and "smooth" them out to create a more accurate view of your run. I don't know if any actually do this, though.

    That's a post-processing feature, and is one of the sources of discrepancy that I highlighted above. Putting a single GPS file through multiple apps will give different outcomes in different apps.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    Thanks for the feedback. My phone is an inexpensive Samsung while Hubby's is the higher $ model so it would make sense that the GPS quality differs. I may look into a dedicated device...
  • ritzvin
    ritzvin Posts: 2,860 Member
    Usually (not always) the higher number is the LESS accurate one - from the gps track bouncing back and forth.
  • BeeerRunner
    BeeerRunner Posts: 728 Member
    Nothing will be 100% accurate due to signal drops, but like others mentioned, a dedicated GPS watch will be more accurate than a phone.

    For those who use cell phones, make sure you don't have your battery saver on. It will cause your app to stop tracking. My husband experienced this and was experiencing crazy short data. Once he turned battery saver off, it worked much better. He used Strava and Map My Run.
  • dnewell73
    dnewell73 Posts: 3 Member
    When I was using an iPhone 6 Plus, my route was always around 5.1 miles. When I switched to an iPhone X, the route became 5.3 miles. I decided to use my Apple Watch at the same time. The watch was also around 5.1 miles. Looking at the maps, the watch route is pretty smooth. On the other hand, the iPhone map is pretty jerky, which apparently causes the extra .2 miles. I'm not very happy about this.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
    A 5% error is within the tolerances expected with any civilian GPS. Depending on cloud coverage etc my Garmin 920XT will give me minor differences for the same routes I run on a regular basis. It's the nature of the beast.....
  • dnewell73
    dnewell73 Posts: 3 Member
    But it's interesting that the watch always reports very close to 5.1 and the iPhone always reports around 5.3. Wouldn't you expect that once in a while the watch would report 5.3?
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    The thing with a decent garmin GPS is that it will also use your estimated stride and cadence to smooth the track/route/plot.
  • dnewell73
    dnewell73 Posts: 3 Member
    Maybe that's what the Apple Watch is doing...
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,142 Member
    I love my Garmin Vivoactive HR, the GPS is built in on it, rather than using the one on the phone via Bluetooth and has been very good in terms of accuracy, I use it a lot for hiking. It's also a pretty handy model if you're a jack of all trades/master of none when it comes to exercise, mine does a pretty decent job of estimating Yoga, Strength Training, Pilates, Rowing, Swimming, etc.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    dnewell73 wrote: »
    But it's interesting that the watch always reports very close to 5.1 and the iPhone always reports around 5.3. Wouldn't you expect that once in a while the watch would report 5.3?
    dnewell73 wrote: »
    Maybe that's what the Apple Watch is doing...
    stanmann571 wrote: »
    The thing with a decent garmin GPS is that it will also use your estimated stride and cadence to smooth the track/route/plot.

    Yes, that's likely. The accelerometer in a fitness watch and GPS in a fitness watch are single purpose tools where the one(s) in your phone are not only trying to step track, but also to determine when/whether to rotate your screen/etc.
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