Galaxy Watch 4/5/6 series poor GPS Fix performance

[usertlOcykGzxn]

Watch seems to be plagued with problems resolving GPS fix when not tethered to a phone.   I went out for a run, without my phone and it took the watch close to 10 minutes to get a GPS Fix.  This severely limits the functionality of the "Outdoor/Fitness" aspect of the watch.

Is there a planned fix?

[Samsung_Moderator · Accepted solution]

**UPDATE** (11/16/23)

Hello everyone, just following up on this. Please make sure everyone is keeping their devices up to date. Our engineers are close to resolving this. Thank you to everyone who submitted error reports. We should have a resolution soon, thanks to all of the community collaboration.

Hello, There.

Thank you so much for posting this. Samsung is looking into this situation further and would like to gather additional details and logs from the device to determine why this could be occurring. We would ask that anyone experiencing these symptoms submit an error report. In the details include the following hashtag:  #SCommunity

Also, we ask that you please make sure that when you submit the error report that the issue is presenting itself at the time of reporting.

Thank you so much for bearing with us, and make sure to keep your devices up to date with the latest software!

Steps for Submitting error Report via Wearables App:

1. Launch the Wearable app icon Galaxy Wearable app
2. Tap on 3 lines icon
3. Select Contact us
4. Tap on Error Reports
5. Tap on Frequency
6. Choose between Once, Often, or Sometimes
7. Tap on the text box and explain the issue you are facing with your Galaxy device. If you would like to add any screen recordings or screenshots to your error report tap on the paperclip icon. Once you are ready to send your error report select send icon Remember to include #SCommunity

[sluyckx]

Need this addressed asap, I'm experiencing the same issues that several others have documented here.  Please keep us posted on the status of the fix (any news/update along the way would be most appreciated).

Thanks

Steve Luyckx

[sluyckx]

Any updates here?  Help us please

Thanks

Steve

[sluyckx]

The new software release (I think 4.0) worked well on day one but by trial three, it was worse.  Please put this bug/issue at the top of your list.

Help

Steve

[user6KuCyUnqSA]

Exactly how are we going to generate a diagnostics file to go along with this report? In case you didn't get that: The faulty behavior happens when the phone is nowhere near, so having to have the phone connected to be able to generate an error report w/ diagnostics data is missing the point entirely.

So, please advise: Shall we generate an error report and attach GPX files to prove the point? If yes, how do we attach files to error reports?

Thanks for your continued assistance.

(The bug persists to this day btw. I'm allowing one more round of updates before I return the watch as Unfit for Purpose.)

[user6KuCyUnqSA]

News: With the new "big" update installed, there is a new option for exercise start - "manual" start, as opposed to 3-second countdown.

Using that, I am finally getting reasonable quality GPS tracks from my runs, worst case in difficult conditions (dense forest, narrow valleys etc.) a few hundred meters off in a 10- to 20-km total. Pre-update, tracks used to be super jerky with total distance off by over 20%, even in ideal conditions.

This is on GW5 LTE, not touching any settings before the start - so no Airplane mode, all radios on, no energy saving, 4G enabled.

If it stays that way consistently for the next week or so, I'll be ready to say it's solved for me.

[user6KuCyUnqSA]

Epilogue, one week later: GPS tracking is still good, no tricks involved other than "Manual Start". In poor conditions, the recorded track may be a little jerky in the beginning, but stabilizes soon after.

Recorded distances and speeds are plausible, training stats are useful again.

So for me, this is sorted. Samsung, please make sure you don't break it again in a future update.

[Samsung_BZBIGze]

Having the same issue.

After reading this post, I changed my band (I had a non-Samsung metal band) and the reading got better. However, comparing to Strava running on my phone while Samsung health is running on my watch. I am still getting 0.2 to 0.3 mile error (extra) during my 5k run

I went to the extent of measure my route that I use regularly and Strava was very accurate. Samsung health on my Galaxy Watch 5 Pro is always finishing the 5k before it is actually done.

I understand that this has nothing to do with which App I am using, I am fairly certain that if I run Samsung health on my galaxy phone, I will get an accurate reading. It is just a matter of inaccurate GPS signal on the watch itself.

I submitted an error report and hoping that this gets resolved soon. Very frustrating, and it made me reconsider switching to Apple products.

[cwinkler]

Just got the OneUI5 update last night. Will be interesting to see how GPS works on today's walk.

UPDATE: Didn't really notice any difference with the OneUI5 update. My GPS track looks OK (not like I'm wandering all over the place) and the distances reported are consistent with what was reported prior. I don't carry my phone with me to have a phone comparison of the distance reported.

[usertlOcykGzxn]

In the Play Store on the watch, download and install Wear GPS fix. Launch that when going for a run. GPS lock in seconds and then it launches your fitness app.   Since I have started using this small app, my GPS tracking has been very consistent with quick GPS acquisition 

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