Suunto 9 Baro - compass calibration before every run?

[Popuhsquat]

I have had my Suunto 9 Baro for a couple of months now. For the first couple weeks it was working great. Just a couple of weeks ago, my runs started to have issues involving mapping issues, and gps inaccuracies such as pace etc.

I did a soft reset, and made sure I was all updated. I would wait for GPS to connect before starting every run.

I finally figured out that to have more accurate readings I would have to set the compass calibration BEFORE EVERY RUN (via the settings tab on the watch). I know this because I did a run calibrating the compass and everything was fine. The next day I didn’t calibrate the compass and I was getting all the issues described earlier.

What gives? This makes no sense that I would have to calibrate the compass before every run. I didn’t have to calibrate it for the first month when I got the watch.

Someone fill me in here. Its very very frustrating spending this amount of money for a watch and it can’t even get basic gps and mapping issues correctly.

[Dimitrios Kanellopoulos]

@Popuhsquat you have most probably the GPS POWER mode not set to the BEST or more precise.

There should be a green start screen not asking for compass calibration. You can toggle GPS POWER modes via the top button before starting an activity . Give it a try now.

[Popuhsquat]

Yes I am on the best (green) GPS mode. I also checked my settings and I am on PERFORMANCE mode. I only do the compass calibration before each run through settings>navigation>calibrate compass. After it is calibrated I go to exercise and select my activity. I wait for the GPS to connect then I start running. If I don’t calibrate the compass via settings, the gps is off.

[surfboomerang]

I don’t know if it is related, but my first Suunto 9 had also a lot of troubles with the compass. Very often it asked me to recalibrate it while my old Ambit 3 peak never asked me to do that. I also had a lot of spikes in my speed graph from my Suunto 9.

I contacted Suunto support and I got a replacement. That has been a couple of weeks ago and everything looks fine now. No random recalibration of the compass and a pretty neat speed graph.

Although I always set my GPS setting to Best, I suspect that the compass is still used on some way and that it will interfere if it is not working ok.

[Popuhsquat]

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos

Yes I am on the best (green) GPS mode. I also checked my settings and I am on PERFORMANCE mode. I only do the compass calibration before each run through settings>navigation>calibrate compass. After it is calibrated I go to exercise and select my activity. I wait for the GPS to connect then I start running. If I don’t calibrate the compass via settings, the gps is off.

[Dimitrios Kanellopoulos]

@Popuhsquat that very useful info. So just to validate with you.

• If you calibrate the compass before running (even if not asked that you should not be asked on performance mode) you get better GPS tracks pace etc ?

Can I have a comparison? I am going to perhaps try to reproduce this.

[Popuhsquat]

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos

Exactly. Nothing is automatic, there is no calibration start up screen before I start an activity on BEST mode. I calibrate it manually via settings>navigation>compass calibration. Takes about 2 minutes then I go to exercise and select running.

I do a quick .5 mile circle loop around my house. If I DON’T calibrate it it shows via Suunto app/Strava that I am cutting through buildings and my pace stays the same (usually 11-12 minute mile pace when I am really going 8:00min/mile). Sometimes the route completely cuts across roads or sidewalks where I am definitely not running.

If I do the same loop doing my manual calibration none of those things happen.

[Dimitrios Kanellopoulos]

@Popuhsquat ok wait.

One “effect” of non-performance modes is that the pace does not get updated frequently and that might be off, also laps come later.

Does this ring any bell? If yes did you try resetting the watch? Feels like something is stuck into FusedTrack “mode”. What do you think?

[surfboomerang]

@Popuhsquat I did a run today with GPS in Best mode. My pace looked fine on the watch, only my HR (belt) had some issues, but I think that is because of a low battery in the smart sensor.

But after the run I remembered this thread so I checked how my compass behaved. I went to Navigation -> compass and noticed that the compass was way off (almost 180 degrees) and it moved very abrupt, not following the turning of the watch. It also looked as if the North indicator was kind of “stuck”. I could turn the watch, but the indicator moved a bit or not at all.
Once I calibrated the compass it looked a bit better, but it certainly doesn’t move as smooth as my old Ambit 3 peak.

So I was very curious how accurate my run would be once synced. To my surprise, my GPS track was almost spot on so I am not really sure if the wrong calibration of the compass influences the GPS track. Overall my activity looked pretty clean to me in the Suunto app.

[Dimitrios Kanellopoulos]

@surfboomerang thanks for coming back to this. You are not wearing any gloves swith magnets right?

[surfboomerang]

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos No gloves and I don’t wear anything magnetic. I’m also standing in open field.
I noticed this behavior while wearing the watch, but also when I took it off my wrist and held it in my hands.

[Dimitrios Kanellopoulos]

@surfboomerang Ok keep an eye on it. Indication for me would be delayed laps + bad pace. Then I know something is wrong GPS wise.

Also tip: Good soaking before starting an activity helps. Eg letting the watch face the sky for some minutes even after you have a lock helps afaik.

[surfboomerang]

@Dimitrios-Kanellopoulos My GPS track is fine (really good even). Spot on the roads and no corner cutting. So in “Best” mode I don’t think the compass is of any influence.
Strange that @Popuhsquat reports strange behavior if his compass isn’t calibrated before the run

[Dimitrios Kanellopoulos]

@surfboomerang sorry I was refering to @Popuhsquat

[A Former User]

I think one way to tell whether compass has anything to do with GPS accuracy in Performance mode would be to set a significantly wrong magnetic declination. I remember having strange issues with Ambit3 GPS accuracy once when my magnetic declination was off by 33° because I confused E vs W when setting the declination. I don’t know if that was a coincidence but it may be worth checking.

[Fiox89]

Hello guys, I reopen this topic because I have the same problem, which seems strange to me. I have noticed that the watch shows me a wrong direction in navigation mode when I do not calibrate the compass before each start.

If I do the calibration before the start, the indication of the direction becomes exact.

I have also noticed on some occasions that compass calibration is required after starting the activity. I’m using a SSS.

Is this a hardware problem? already tried reboot and factory reset. I have not set any declination

[sartoric]

@Fiox89
Sometimes compass needs to be calibrated again.

But what do you mean when you say “the watch shows me a wrong direction in navigation mode” ?
Are you referring to the moving direction on the route (the route arrow) or to the “compass” needle and route orientation ?

[Fiox89]

@sartoric when I navigate a route on the watch, and for example I’m sure I’m on a straight section, the arrow shows me as if I were facing in another direction, but I’m sure I’m facing in the right direction. When you are on a straight stretch you expect the arrow to indicate the direction of the straight stretch

I noticed this problem even after only one or two days from the last compass calibration.

The problem seems to be getting worse if I move 50/60 km from the place of the last calibration, for example when I go in the mountains

Everything is resolved immediately if I interrupt the exercise and do a calibration of the compass, then I start the exercise again with the same track and the direction is fine with the route

[sartoric]

Well, starting an activity in a different place (bit far from the previous one) is usually one of the situation when you’re asked to re-calibrate compass.

Another case is if you kept the watch near magnetic or electric stuff for a while.

[Fiox89]

So you assume that it is quite normal? when I had my trusty ambit 3 I never had these problems, done the calibration only the first time after turning on… sigh