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Weird Garmin Bug - REMOVING miles (Read 1067 times)


A Saucy Wench

    I have had the 301 for about 2 years and I have had this little bug twice now. Garmin tech support isnt letting me contact them right now so I thought I would see if anyone has seen or heard of this. Both times I was on the same route. I have my garmin set to auto lap at mile increments and beep Beep 1 mile Beep 2 miles ....4 or 5 minutes later I look down and I have only 1.7 total miles...the garmin was REMOVING miles as I run. Hit lap and all is good. In the summary in memory it shows a little more mileage than it does when I hit the stop button because the negative miles get turned to zero miles. (so if I had stopped when it showed 1.7, it would have shown 2.0 in memory, when in reality it was about 2.5) weird.

    I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

     

    "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7


    A Saucy Wench

      ahhh...finally got a response from Garmin and I quote "I can not say I have seen this before" yay.

      I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

       

      "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7


      Another Passion

        ahhh...finally got a response from Garmin and I quote "I can not say I have seen this before" yay.
        Trishierunner had this same thing happen with her's. It was a 205, but was doing the same thing. She ended up sending it in to Garmin and they repaired or refurbed it. Jeffgoblue says to put scotch tape over the little speaker holes on the back of the Garmin to prevent sweat/moisture from getting into the unit as well, which I did right away when I got mine last fall. Perhaps that will help with your's when you get it fixed or a new one?

        Rick
        "The will to win means nothing without the will to prepare." - Juma Ikangaa
        "I wanna go fast." Ricky Bobby
        runningforcassy.blogspot.com


        A Saucy Wench

          thanks....although that bites about the sweat...these things are theoretically ok to use swimming, although I have never dared.

          I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

           

          "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

          Trent


          Good Bad & The Monkey

            Sweat should not get into the Forerunner x05 series (i.e., 205, 305), unless the seal has been broken from a fall.


            A Saucy Wench

              From what I heard it usually costs about $70 to have an x01 refurbished and you can get a 205 at costco for $140 so I think if it pisses me off, I'll upgrade. I hardly ever use the HRM anyway.

              I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

               

              "When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

              jEfFgObLuE


              I've got a fever...

                From what I heard it usually costs about $70 to have an x01 refurbished and you can get a 205 at costco for $140 so I think if it pisses me off, I'll upgrade. I hardly ever use the HRM anyway.
                Good move. GPS coverage is far better with the x05 series than with the x01's. And I still do recommend the scotch tape over the speaker holes. The problem I had was that the beeps were getting quieter and quieter until the thing was finally practically mute. Real issue may have been sunscreen getting in there and gunking up the speakers, but in any case, I've had no problems since getting mine repaired and doing the tape thing. And based what I read online, I was far from being the only person to have their Garmie go mute. Think I read the tape suggestion on a Garmin or MB support forum.

                On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office.  But you will wish that you'd spent more time running.  Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

                  I have experienced both problems addressed in this thread: Removing Miles, and moisture intrusion. Removing miles is an easy problem to fix: 1) Make sure you have the most up to date unit software in your device. The latest available are: Forerunner 205/305 GPS Chipset Ver. 3.00 as of Nov 12, 2007 Forerunner 205 Ver. 2.80 as of Nov 12, 2007 You need to update both. 2) Make sure you have an adequate number of satellites (>4) synched up, and that your unit reports an accuracy of less than 30 feet before beginning your activity. I put the accuracy as one of the fields on the display so I don't have to scroll through the menu's to find it. You need 4 satellites for triangulation in a 3-Dimensional space. (3 are needed in a 2-d space) In fact, the Garmin won't report your position unless it is locked into 4 satellites. But 4 is the minimum, if you lose one briefly because of a tree or such, the unit will lose triangulation and the software will try to correct and sometimes it will REMOVE distance covered. 3) Sometimes you may have issues locking into satellites. You can set it on the ground and wait for 10 minutes, and it still wont lock in. An easy fix: turn the unit off, and press and hold the down arrow at the same time as you power back on. This will reset the satellite information in the chipset. Water Intrusion: Garmin claims their device is IPx7. This means it is protected against water immersion for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter. The question is: are they claiming this or do they have test data to support it? My first Garmin 205 died after a year. At first, the speaker slowly became muted. Then it just died on me one day. The LCD window was fogged up. Somehow moisture got inside. My warranty ran out so I had to pay $70 to get a new one. I dont have any suggestion for preventing this. I would just say to doubt that it actually is IPx7 and treat it like it isnt waterproof. I even took my first one kayaking once. Not again.
                    Sweat should not get into the Forerunner x05 series (i.e., 205, 305), unless the seal has been broken from a fall.
                    True, according to their IPx7 claims. The Garmin x05's are glued together. It is also possible for the glue to age and crack, or be chemically damaged. What happens to the glue when you run with the unit in 110 degree heat, or 20 below cold, or leave it in your car in the hot sun? What does sunscreen do to the glue? Im sure other things can happen. Don't count on it being (and staying) waterproof.
                      Sweat should not get into the Forerunner x05 series (i.e., 205, 305), unless the seal has been broken from a fall.
                      Actually, I read a report of a guy who replaced his own x05 battery and said the "seal" in them was pathetic. I'll try to find the article. I've ruined 2 Forerunner 205s in the last 10 months, both due to sweat. Can't say I'm terribly impressed with their design...
                        Actually, I read a report of a guy who replaced his own x05 battery and said the "seal" in them was pathetic. I'll try to find the article.
                        I have seen the same webpage and I briefly tried to find it again to post it here. Basically, you can crack the top of the watch face off with a screwdriver. Thats how weak the glue is. If you or someone else finds that webpage, post it!
                          I have seen the same webpage and I briefly tried to find it again to post it here. Basically, you can crack the top of the watch face off with a screwdriver. Thats how weak the glue is. If you or someone else finds that webpage, post it!
                          Yeah, that's the same webpage! Crazy day at work here, but I'll see if I can find it later. For what it's worth, here's my Garmin history. Bought my 205 last April. Garmin #1: Sweated profusely all over it at the Pikes Peak Marathon in August. It locked up on me, then died, then would never power up again. Factory reset it, upgraded firmware, no luck. Garmin replaced it. Garmin #2: Sweated all over it on a 50 mile run in the Grand Canyon and the contacts on the back discharged a current and burned a hole in my wrist. Garmin kinda freaked out with that one and quickly replaced it again. Now I cover the contacts on the back with electrical tape. It's a pain, but the best solution I can come up with until Polar makes a unit that has mapping abilities... I'm not at all happy w/ the Forerunners. - Chris
                            I had the same problem!! -- with my 205 (and then your pace reads 17 min/ mile Evil grin super annoying) I mailed it to Garmin HQ, and they sent me a refurbished one. Good luck!
                            2009: BQ?
                              Removing miles is an easy problem to fix: 1) Make sure you have the most up to date unit software in your device. The latest available are: Forerunner 205/305 GPS Chipset Ver. 3.00 as of Nov 12, 2007 Forerunner 205 Ver. 2.80 as of Nov 12, 2007 You need to update both.
                              Ryno (or anyone), how do you check for the chipset version and what do you do if you don't have the right chipset? (I just got my Garmin 305 today). thanks.

                              2008 Goals: 10k < 44, HM < 1:40, learn to use my Garmin

                              hup


                                In the Menu select "Settings" ---> "General" ----> "About Forerunner" hup
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