Original topic:

Watch Ultra/All Wear OS Barometer/ Altimeter Calibration

(Topic created: 08-21-2024 03:24 AM)
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DarthTrucker
Asteroid
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Galaxy Watch
I've spent the past 30 minutes looking for a way to calibrate the barometer that all Galaxy watches have, but no one seems to have an answer. Has anyone here figured out how to do it? And no, the compass calibration procedure does not calibrate the barometer. 
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realaud
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Galaxy Watch
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realaud
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Galaxy Watch

Depending on which watch you have, I've been reading that the alti-barometer is now included in the compass app.  I was curious, so I looked. I have a watch 4 and there is no separate app for it on my watch. The articles I linked above say it must be downloaded from the Galaxy Store *on the watch*, and since the watch 4 does not have the store as one of the apps, I can't get it.  That made me search more, and that's when I found out it's included in the compass app.  I didn't know that, but when I opened the compass and scrolled down, it had the altitude and barometric pressure readings, along with my correct current location address. There does not seem to be a separate calibration for each component, only the single calibration button, so I assume calibrating the compass would calibrate all the sensors.  If you are not getting the correct readings, I would suggest you run a diagnostic on the sensors to see if they are working correctly.

If you actually have the separate Alti-Barometer app, the app settings should contain the calibration setting.

DarthTrucker
Asteroid
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Galaxy Watch
I appreciate you taking the time to try to help, but the compass calibration only calibrates the gyroscope for the compass. As you pointed out, the Altiā€Barometer app does include the barometric sensor calibration function that I'm looking for, but that app is not available for Wear OS devices.

I just bought my Watch Ultra yesterday, and I don't know if my sensor is off or not, but I read feedback on Reddit from several prople that said that using the altimeter at high altitude made their barometer get stuck at those high altitude readings even when they returned to lower elevations. I bought the watch in Utah and am currently in Wyoming at 7,000 ft, so I didn't want to try it until I found a barometer calibration procedure that would work on Samsung Wear OS watches.
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realaud
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Galaxy Watch

You may have to try a third-party app for it.  The sensors are in the watch, so a third-party app would use and, most likely, calibrate the sensors.  As a matter of fact, Samsung seems to be encouraging third party use, since they chose not to add the app.

This is from one of the articles above: 

Although the Alti-Barometer app is not available on Wear OS models, you can still download an alternative app from the Play Store.

  1. On your watch, navigate to and open the Play Store.

  2. Tap the search icon at the top, and then use the keypad to type and search for Barometer or Altimeter.

    You can also tap the microphone icon to use voice input instead.

  3. Swipe through the list of results and then tap your desired app.

  4. Tap Install, and then tap Open when itā€™s finished installing.

cwinkler
Comet
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Galaxy Watch

when I look at mine on my Watch4, it gives my location as my neighbor's address even though I have location turned on - and there seems to be no way to correct it. Tried doing a calibrate and that didn't change it.

CWinkler
Galaxy S24 Ultra, Active4
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realaud
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Galaxy Watch

Did you close the compass app in between?  I noticed my location stays at the location where I last accessed the compass unless I go to "close all apps" icon in the apps screen.  Then it changed upon reopening.

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cwinkler
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Galaxy Watch

I did not, but I have rebooted my watch since then and it still says I'm at my neighbor's address. So now I closed it as you suggested, and I'm back home again! Thanks for that suggestion. Would have thought a reboot would have reset it.

CWinkler
Galaxy S24 Ultra, Active4
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realaud
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Galaxy Watch

I would have thought that rebooting the watch clears the memory as well and turns off background programs.  Apparently not.  Although, admittedly, I never check after rebooting to see if anything is still running.  Because my watch's battery life has become abysmal of late, I usually (when I remember), just manually close apps running in the background in an effort to not have to charge earlier than I want to.

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cwinkler
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Galaxy Watch

Just for jollies I did another close all and went back into compass. Now I'm back at my neighbor's address again.

CWinkler
Galaxy S24 Ultra, Active4
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