Just bought a new 520 (with Glonass) and first ride out it dropped satellite signal after 9 miles of a 10 mile ride in open country. My current phone has never ever missed a metre of a ride in 2 years (though my previous one was crap). I was running both yesterday and the phone trace was more faithful when overlaid on Google Earth and the distance and altitude were almost exactly the same as all the other peoples phones who were on the ride.

So are Garmins just not that brilliant as satellite receivers, or should I be sending it back? Never had a Garmin before so can only compare to my phone and in that respect it is left wanting.

Tracking is good on mine but sync with garmin connect on my phone is a bit flaky and I’ve never got the text notifications to work.

My fenix 3 is set to vibrate every kilometer. When I’m out running the same trail there’s about a 100m variance in where it vibrates.

Did it ask for an update through Garmin Express (if it uses that for synching to the web)? Make sure all updates are in place and try again as Garmin have a poor rep for software.

Not had a problem with my 510 using glonass in either wooded areas or open, had issues in the past with a 500 dropping signal in woods but never in open ground. Have you made sure that Glonass is enabled as it can be switched off to save battery.
Been very impressed with mine in speed of pick up in new areas and general accuracy compared to the gps alone 500.

Also just bought a 520 (last weekend). 1 MTB ride and 4 days of commuting and it’s been 100% fine getting and keeping satellite signal. Bluetooth connection with my Nexus 5 has also been 100% with quick ride uploads and texts coming through.

Not impressed with the temperature reading consistently 4-5 degrees under but at least it is consistent on that!

Change from smart recording to 1second too?

Done the updates and switched to 1 sec timing. Will see if that improves it next time out. Cheers for the heads up.

Had a 520 for a few months, very happy with it in every respect. Its more accurate than my Iphone 6 and head and shoulders better than any of the other GPS I’ve owned. (and thats quite few).

I’ve been using a 520 with both GPS and Glosnass enabled. Can’t say I’ve noticed any problems dropping signals though sometimes it can be tardy getting initial fix.

Try setting up one of the data fields to show current GPS accuracy – at least you’ll then have a better idea of what’s going on…

Now that is a good idea Mark. Cheers

My 520 dropped the signal and turned off about 9 miles into its first ride been fine since. Also got flaky on amount if climb for a while.