Ongoing altitude problems with Suunto 9 Baro

[regger]

Does anyone else have the same problem during the last few week? In 9 out of 10 of my past workouts the altitude detection had huge mistakes (see example picture, the hard downs and ups haven’t been existing in reality). Tried to clean the watch but problem still exists. This is very annoying. Yesterday the watch told me that it was 1700 ascent meter. In reality it was around 1300…

[sartoric]

@regger
It could very probably be an issue with. gps signal
Did you try a soft reset ?

[isazi]

@regger if it’s happening now and it didn’t before, could be environmental: if it’s very hot sweat may be blocking the baro holes. Soaking the watch in warm water, then rinse and maybe use a soft brush to clean the external part of the sensor (never the inside) could help.

[regger]

@isazi Thanks…will try that again.

[regger]

But doen’t look polluted anyway…

[sartoric]

@regger
Well, it doesn’t need to be muddy
Just a couple of dust particles stuck on the sensor’s membrane can generate faulty readings

[A Former User]

@regger had it once after 2-3 years with S9B. Before that I never rinsed it properly. After rinsing I never had it. From outside not recognizable. So recommendation, sometimes rinsing with water is good! Do not put anything in the holes.

[freeheeler]

@regger
the graph looks a bit as if the holes where blocked few times and pressure was increasing, like @isazi said.
could be dirty sensor, too.
they soaking over night as suggested and also try to take care of clear baro holes.
it happens to me every now and then, too.
not much we can do about it, unless wearing the watch a bit looser…

[regger]

Thanks for your suggestions. I had the problem in the past very rarely, once in a few months but now its realy annoying.
I’ll try to clean it with warm water again. Usually the watch stays on my hand during showering…so it should get cleaned regularly

[regger]

Here’s another example for a faulty recording…

[sartoric]

@regger said in Ongoing altitude problems with Suunto 9 Baro:

Usually the watch stays on my hand during showering

And that could be a problem, as some residue of soap can stick inside the sensor housing

[jjpaz]

@regger What hand do you wear the watch? If you wear it in the right hand the baro sensor is highly exposed to wind and that can cause strange measures…

[Brad_Olwin]

@sartoric said in Ongoing altitude problems with Suunto 9 Baro:

@regger said in Ongoing altitude problems with Suunto 9 Baro:

Usually the watch stays on my hand during showering

And that could be a problem, as some residue of soap can stick inside the sensor housing

Agree, I never wear my watches showering. I do not have these issues and think that soap film eventually affects the sensor.
From the recordings it is either a dirty sensor, the sensor pressed against skin or wind (has to be very strong in my experience).

[regger]

@Brad_Olwin
I’ll try everything to clean it and not to wear it during showering the next weeks (even if this would be an reason not to buy a Suunto in the future) and observe the tracks.
As I already wrote, this issue occured every few months in the past but within the last weeks it happenend in 90% of my usage.

[Bulkan]

Are you wearing the watch in the right hand?

[regger]

@Bulkan
No, left

[Mff73]

@regger
did you try the fridge test ?
search the forum for more details, but baro altitude shouldn’t be influenced only by temp, except in case of dirty sensor or faulty one.

[Brad_Olwin]

@regger said in Ongoing altitude problems with Suunto 9 Baro:

@Brad_Olwin
I’ll try everything to clean it and not to wear it during showering the next weeks (even if this would be an reason not to buy a Suunto in the future) and observe the tracks.

This would happen with any brand, I personally would not shower, the sudden change in temperature and soap I don’t think are the best combination.