I know this has come up before with Garmin, but I’ve not seen it mentioned for a couple of years or so, anyway - my Forerunner 965 set to Best Accuracy and known to be one of the more accurate GPS watches is misbehaving, a lot.
I’ve had the watch 2 years and it’s only in the last few weeks it’s started giving incorrect GPS readings, consistent, but incorrect to the tune of around 50-100 meters off in one direction from where I really was. Normally, who cares? But obviously for CityStrides, this is a problem. I don’t want to waste my time editing the data to make it fit the streets and I definitely don’t want to have to run the streets again!
What seems to happen is that the Garmin will start off accurate and then suddenly jump after 10-30 minutes, maybe coming and going depending on how long the run is.
Is this just me, or is it a wider Garmin/GPS issue that’s happening again?
To be sure, I tracked my last run (16km, very few trees or other high obstacles to block the signal) on my watch and used my iPhone with Strava at the same time. The iPhone was 100% spot on for the entire run, but my Garmin was off at least 50% of the time.
Geomagnetic storms don’t seem to tie in with the issues either, but what do I know, I’m not an expert on this.
I’m going to try letting the watch soak in the signal and pre-sync etc, but what gets me is that I never had to do this in the past?
Any ideas, or I should I save up for a new watch, maybe not a Garmin next time?
Never had FR965, but I was very frustrated with my previous models Fenix5, Fenix6 Pro Solar. I did a lot of research on competitor watches, features, and waited because watches are a big investment…and decided to give Garmin one more shot with the Enduro3. It’s by far the best of the 3 I’ve owned, and while pricy ($900), the GPS is always 90+% accurate (no signal loss or jagged lines) and often highly precise (only a few meters of GPS drift max). And that’s just the GPS, I also love the built-in flashlight which is more of a daily life thing, and the battery life is unbeatable - as a near-daily, high volume runner, I only have to charge it once every 3-4 weeks. For me it’s the perfect CityStrides watch, if you can pony up the cash. Hopefully now that it’s been out for a year the price might drop or at least be on sale when Black Friday rolls around. Either way, do your research to see what matters most to you - dcrainmaker.com is an excellent resource for cross-product comparisons.
BUT, until you’re ready to get a new watch, you should at least contact Garmin and troubleshoot the problem with them. They may service it or replace it for you for free, even after 2 years.
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Hi Kevin, Christmas is around the corner and I have a birthday too, I might just take a look at the Enduro. We’re a little fed up with Garmin in our house as my wife bought a FR 45 on my recommendation and it’s been a pretty hopeless watch, but yeah maybe one last chance eh? 
I’ve just been in touch with Garmin and they recommend giving the map an update on the PC using the Garmin express tool, so I’m going to do exactly that now.
Thanks for the info, it’s much appreciated 
I will just add 965 is multiband and still in product lifespan for updates, so it absolutely should not have GPS performance-related issues like that, and even though the customer service experience with them can be time-consuming, they will almost certainly offer you a replacement. Hope it works out!
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Thanks Kevin, that’s good to hear. I’ve updated the maps etc on the watch with it connected to a PC. So fingers crossed it improves on the next run! I also remembered that my elevation data had been completely wrong for ages, so you never know, hopefully that will be sorted one way or another too.
Just a little update for anyone else with the same issues: plugging my watch into Garmin Express on the PC and forcing an update of the maps appears to have resolved the issue. Today my FR965 was spot on, probably more accurate than the same route recorded on my iPhone, so all is well in my CityStrides fun and games once more!
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