Is my Garmin toast?

[notsew]

After uploading a ride on Friday, it became apparent that my edge 500 was having some major GPS issues, bad enough that it didn't match up with Strava segments. I did a factory reset and it seemed better on a ride over the weekend, finding satellites in record time and putting down a reasonable track.

I just uploaded last night's ride and the map looks like it was drawn by a drunk. Again, Strava couldn't make sense of it and a bunch of segments are missing. I did some googling, but there are a lot of ways to say "my Garmin is f'd" and I didn't come up with much.

Obviously, the tragedy here is that I'm missing out on fake internet achievements and the attending false sense of superiority. I mean, is there even a point in riding without trying for a meaningless digital trophy? :rolleyes:

Anyways, is there some magic fix out there, or are these the death throws of a gps? Similar experiences?

Thanks

[noshaver]

I wish I had one for you. Have you contacted Garmin yet?

[Lewis Moon]

I wish I had one for you. Have you contacted Garmin yet?
When you reset your unit, were all your previous rides removed? How many "activities" or .GPX files are on the unit?

[mktng]

is it running the latest firmware option?
wipe and update. try that.

[notsew]

When I did the reset it removed all the activities. It seemed much more spritely after.

I'm not sure about the update, I will check into that when I get home.

I haven't contacted Garmin yet, I thought I would see if there was an obvious issue I was missing before I went to customer service.

[Lewis Moon]

How many activities are on there now? I've found that mine goes a bit whacko when I have too many.

[eippo1]

When I did the reset it removed all the activities. It seemed much more spritely after.

I'm not sure about the update, I will check into that when I get home.

I haven't contacted Garmin yet, I thought I would see if there was an obvious issue I was missing before I went to customer service.

You probably need to do the firmware update. Try that, walk around the block and attempt to upload to Strava. If it's still messed up, then talk to Garmin.

[pakora]

I've had some oddities (810 gets stuck mid-ride, either following a course or just recording) and Garmin checked this, in this order:

Firmware up to date
Any courses saved? Delete all (one corrupted byte one place or another can trigger who knows what).
Still happens? Reset.

Note they said a true factory reset is never necessary - after I reset all of my settings etc were wiped, and my data, but the latest FW was still there, and they said that's what I want.

[pakora]

oh and heh the first ride I did post reset, it got stuck following a downloaded course. The stuck rides are always wacky, and I've had rides that didn't get stuck look as you say - like the ride was "smeared". I actually assumed that was GPS/satellite issues.

[jwess1234]

Courses/turn-by-turn on my 810 seem to correlate with most of my crashes e.g.

-screen freezes (with content),
-screen freezes all white (but on),
-turning off the screen and turning back on while recording and getting crazy data (https://app.strava.com/activities/306500582).
-turns off, no data saved
-power off, beep sound to turn back on, but no screen activity

I've tried uploading courses manually, or creating in Garmin's own Connect center and nothing seems to work.

I haven't found firmware to matter much and may call Garmin even though its out of warranty by several months.

So no "magic" fix I've been able to find over several months. Try running without courses--guessing its a common problem. Ridiculous for an expensive machine and considering GPS is their main business....

[notsew]

It only has two activities and it's all upgraded. Thanks for the tips. Looks like a call to Garmin might be in my future.

[TimAZ]

I'd like to see the drunk drawing please.

[TimAZ]

I'd fancy a look at the drunk drawing please. Cheers.

[pakora]

I can't find one of mine (all of which look on Strava like the course was made of powder and then a big wind came up) but e.g.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y79LEasHs6Q/VUO0T3WNBeI/AAAAAAAABOg/KxQ5ab6WQjk/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2015-04-30%2Bat%2B8.27.22%2BAM.png

[notsew]

That's much more egregious than anything mine has done. More like an angry toddler with a crayon. My failed courses (https://www.strava.com/activities/308598620/segments/7273617340) are just that the thing can't follow a line, like a drunk guy doing a field sobriety test, stumbling off the track and unable to find its way back.

[drewellison]

I haven't had the OP's issue, but I have had some issues with my Garmin 500.

Sometimes I'll get stair-stepping on elevation, where I'm going up a constant incline, but the Garmin says I'm riding flat for a while, then jump up a bunch of feet, then flat, then jump up. I called and talked to Garmin customer service, and the guy was nice but said there's nothing wrong with my unit. I complained enough (because I saw someone else's Garmin showed nice smooth elevation changes on the same climbs), then the CS guy agreed to exchange it. They sent me a refurbed unit and it does the same thing. Oh well. Now I just ignore it.

Now my Garmin will once in a while freeze upon starting up, and not get to the finding satellite part of startup. When that happens, I have to reset my unit and lose my rides.

I'm starting to like the "simpler is better" approach to a lot of life. I've been thinking about downgrading to a Garmin 200 because it seems so much simpler. I don't want complicated any more.

These are not perfect units. Is there anything better on the market?

Drew

[notsew]

I'm starting to like the "simpler is better" approach to a lot of life. I've been thinking about downgrading to a Garmin 200 because it seems so much simpler. I don't want complicated any more.

These are not perfect units. Is there anything better on the market?

Drew

I also have a Cateye Stealth 50, which I had zero problems with (but admittedly not a ton of miles). However, it doesn't have nearly the data or customization options and the battery doesn't last anywhere near as long. It is simple though.

I picked up my Garmin 500 used for a song, so I can't really complain if it's shot. I've still got the cateye sitting in my drawer.

[oldpotatoe]

After uploading a ride on Friday, it became apparent that my edge 500 was having some major GPS issues, bad enough that it didn't match up with Strava segments. I did a factory reset and it seemed better on a ride over the weekend, finding satellites in record time and putting down a reasonable track.

I just uploaded last night's ride and the map looks like it was drawn by a drunk. Again, Strava couldn't make sense of it and a bunch of segments are missing. I did some googling, but there are a lot of ways to say "my Garmin is f'd" and I didn't come up with much.

Obviously, the tragedy here is that I'm missing out on fake internet achievements and the attending false sense of superiority. I mean, is there even a point in riding without trying for a meaningless digital trophy? :rolleyes:

Anyways, is there some magic fix out there, or are these the death throws of a gps? Similar experiences?

Thanks

Were you drunk?

I have changed my computer to read kilometers.......faster.

[Cicli]

Were you drunk?

I have changed my computer to read kilometers.......faster.

When I want to go faster I use a wheel speed sensor instead of GPS, with two magnets. :banana: