Bumpy and inaccurate altitude data with new Suunto 7

[Brad_Olwin]

@themrdjj I believe you have a hardware issue. i would send the watch back in. The altitude data on my S7 and S9B agree very well and are very close to what Strava or Training Peaks corrects for.

[daltonthomas]

Hello,
i am also struggling with the similar issue. The accumulated altitude data is totally wrong. I sent the watch (copper colored one) to support but got the watch unrepaired back with comment “no failure found”.
Today i took a second Suunto7 from a friend and did a comparisson with both watches on my left arm and not covered with a jacket. At the beginning of the hiking track the altitude data of both watches were similar but after 30 min the watch started showing wrong data. The altitude graph shows an “break in”, guess this is the reason for the wrong data (see picture enclosed). Also the suspicious watch shows 109 m descent while climbing up only. Hopefully i`ll find solutions here in the forum what to do to eliminate this failure.
Correct altitude measurement was for me the reason to buy an “expensive” watch with barometer…:) Cheers Thomas

[freeheeler]

@daltonthomas
the distance is not correct either. It’s not massive, but for this “short” activity it is noticeable.
Just a wild guess: GPS issues that maybe tweaked fusedalti in the wrong way?

[pilleus]

@daltonthomas you can try a third party app to check your GPS.

Ghostracer is a good alternative with the option to calibrate the altitude at the starting point.

[daltonthomas]

GPS issue could be a reason, i`ll test ghostracer on both Suunto7 and let you know.

[freeheeler]

@daltonthomas
I am curious to see how a merged activity from both watches on quantified-self.io would look like.
can you upload, merge, publish and share?

[daltonthomas]

@TELE-HO
good idea with deep dataanalysis, didnt`t know quantified-self.io.
I published and merged both tracks
https://quantified-self.io/user/rxqh5UVb9LhOn2n6zRIh2gHKXMH2/event/yhaYyYqGrMMleVKe03jh

[freeheeler]

@daltonthomas
the difference of the altitude is not at the same location where the track diverges
and the graph with the dent is much noisier.

[daltonthomas]

@TELE-HO
maybe the sensor detects more peaks which count (e.g. different filter used).

Today i did another test, i used both Suunto 7 attached on my backpack and also used Ghostrace on the supsicious watch. The difference in altitude is much lower compared to the test with both watches on my left arm.
I also merged data in quantified-self.io, the GPS data of the suspicious watch is not consistent. I guess thats because of running Ghostrace and Suunto app in parallel.

Link:
https://quantified-self.io/user/rxqh5UVb9LhOn2n6zRIh2gHKXMH2/event/HN9H4ALaoMt4oymyZp3y

[freeheeler]

@daltonthomas
the graphs look better, except for the start section.
But the copper watch has a totally crazy track.
Did you try to reboot this watch? What about the firmware, is it up to date?

In other threads we are discussing issues with tracks and alti that are GPS chip related but the S7 has a different chip afaik.

edit: one more thing: my wife has experienced alti and track issues once as she started an activity too soon. Just to double-check, only hit the start button when the watch has locked all required satellites

[pilleus]

@daltonthomas I would record the same hike/track twice. The first round/lap with Suunto wear app, the second round/lap with Ghostracer.

Then it should be clear, if it’s a GPS issue (hardware) or a software issue (app).

[daltonthomas]

@TELE-HO
After i got the watch back from service i didnt reboot but now its rebooted.
The firmware of both watches is up to date.
I guess GPS was ok when the session was started but next sessions i`ll doublecheck.

@pilleus
Good idea with changing between Sunnto App and Ghostracer lapwise, would give another input. Also it would help to do the same track several times and compare the tracks with quantified-self.io

[daltonthomas]

Today i went with my wife for a short hiking tour. My wife used the copper watch and i the black one.
Both watches were started simultanously and the tour was exactly the same. Again a huge difference in ascent meters of 130 m. (344 m instead of correctly 214 m). Also the distance is different.
I guess i`ll write a summary and send the watch again back to suunto service.

Merged data:
https://quantified-self.io/user/rxqh5UVb9LhOn2n6zRIh2gHKXMH2/event/uOtApfTPguXgsWSlCytM

[BrunoH]

Hi @daltonthomas , unfortunately that error has been reported here in the forum numerous times. My own dialogue with Suunto support didn’t result in any concrete resolution. One possible reason might be the barometer hole being blocked. I wish Suunto could fix this. I ended up changing my Suunto 7 to another model with less “smart” features and more sports stuff. Altitude was not my only concern; there were stability problems too, some of which have been fixed already in a newer firmware!

[freeheeler]

@daltonthomas
I think it’s reasonable to send it to Suunto once again with this data, comparison and detailed description.
I hope you don’t loose trust in Suunto. I think they’re fantastic watches and maybe you “only” received a “monday morning” model.

@BrunoH
I know the issues of blocking baro holes from my old Suunto Core and now from my S9B. The S7 (my very own opinion as a development and design engineer) has a much better baro hole design to prevent the blocking and hence wrong measurements.
But I learned how to buckle up my S9B to my specific needs and never had problems since

[daltonthomas]

Thanks for your help!
The watch is packed and will be send tomorrow to Suunto service.
The experience with this Suunto7 is not the best but the experience i had and still have with my old ambit2 is great. Therefore it will need a while till i will change the brand…:).
If i would buy again a new Suunto watch i guess i would go for the S9 because of battery and sensors and hopefully less issues with the altitude measurement.

[themrdjj]

I’m sending my watch back tomorrow as well. What I don’t understand is how they can just send a watch back to you within warranty that clearly isn’t working properly. I hope that doesn’t happen to me and it actually gets fixed or replaced. Before this I had a Polar watch but I really wanted one with full maps and the Garmin ones were too expensive for me. Let’s hope I don’t end up regretting my choice for Suunto.

[daltonthomas]

@themrdjj
Hopefully we both get a properly repaired watch back. I guess that standard suunto test procedure didnt catch the failure of my watch and they didnt read exactly my descpription of failure. Having the full maps was also the reason i changed from my old Suunto to Suunto7.

[themrdjj]

The watch just arrived back from Suunto, much faster than expected. However, it came with the following comment: “I have tested your device for the faults reported in the fault description and performed all the necessary tests but discovered no fault with the pressure sensor.” That’s what I was afraid would happen. Well, I’m not sure what to do now. I’ll do more testing over the next week and post the results here again.

[Mff73]

@themrdjj
i may have not read all the post carefully, sorry in advance, but :
do you have tested your non faulty S7 alone and yourself ?

i think you have tested :
you wearing faulty S7 --> you got issue
you wearing faulty S7 + someone wearing good S7 --> you got issue + someone didn’t
you wearing faulty S7 + you wearing good S7 --> you got issue on faulty S7 and good results on the other.

Could it be an issue influenced by your way of wearing the “main” watch (near the wrist, or…) and the second watch is worn “better” ?