Suunto vertical ascent/ descent totally incorrect

[JayLaz]

I have the same problem every time I use the watch since the last update. My ascent and descent values are massively exaggerated, even when going uphill my descent value increases!! This did not happen with my Spartan Ultra and makes the Vertical inaccurate for navigation. Anyone else experiencing the same and know how to fix?

[Mff73]

@JayLaz
did you read the post of Egika, just two posts above ?
little more detailed here https://forum.suunto.com/post/135021
you can also add another possible root cause : dirty baro sensor.

[freeheeler]

@JayLaz
as @Mff73 says
what usually helps us to guess potential root causes are screenshots from the alti graph or even better a link to your publicly shared activity (if it doesn’t violate your privacy!)

does it happen randomly or with every activity?
we maybe can exclude some root causes with more info. in worst case, we will recommend to get in touch with support.

[JayLaz]

It’s been happening since the last update. Attached is a link to the data

https://maps.suunto.com/move/jasonpreston190/65be3e08f49857756c21e12e

[freeheeler]

@JayLaz
the graph shows several ups and downs that do not match the topography of your recording. they are very small, but they might sum up to 50% more total ascent.
it looks like it was windy during the activity with 8m/s and maybe some gusts even faster?
is your observation the same on a windless day or is the recording more precise?

[JayLaz]

It was a windy day but that’s very common in the UK and it is an outdoor watch after all so it should be accurate. I think I had gained 300m of descent even on the long steady uphill to my highest point!

[Brad_Olwin]

@JayLaz which wrist do you wear the watch on? It might help to switch. If I recall, the baro sensor is on the side. The newer watches have a different placement that prevents nearly all wind interference in my testing.

[maszop]

I will write about my experiences.
Since Suunto 9 Peak/Pro/Vertical (possibly due to a change in the position of the pressure sensor or too aggressive measurements), always in relatively windy conditions the measurement of the sum of elevation gains is completely overestimated, from 30% to several hundred percent.
As you walk, you can see the altitude reading fluctuating every few seconds, which is where the erroneous results come from.
In older watches, Ambit, Traverse and 9Baro, the altitude indication at individual points was less accurate, but such problems with the sum of elevations were much less common.

In the mountains, the sum of elevation gain is one of the most important data and the statistics from newer watches are partially useless.

[Brad_Olwin]

@maszop I do not have this issue and where I ski is very windy almost always. Front Range of Rocky Mts USA. I wear my watch outside my jacket.
There may be something with your device. I have used the Vertical the most.

[maszop]

@Brad_Olwin The key word is “skiing”.
The problem occurs with slower activities (hiking mountaineering etc.). The altimeter shows rapid fluctuations in the altimeter, which are completely unrealistic, e.g. when climbing a mountain.

This applies to several watches, so it is not a defective item.

[Elipsus]

Theres also the “up down” threshold that seems overly sensitive, I talked a bit about it with my father and the main trouble is that the ascent values are far, far above the actual vertical ascent, and thus not really realistic when looking at a map, its a bit of dissonance between old and new methods :

• “so, we’re at 600m, the peak is at 2000m, so that means that this hike is a 1400m ascent”

• “according to my watch its a 1800m ascent, because you have tons of very tiny downhills”

So that means that when your watch told you you did 700m ascent, you don’t have 700m left like you would expect when you looked at the map, but far more.

So the thing is skewed, and my father kindly berate a bit my results (he is an hardcore, very old school mountaineer) :

• Me : "Hey dad I did a nice hike today, 2000m ascent ! "
• Dad : “what, you mean 200m ascent right ?”

This problem is not Suunto only, but its indeed a bit frustrating

[Brad_Olwin]

@maszop I do not have issues trail running mountains either, sometimes very slow including 100 mile mountain races.

[The_77]

(9PP) I’ve had a variety of elevation change issues recently, but I can accept that because of the wind being severe whilst trail running. I was ~ 800m out on Sunday last week (2.1k vs 1.3k) and 300m out on Thursday (830m vs 530m), but those were in winds I was being slapped with and severely impeded movement sometimes. Not sure any sensor position is getting around those.

If I notice it more on low wind days then I’d be concerned. Always on top of layers, and not being trapped by a jacket/top flapping on it.

[maszop]

@The_77 In the case of Suunto 9 Baro (and older watches, and watches from G), the problem occurs rarely. Very common in newer models. So there should be room for improvement.

[freeheeler]

@maszop
we’ve had different issues with the S9B that I am really really happy Suunto got rid of them

[maszop]

@freeheeler I understand progress and new features, but breaking things that work well is unacceptable.

[isazi]

@maszop the Baro was not working well at all, in fact it was much worse than new watches, being not only susceptible to wind but also rain and water. And the Ambit had the hole on the bottom of the watch, getting crazy if you did sweat.

Edit: not to minimize the issue, I had it today for example, 35 meters of ascent when it should have been 0, because of code yellow winds

[maszop]

@isazi I used 9 Baro for a long time and then 9PP and Vertical. The same routes, similar weather, many times the same crossings. My results are clear. 9 Baro calculated the total elevation gain correctly in most cases. Newer ones almost always add at least some 500-1000m for routes of 15-20km distance and 1500-2500m of elevation gain.

Edit:
One from many examples:
9Baro, bad weather - 18.06km, 1860m total ascent;
9Baro, good weather (slightly shorter version) - 1740m total ascent (Garmin Instinct, the same hike - 1708m ascent);
9PP, good weather - 18.19 km, 1763m total ascent;
Vertical bad weather - 17.99km, 2302m total ascent (9Baro with the person I hiked with - the same bad weather - 1840m ascent).

[Brad_Olwin]

@maszop said in Suunto vertical ascent/ descent totally incorrect:

@isazi I used 9 Baro for a long time and then 9PP and Vertical. The same routes, similar weather, many times the same crossings. My results are clear. 9 Baro calculated the total elevation gain correctly in most cases. Newer ones almost always add at least some 500-1000m for routes of 15-20km distance and 1500-2500m of elevation gain.

This is your use case, not a general phenomenon so I disagree. It is very windy where I live and very, very rare to have ascent/descent errors.
Have you tried cleaning the sensor area? Have you performed soft or hard reset? My experience is with2 different S9PP, 2 Race watches and 2 Vertical watches.

[pilleus]

@Brad_Olwin said in Suunto vertical ascent/ descent totally incorrect:

so I disagree

+1

I never had problems with a Suunto watch and wrong ascent/descent data. Okay, the Spartans record a little less than the actual watches, but only if there are long flat passages with only a little up and down.