Suunto 7 Altitude Issues

cedric13

Hello guys,

Here the links for Suunto:
https://www.suunto.com/move/cedric13/6030fbb02ba8055d64a33112
And for Strava:
https://strava.app.link/jBDM8FDD8db

All my workout ascents are wrong, I can give you more examples if needed. But I think it’s more a software computing issue than a hardware captor issue…

Another example, exactly the same cycling workout :
Here with S7 (1722m bad ascent)
https://www.suunto.com/move/cedric13/603274653559f46228a623a6

Here with Ambit 3 (1104m good acsent)
https://www.suunto.com/move/stphaniedavidson/60326b8f71c4eb5d4678c593

For <100m of error ascent I can tolerate, but in all my cases the values are too far from reality!
Thanks for all your comments

isazi

@cedric13 something you can try is to load the FIT file from the S7 and the Ambit in QS so you can compare the graphs, makes it much easier to see where the differences are coming from.

Brad_Olwin

@cedric13 I have dozens of runs with both the S7 and S9baro devices. The altitudes match in nearly every case. I can post links if you like or post some of them here. The issues with altitude are either the sensor is clogged, dirty, covered during exercise or a faulty sensor as there have been a few.

Bulkan

@cedric13

How do you wear the S7 in the bike?

Kurt68

@brad_olwin Unfortunately, that’s different for me. I’ve done a lot of runs with the S9 and S7 and the same problems with the S7. Had the S7 at the service and the sensor is ok. It is also not understandable for me how the incorrect measurements come about. The watch works well for a few runs, then there are several runs with large deviations. I sent a few runs to Suunto Service but haven’t received any feedback yet.

freeheeler

@cedric13
nice, you’re running les calanques

I’ve looked at the graph from your first link and saw that it is pretty wavey… this should not be like that and I support @Brad_Olwin 's comment that it is most likely the way how you wear the watch -> covered sensor hole.

As @isazi mentioned it will be similar when cycling unless you have your watch attached to the handlebar (which I never do).
If this should be the case we are back on field no. 1. If you wear it on your wrist, please try to observe how you wear the watch and if it could be possible that the baro hole is covered frequently.
Then try running with less tight strap and see how it goes

EDIT: one more thing, just to be sure… do you wait until the watch locks the satellite properly before you start? I assume you do, but just in case…

cedric13

@bulkan I use this UNIVERSAL HANDLEBAR WATCH HOLDER:
https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/universal-handlebar-watch-holder/_/R-p-145589?mc=8487015&c=BLACK

isazi

@cedric13 well if you get weird results with the watch on your handlebars then something must be wrong with your watch. Did you talk with support already?

Brad_Olwin

@cedric13 If wind generated by either cycling fast or on windy days is flowing directly into the baro sensor holes this will alter altitude readings. On a very windy day when I run and change directions, I can get 5x more altitude gain because of wind hitting the sensor.

Bulkan

@brad_olwin said in Suunto 7 Altitude Issues:

@cedric13 If wind generated by either cycling fast or on windy days is flowing directly into the baro sensor holes this will alter altitude readings. On a very windy day when I run and change directions, I can get 5x more altitude gain because of wind hitting the sensor.

This is why I was asking. The wind in the bike can affect to altitude. I haven’t tested the s9 vs the s7 if any watch is more sensitive than the other.

Brad_Olwin

@bulkan For me the S9baro is worse than the S7 in windy conditions.

freeheeler

@brad_olwin
the holes are more prone to wind, that is my impression, too.

@Bulkan
yep, sorry, it was you who asked about cycling.

@cedric13
how many “bad ascent” activities did you do and how many in total? maye you should observe the issue over time.

Bulkan

@brad_olwin I have friends with this issue with the s7. Until may I can’t test it, but I want to make some test between handlebar, wrist, s9 and s7.

For me the s7 in the bike in the handlebar is not a good choice because you won’t have HR.

cedric13

Better and better with my S7 today trail running

real ascent = 1000m (calculate with map)
watch ascent = 1890m
application ascent = 0m
https://www.suunto.com/move/cedric13/6037a8dad62ee20f98d61f32

And for the joke the gps recording stop alone before the end

So, my last chance is calling the support, this watch is only 2 months old… my Ambit 3 after 4 years still working very well.
I bought new watch only because Suunto stopped Movescount support , but why ??? You’re crazy to kill yourself 🤨

isazi

@cedric13 I would contact support if I was you.

freeheeler

@cedric13
don’t give up. My wife had a faulty A3R and it was exchanged without the slightest discussion. Sometimes failures sneak into products, but Suunto service is what many many other companies should take as benchmark

Brad_Olwin

@cedric13 We cannot see much from the link. Do you use Quantified Self? Import your file there and give use the link, we can then look at the altitude data much better.

eurohiker

@cedric13 There seems to be S7 quality assurance issues but maybe that’s bias because there is small sample size from amount sold. I wonder how many are out there with insanely bad altitude issues. Mine was doubling altitude out of the box and reset did nothing. If it wasn’t for the GPX files that I preloaded, knowing the elevation, I would have no idea mine was faulty. I think there should a survey going out and a recall in order.
It’s a great design that’s almost impossible to cover the baro hole so that’s not the issue.

I tried sideloading a alti/baro calibrator app from XDA and I can post the link if you are interested. It didn’t help my situation at all though. The app detects when there is unusual pressure on your baro which is cool.

A good way to troubleshoot it would be to do a peak hike (only up and down) then analyze it in Quantified Self. My specific problem was very wavy stats. So if i was walking up a hill every 2meter (for example) vertical I walked, it would go down 2m then go back up to 4m leaving me with 4m up (ascent) and 2m (descent) down while it was just 2m up in real life. It was accurate on my altitude points like (min, mid, max), I know this because i was at a ski resort and it had signs telling me what altitude i was at and it says it on the gpx file as well.

I just sent mine in a couple days ago. It was a very easy and smooth process which is free. It took 2 days to get to finland from a small town in france.
I’ll comment back on here what the solution is and when I get mine back. But this is the solution you should do. It’s a 400euro watch you should just get it looked at. But make sure to give them an insane amount of data (crossing my fingers that i explained it to them thoroughly enough)

cedric13

@brad_olwin please to find below the export FIT from Suunto App, if you can find some ideas about the issue, thanks !

TrailRunning_2021-02-25T11_56_09.fit

isazi

@cedric13 I tried importing your file in Runalyze and play with elevation correction. Get between 800 and 1000 meters of elevation gain depending on the altitude provider I use.
So anywhere between 800 to 600 meters less than you measured.
The profile though is not too bad. I’ll see how it looks in QS.