Spartan update complains

Matthew Curtiss · 13 Dec 2019, 16:01

@ianshowalter said in Spartan update complains:

@isazi And continuing with that comparison to the 935, the Spartans (at least the ones with built-in HR) DID get a bug fix update just a month and a half ago.

The last full update (2.8.24) for the SUUNTO SPARTAN TRAINER WRIST HR was in June 2019. (I have no idea what the 2.8.28 fixes, nor does Suunto give a date or release notes on that one) .

isazi · 13 Dec 2019, 16:46

@Matthew-Curtiss should have been in early October.

Mff73 · 13 Dec 2019, 16:48

@Matthew-Curtiss said in Spartan update complains:

@ianshowalter said in Spartan update complains:

@isazi And continuing with that comparison to the 935, the Spartans (at least the ones with built-in HR) DID get a bug fix update just a month and a half ago.

The last full update (2.8.24) for the SUUNTO SPARTAN TRAINER WRIST HR was in June 2019. (I have no idea what the 2.8.28 fixes, nor does Suunto give a date or release notes on that one) .

Mff73 · 13 Dec 2019, 16:49

and afair, WHR improvments.

Matthew Curtiss · 13 Dec 2019, 18:14

@Mff73 said in Spartan update complains:

and afair, WHR improvments.

IMO, I saw no WHR improvements, but YMMV.

I probably should have said no “detailed”: release notes, like with previous releases.

Matthew Curtiss · 13 Dec 2019, 18:15

And I will say, I still share this guy’s issues: https://forum.slowtwitch.com/forum/Slowtwitch_Forums_C1/Triathlon_Forum_F1/Suunto_Spartan_Sport_WHR_-_firmware_fubar_P7061966/

roma12_7 · 13 Dec 2019, 22:09

Do you think Spartan watches will have an update before Christmas 2019? I heard Santa Claus live in the north of Finland!!

isazi · 14 Dec 2019, 03:35

@Matthew-Curtiss the update was also for the S line, and I didn’t notice anything wrong with it.

BobMiles · 14 Dec 2019, 09:30

@isazi yeah me neither, but it it also didn’t improve anything for me. OHR stayed in the miserable state it was in before. It is rather an optical cadence sensor

isazi · 14 Dec 2019, 10:48

@BobMiles I don’t use OHR for running, just for all day measurement, and for hiking/walking/mountaineering activities.

Darren_M · 28 Dec 2019, 19:49

@jsr184 I’ve just bought a Polar H10 HR strap so it would make sense to switch brands now, but only in light of all of this.

I was satisfied with the performance of my SSWHRB over the last nearly 2 years, and I do like the simplicity of the software in the watch.

However, if the watch has been abandoned, I won’t kick and scream, I’ll just vote with my feet and go to a competitor which is why I’m looking seriously at Polar for my next sports watch. If every spartan user did the same, it would send a message that contempt will not be tolerated from any company! I’m perfectly prepared to fire that shot! The timing just depends how long it takes before my watch begins to underperform without updates?

jsuarez · 28 Dec 2019, 21:18

@Darren_M That’s exactly what I did. I also already had the Polar H10 strap (I was so tired of the unreliability of Suunto’s smart sensor and how fast it drained batteries).

cosme.costa · 29 Dec 2019, 10:35

@jsuarez said in Spartan update complains:

@Darren_M That’s exactly what I did. I also already had the Polar H10 strap (I was so tired of the unreliability of Suunto’s smart sensor and how fast it drained batteries).

Well, in my experience, the Polar H10 drains battery faster than Suunto’s Smart Sensor, but it is clearly more reliable.

Darren_M · 29 Dec 2019, 12:30

@solid_dd Usually after an update the watch is left with some sort of glitch. HR not as good or as quick to lock. Or maybe GPS is scruffy or altimeter not as accurate as before the update. As the app gets updates, that phenomenon from my experience can get worse. The watch at that point isn’t continually changing, but the displayed data in the app gets worse because the app updates without the watch updating too. That has been my experience to date, but not every time. However, you’re missing the main point, which is that as a company you don’t sell a sports watch right up until the point that you pull the support for it. What would be acceptable would be to stop manufacturing it, and wait until it’s at least a few years for the watch to go out of circulation from the retailers, and then you can think about pulling support. Basically when people have had their money’s worth out of it, and not before!!

fejker · 29 Dec 2019, 14:49

@Darren_M said in Spartan update complains:

@jsr184 I’ve just bought a Polar H10 HR strap so it would make sense to switch brands now, but only in light of all of this.

I was satisfied with the performance of my SSWHRB over the last nearly 2 years, and I do like the simplicity of the software in the watch.

However, if the watch has been abandoned, I won’t kick and scream, I’ll just vote with my feet and go to a competitor which is why I’m looking seriously at Polar for my next sports watch. If every spartan user did the same, it would send a message that contempt will not be tolerated from any company! I’m perfectly prepared to fire that shot! The timing just depends how long it takes before my watch begins to underperform without updates?

I am on the Suunto Spartan Ultra and can’t say I have been happy with the way Suunto has handled the release, updates and now transfer to the SA. I have had the watch since launch and it rarely glitched out on me during exercises, except for the ocasional HR strap issues with certain FW updates and some strange GPS readings from time to time. Otherwise I was happy with the hardware and late software part of the watch during it’s lifetime.
BUT I was never satisfied with the functions of the watch and was always craving for more … I trusted Suunto when they said we would get custom sport mode support in the next update after launch (customising activity screens with parameters of our choice, which was introduced I think after three or four FW updates after launch), I trusted them when they said they would fix HR issues … there are still issues today, I trusted them when they said altitude creep would be fixed … still issues today.
Despite all this, the watch is still generally usable and I can’t say it is a bad watch, it is just the way Suunto treats their customers.
And to top it all off, we are saying goodbye to one of their strongest points - Movescount … that blew my lid off.
So yeah, I am waiting for the Polar Vantage V successor in the next one or two years to come and then I will probably switch brands as Suunto has no future for my needs. As it stands right now, I can’t justify buying a new high-end watch so soon (yes, some of us can not afford a new sport watch every year). And I will have a rough transition period before I buy something new. All I can say is that I feel let down by Suunto in a big way and no fancy new watch can make me stay.
It is best to wait it out and see what the next generation of wearables from competitors brings to the table - all I know is that Garmin is not up my alley.