GPS accuracy, drunken wandering, and overestimated distance

[Randy Penn]

I use my S7 mostly to keep track of walks and hikes, and at a speed of 3-3.5mph, I find the GPS accuracy to be extremely poor compared to every other device I’ve owned. However, I believe it could be improved with software. If it could do a better job of averaging out the location and getting rid of the drunken wandering, the tracks would be much more representative of reality. Also, I believe this would get my 1.4 mile walks to show up as closer to 1.4 miles than the 1.5 they typically show up as now. That’s 7 percent off, and that’s really poor compared to any other device I’ve used.

[Jamie BG]

@Randy-Penn - can you provide an example of what its showing?
Are you using best or good setting for your GPS?

most of the reviews I have seen, and my personal experience shows that it tracks pretty well (even on good). Occasionally there might be a slight wobble, but there tends to be a reason (like heavy foliage cover).

[Randy Penn]

@Jamie-BG I get equally poor results on both good and best. I’ll upload some images to illustrate later on.

[Randy Penn]

Here are results from the same walk with 3 different devices: Galaxy Watch 3, Ticwatch Pro 3, and Suunto 7:
The GW3 and TWP3 each registered 1.4 miles, and thanks to all the drunken wandering, the S7 registered 1.5 miles.

[pilleus]

@Randy-Penn I have the same result while walking, especially downtown. No problem while cycling. Weird!

Here a short walk.

[Randy Penn]

@pilleus Yeah, and this is wide open - no trees, all buildings 2 stories or less at least 50-100 feet away.

[pilleus]

A walk to the bakery. The way to the bakery recorded with S7 and Ghostracer, the way back home with S7 and Suunto Wear app. Exactly the same way.

Here the results. Not so bad and nearly no differences.

https://quantified-self.io/user/0ntwZkfvMLhji8GViw3t4alT3py1/event/iTpaUHS467JmHuxarNbr

[Jamie BG]

@Randy-Penn I don’t know about the Galaxy Watch 3, but a couple of reviewers have already confirmed that the Ticwatch GPS does smooth things out slightly.
Also a bit difficult to tell on the G3 and Pro3 maps as so little detail and at a very different zoom level, but yes the S7 track doesn’t look as smooth, but the other two tracks look very smoothed out to me, and I would say that those are probably a lot less accurate due to smoothing. yes they look nicer but not sure they are as accurate.

And I think based on what Pilleus and lot of other reviewers have shown, the GPS tracking is reasonably good, as most other reviewers have also confirmed. Note the strava tracker doesn’t have smoothed out lines either - there are jagged bumps etc. Note also that the both had the same distance.

[aeroild]

I use my S7 mainly for running and trailrunning and the tracking is good. But on walks, the tracking is more woobly. It seems the slower the pace the more woobly the tracking.

[Randy Penn]

@aeroild Maybe it would be possible to smooth when the velocity is below a certain threshold. It’s not the look of the track that bothers me so much. It’s the fact that it causes the distance traveled to be off by so much. I know where the 1 mile marker is on this walk, and every time the S7 inconsistently buzzes 100 to 200 yards before that point.

[Randy Penn]

@randy-penn Still hoping to get some resolution to this issue. Here are a couple of more examples of the shoddy Suunto 7 track (magenta) vs a Fenix 6x track (blue) .

[Randy Penn]

@randy-penn And in that bottom image, no, I didn’t wander through anyone’s house as shown in the image.