Open water GPS drifting
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@gerasimos said in Open water GPS drifting:
before and after uptdate
To save others a trip down memory lane:
Now, we move on to openwater swimming. I’ve done a lot of openwater swimming with the Suunto Vertical – and frankly, none of it is good. In fact, it’s all horrifically bad. On present firmware, the unit has yet to complete a single one of nearly half a dozen openwater swims without failing halfway through. Essentially, if I tread water for even a very short timeframe (such as waiting for my swim buddy), then it’ll lose GPS permanently for the rest of the swim.
Bold is my addition.
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I’ve just downgraded to FW 2.40.44 as the GPS drifting during OW swimming is quite annoying in 2.43.12. The previous FW was better, according to my experience.
Previously used: Cyclosport HAC4, Polar S710, Ambit 2S, Ambit 3S, SSU, S5P, S9P Ti. Currently using: Race Ti.
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@gerasimos Look, I’ve been using this watch regularly since November 2023, so I can’t comment on those tests in this review (by the way , great thorough review):
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2023/05/suunto-vertical-review.html
There may indeed have been some improvement in measurement accuracy for open water swimming, as I was able to note a good gps signal especially in the summer of 2024 in particular (something in between updates 2.33.16 and 2.35.34) . But the reviewer’s tests summary is significant:But it’s awesome to see Suunto matching Garmin on dry land. Hopefully they can do the same in the openwater swim realm.
So let’s hope Suunto is up to the task.
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@Ars-Vitae yup! very good GPS results before surely one or two updates.
In the land i think there’s no opponent against SV (in my opinion) is the best and more precise adventure watch,out there. -
@Ars-Vitae
Thank you for your feedback.
I completely agree with you! I feel the same way.
I constantly try to report bugs, but this topic isn’t a priority for Suunto (…)
The algorithm is supposedly “new,” but only in name.
I think something has been broken, and not even that has been fixed, only partially adapted for “use.”
I’ll read your posts when I have a moment. -
@Theo-Lakerveld did you tested ? or spotted any difference in OW?
me i made hard reset reinstall automatically last firmware and i will tested again in default openwater profile …lets see -
@gerasimos, I did a few swims with 2.40.44. The track is bouncing sideways a few times which results in high speed and distance. I’ll be swimming in the weekend with the previous FW. I’ll let you know if the tracks are good again after downgrading.
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@Theo-Lakerveld
After a Factory reset, I followed the entire protocol for optimal GPS signal acquisition, just like I always do.
There was absolutely no improvement — the same drift and many signal reflections over a distance that is exactly 500 meters in a straight line, marked with buoys.I was pressing lap time as a reference to record the distance, and the discrepancies were 200 to 300 meters every time I completed this route.
Weather conditions were perfect — clear skies, and my hand stayed out of the water for 30 seconds of rest before starting the next set.
-Hard reset didn’t help-
I’m starting to believe this is a serious firmware issue and unfortunately can only be fixed with a new update.
Otherwise, the watch has a severe limitation in this specific function, which is unfortunately very important for my training.
Also I’ve achieved again 591km/h I think it’s a very solid performance for my swim freestyle technique
However, the watch continues to function perfectly in all other activities, with highly accurate GPS and absolutely no issues.
Suunto Vertical Ti
Suunto S9 gen1
Suunto Ambit3 peak -
@gerasimos excellent work. @Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos @isazi would you mind highlighting this to the PMs, please? Summer is slipping through our fingers…
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@gerasimos downgrading to 2.40.44 worked. Swimming is on track. Have a look at the activity below. The circular movement were actually circular movements exploring some underwater marine life. And the break was when I paused the watch to climb on a rock and jump in the water.
https://maps.suunto.com/move/lakerveldt/687cb19440105778ecad9791
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@Ze-Stuart said in Open water GPS drifting:
@gerasimos excellent work. @Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos @isazi would you mind highlighting this to the PMs, please? Summer is slipping through our fingers…
I am quite afraid there may be a bit longer to delivery such an update during to summer holiday period … (I hope i am wrong here) but quite many people in Northern Europe are starting their holidays next week
let’s see
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I also did a test today with significantly better performance and minimal reflections using the open water mode.
I was swimming side by side with a SUP that recorded exactly 1.1 km using a Garmin Fenix 7 while I recorded exactly 1.2 km with open water swimming, which is a perfectly acceptable discrepancy.
At the same time, I did a hike to the top of the island and then returned to the shore with the SUP, completing the activities.
The GPS in all cases was excellent compared to yesterday.
However, I’m not sure if the GPS gets confused or causes reflections when there are many speedboats, boats,jetski etc., in the area here in Greece have a lot of—maybe that’s what throws off the watch.https://maps.suunto.com/move/gerasimosmitropoulos/687d055e40105778ecb0b066
The part where the GPS looks tangled is because I was inside a cave. -
@gerasimos Hey! Did you also downgrade the update to have better gps results?
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@Piotr-Michalski no downgrade hard reset and 2.43.12!
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I did another test with a multisport activity — open water swim and trail run — but unfortunately, the results for the open water tracking were disappointing.
I swam a distance of approximately 2,850 meters, but it recorded over 4,700!! meters due to excessive GPS drifting. (…a significant discrepancy compared to the actual distance.)
Of course, before starting the activity, I followed the entire protocol to ensure the best possible GPS accuracy.
However, once I started the trail run, the watch functioned perfectly in every aspect, as it always does!
https://maps.suunto.com/move/gerasimosmitropoulos/688f88605795363bd3c89552
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@thanasis August will pass and I don’t believe we’ll get any upgrade or bug fix for this specific issue… especially when the development team seems to be focused on launching new models (ΜΑΥΒΕ). The thing is, I’m starting to believe this model has a serious limitation in this particular function, and I don’t think I can stick with this watch, since swimming is one of my main sports… even though in all other aspects it’s simply perfect.
Suunto Vertical Ti
Suunto S9 gen1
Suunto Ambit3 peak -
@gerasimos but this worked well for about 2 years and it is not working since last update. I remember when update 2 years ago came as I was on vacation and it was night and day!
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@Likarnik That’s exactly how it is.
But if updates are necessary for the proper functioning of the watch and it cannot operate correctly in a specific activity due to significantly inaccurate recordings, then there’s no point in using it in the sea.
I try the process of doing a hard reset , but I don’t want to install a previous firmware version, etc.
Obviously, updates are meant to ensure the watch can sync properly with the app and so on…
The only thing left is to see whether others have noticed similar issues in open water, and if these aren’t isolated incidents, maybe the Suunto team will receive more feedback and release a fix.
I never had any issues in the water with the Suunto 9 / Suunto ambit also with vertical since 2024
And now, having 2025 technology and software upgrades on our wrists, it should be at least as good — not worse.
…
Let’s see
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@gerasimos yeah, open water swimming is worse, readings from power meter are droping to zero every few seconds and so on… those things were ok two months ago… how is this an update
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@Likarnik I wonder what would happen if the same thing happened in trail running or cycling… Third GPS multiband worldwar
