Suunto 7 Altitude Issues

freeheeler

@fenr1r
how far can my watch go without me

Aleksander H

@freeheeler not really sure. I was intending on checking during my last run. Then I realized the run workout doesn’t have an elevation graph . So I’ll have to check next time.

Fenr1r

@freeheeler I got an answer to that on another test, full battery to 1%: 37.29km, 3m desc., 69hrs, 55mins (rather than the 140hrs specced for the settings - high sky mask).

Less “Who Am I From My Heatmap” than “What The Hell Is My Watch From Its Rorschach”:

Sorry, OT.

cedric13

GOOD NEW !
Suunto Service Request replace my S7 by a new one and the ascent is now working perfectly. You can compare the high precision !
Suunto App (from watch) : 1079 m ascent
https://www.suunto.com/move/cedric13/604a274ef8691e13f8a16ca9
Strava (map recalculated) : 1080 m ascent
https://strava.app.link/w7gI9G3Fxeb

I’m reassured to continue the S7 adventure
The Suunto support is very fast : 2 days to ship from France to Finland, 2 days of treatment and 2 days to comeback. Thanks Suunto !

freeheeler

@fenr1r
seems your watch is also painting mandalas to calm itself down

@cedric13
nice to hear! …but this might make @Aleksander-H change his mind in doing nothing for the moment

Aleksander H

@freeheeler said in Suunto 7 Altitude Issues:

@cedric13
nice to hear! …but this might make @Aleksander-H change his mind in doing nothing for the moment

I think I like it to much to send it in to be honest .

eurohiker

@cedric13 lucky, i don’t think my 2nd Suunto 7 watch altitudes are correct while hiking. I’ve only tested on 1 trail and it’s doubling elevation for me atm.
My alpine ski day altitudes (with a lot more wind) seem to be correct though.

Jamie BG

So I am still getting occasional incorrect starting altitude point.
I need to check some more, but definitely seems more related to when I used fused tracking (10s GPS fix), and is definitely an issue since the last update.
I need to try a couple more tracking sessions, but doesn’t seem to be an issue if 1s GPS fix option is used, and or a 10s GPS fix is used for a session within a couple of hours of a previous session.

But first session with 10s GPS fix does seem to occasionally have issues:

Always seems to start off with incorrect altitutude - often negative for me i…e between 60 to 100m lower than actual altitude.
Often doesn’t fix itself, but sometimes does around 10m - which is around when I hit 1km mark - and watch of course comes out of low power coprocessor .
noticed on recent activity that breadcrumb map didn’t correctly update. Had me about half a km away from where I actually was and then around 20s of waiting, it suddenly updated and filled in the breadcrumb.

Have never seen or noticed any of this prior to last update. yes occasionally breadcrumb would be slightly off when you switched to the screen, but the update would be almost instantaneous.

Aleksander H

Did a new run yesterday. Close to the beginning of the run I had a steady 20 ascent on the watch, when in reality I was running down hill. Then close to the end of the run I had a few 7 - 10 m drops during a steady uphill section.

I spoke with Suunto as I don’t have a receipt for the watch (I won it in a competition). They sent me a receipt for it and told me to send it in for service. So I guess I’ll be doing that this week.

Aleksander H

@aleksander-h Well, I got it back today with a note basically saying nothing is wrong. I guess I’ll just stick to my SSU when I go hiking.

Brad_Olwin

@aleksander-h I have a lot of exercises comparing S7 with S9baro. I have very few that have issues and the ascent/descent as well as altitude accuracy are virtually identical. What I see in the profile from the S7 if that is the grey line, would be occlusion of the baro sensor. Depending on which hand you wear the watch and what clothing you may have, the baro sensor is on the left side of the watch. It can be either covered intermittently by skin or clothing that can change the pressure over the hole. A second issue that happens more often with my S9baro than the S7 is wind, which can cause this.

Aleksander H

@brad_olwin thanks. I’ll do a bit of experimentation once I start running again next week.

freeheeler

@brad_olwin
I did this activity on a very windy day… the graph is on the spot IMO

Brad_Olwin

@freeheeler I have had my S9 over report altitude by 5-10-FOLD in 30 mph headwinds on a run, where the wind is directly hitting the sensor hole.

freeheeler

@brad_olwin
that’s strange… maybe constant headwind is different to gusts?
But anyway, the issues I have seen so far on my watch when recording wrong is blocked baro holes and dirtyish sensor… but blocking is most common for me.
I avoid that with a loose wearing style

Aleksander H

@freeheeler said in Suunto 7 Altitude Issues:

@brad_olwin
that’s strange… maybe constant headwind is different to gusts?
But anyway, the issues I have seen so far on my watch when recording wrong is blocked baro holes and dirtyish sensor… but blocking is most common for me.
I avoid that with a loose wearing style

Hmm. Maybe I’ve been wearing the watch to tight? I keep it quite tight to ensure the HR sensor gets a good reading.

freeheeler

@aleksander-h
yes try this… there might be a sweet spot between good HR readings and no sensor covering

Brad_Olwin

@aleksander-h You can look at the baro sensor hole and if too tight and you bend the wrist enough it will cover the hole. It is the covering and uncovering that changes the air pressure and gives spikes. The sensor has to be very sensitive to pick up 1-3m of pressure variation:)

Aleksander H

@brad_olwin @freeheeler went for a short walk yesterday to give it another try (still not running due to injury). I let the watch sit a little less tight, and made sure not to bend my wrist as I walked. Unfortunately, results were just as bad. Here is a graph showing the difference between the Suunto 7 and corrected elevation on Runalyze. Now obviously the corrected probably isn’t 100% accurate either, but the fact remains, there was very little ascent, yet the S7 seemed to think I was climbing some big hill for the first 0.5 km. From roughly 165 to 210. I’ve no idea why it thinks there was a down hill section just after 0.5km as that part was basically flat.

https://quantified-self.io/user/DUrrVK0qMVZO5TtAP0r6Ox2HVLD2/event/554b0d5f0c39d328537fcb63b089848cacd472d6cb9a68124611415ce25bbba1

Unfortunately SafeNor (which handles Suunto service in Norway) says there is nothing wrong with it

freeheeler

@aleksander-h
that is crazy! do you have a chance to test and compare with another S7 or any other baro watch?