MapRunG - MapRun on a Garmin Watch

[Peter Effeney]

Nigel,

Sorry to hear of the issues.

Are the errors you are seeing, within the MapRunG App functions, or within the process of installing/syncing the App?

Are you able to provide more specific context for how/when the error occurred?

Peter

[NigelH]

Hi Peter,

Sure. The last time I used MapRunG prior to the problem was on 28th April and it was version 1.4.1 - I nearly always sync my watch with Garmin Express on the day of a run and that updates MapRunG if applicable. The last time I sync'd it in this way was on 10th June, and I don't recall any updates being done then. I ran with the watch on 16th June (not MapRun) but deleted the run and didn't sync, although the watch probably sync'd via my phone. Then the next time I ran was on 23rd June when the problem occurred.

As far as the error screen is concerned, I can reproduce that by starting MapRunG (with no event loaded), pressing the "return" button (rather than "start/stop" as stated in the message that appears if I wait longer), and then selecting "continue". My description was slightly inaccurate before; it's a white screen with "IQ" in blue and a "!" in a yellow circle above the Q. Pressing "return" again takes me back to the screen with IQ, run, etc, and selecting IQ then Maprun again starts the app as normal without changing the Id (so I'm not sure what I did differently before that caused a new Id to be generated).

[Steve1]

@peter - remember I used to have this exact same problem about one and half years ago with my Garmin Enduro when you first started supporting it?

For the short term, I just did a reset of my Garmin watch as i arrived at nightnav and once restarted the MapRunG app appeared on my watch again.

Eventually, it was fixed. Never sure if it was a Garmin firmware update or a maprunG update but either way I haven’t had the problem for at least the last 6 months.

Steve

[Peter Effeney]

Steve,

Thanks - Our best diagnosis to date is that as we introduce new versions of MapRunG we use the latest version of Garmin system tools and software libraries. It appears that the transition to the upgraded system software on some watches has a few bumps, and then settles down.

Peter

[Mark3]

Apologies if this setting is obvious and I've missed it...

My Garmin (Forerunner 955) lets me select GPS type (GPS only, GPS and Glonass, GPS and Galileo, etc) by activity type.
For the MapRunG app, I can't see where to make this choice.
What accuracy is MapRun choosing? Does it always pick the best available for the watch?

[Peter Effeney]

Mark,

Thanks for your query.

This is a matter of some evolution within Garmin's development tools. It also seems to vary from device to device. eg multi-band is available on some devices too. The ability of "Apps" vs "Activities" to specify settings is the subject of some enhancements to Garmin's SDK.

We've done some testing with a ForeRunner 945, which allows selection of GPS type by activity type like your FR955. We've tried to correlate the GPS performance in MapRunG with the Run Activity in the three available modes, but in our tests the differences in tracks are not that significant to be sure what mode Garmin use when the MapRunG App asks the watch to record a track.

We will look at this further in future versions, but for the time being, all the family of compatible Garmin watches perform well in MapRun events ... and certainly, they deliver a more consistent punching distance than phone-based GPS systems (ie MapRun6 on iOS and Android). So despite some incremental enhancement in GPS accuracy potentially available, the "default" configuration seems to work very well.

We'll keep this under review.

If you have results of testing or other experience, we'd be happy to hear.

Peter

[Mark3]

Thanks. The reason I asked is because I recently had my worst error rate by far using MaprunG, and yet on paper the 955 should have extremely good accuracy, especially if set to multiband. So I wanted to ensure it was actually set to multiband for MapRun, rather than being overridden by a default setting of 'gps only' somewhere.

Given multiband uses significantly more battery, maybe that's a way to test what it's using (ie record 'normal' activities until the battery dies using GPS only and using multiband, record the time that takes, and then record a MapRunG activity and see which it's most similar too)?

[Peter Effeney]

 Mark,

Your suggested test plan makes sense, and maybe the rate of battery usage would be evident without having to go to fully flat.

I don't have a multi-band watch (945 vs 955?), so if you would like to investigate this further, that would be appreciated.

Regards
Peter

[MichaelRaz]

Hi Mark3,  
Obviously, Peter would need to verify this but my assumption is that without a specific setting in the app, the system default would be used - this is certainly what I have seen based on performance and confirmed with other apps (through developers).  I personally think the concern over extra battery draw with multiband is very unlikely to have an impact for most scenarios with MapRunG (I will note that I have a 7X Sapphire Solar so I'm dealing with a long battery life anyway). I have my system default as MultiBand and generally get great tracks (with all activities) but GPS being GPS, there will always be bad days due to lots of factors (view to the sky, number of available satellites at the time, interference).  This is what makes GPS comparison difficult as you cannot control all the variables.

The 955 is a fantastic watch and my suggestion would be to set the system default to MultiBand or try out SatIQ option where the watch will select and change the mode as the situation changes.  This should ensure you are getting the best track possible at that time.  With these latest Garmin watches (no longer using the Sony chipset), most reviewers are finding plain GPS to generally be really good, and the value of the other modes only kicks in when there are issues.

All just my opinion!

[Mark3]

Hi Michael
I agree on the extra battery point - I would be fine with multiband being turned on whatever the power consumption! Just thought it might facilitate the test.
On the 955, it may just be that I can't find it, but I'm not sure that there is a system default in the same way that there is on the Fenix. The Power Manager on the 955 is for some reason way more limited. If you know where the setting is and I'm missing it then please let me know! But I think I can only select the GPS accuracy by activity, and can't make any selection for MapRun.

The only thing I've changed on the watched recently is changing all my activities to use SatIQ, replacing all+multi band. Since that coincided with my recent worst MapRun performance ever, I wondered if it was taking this SatIQ setting from an activity (like 'Run') and that SatIQ was performing worse than multiband.

As you say though, so many variables makes it really hard to check!

[MichaelRaz]

My bad.  I assumed the 955 was much more similar in options, along with the GPS options. On the 7X the first option per activity is “use default” which is set in the general settings.

So hard to tell if it was the SatIQ or just a bad day!  Having said that, SatIQ is new and I don’t see a great advantage unless doing a 24 hr race (which is not in my racing schedule - luckily).

[Urban]

I recently recommended the Forerunner 55 to someone in the club who regularly runs our MapRun event series.
Unfortunately there seems to be a problem between the watch and MapRun.
Loading up the event from MapRun6 (latest version) onto the watch is where the problem appears to be.
On the watch the id. is in the format
-123456789
I believe this should be 10 digit numeric value, but it is 9 digit number preceded by a "-"

After "sending event to watch" from MapRun6 and then starting up the MapRun app. in the watch, the watch finds gps but seems unable to load the event.

Has anybody else come across this problem and found a solution?

Any help or suggestions greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[NigelH]

I haven't seen the problem, but knowing the sort of issues you can get with software, I'd try a watch Id of  4,294,967,296 + (the 9 digit number) or 8,589,934,592 - (the 9 digit number). If that doesn't work, maybe try 1 more and 1 less. (4,294,967,296 is 2 to the power 32 and 8,589,934,592 is 2 to the power 33.)

[Peter Effeney]

Urban,

Are you running the current version of MapRunG (or at least a recent version)? There had been an issue in an early version, where in some circumstances  upon initial install, it generated an "out-of-range" random Id.

I suggest either:
- check/upgrade, or
- go into Garmin Connect, find MapRunG settings, and manually set the Id to a random 9 or 10-digit number. (The same process as used, if you have a set of watches that you want to send the same event to, by setting them all to the same Id).

In either case, then make sure you have this same number set in MapRun6 on your phone.

If you still have difficulties, send more details to [e-mail].

Peter

[Urban]

Thank You, problem (quickly) sorted!
It's useful to know (I didn't!) that you can also amend the Watch Id. using the Connect IQ Store.
The required steps are (for anyone that's interested / may need that facility in future)

Open up Connect IQ on your phone.
Select your device (if you have more than one) from the sub-menu in the top right of the screen.
Go to "My Device" - bottom right of screen on Android.
Select "My Device Apps".
Select "MapRunG".
Select "Settings", you can then manually alter the User Id to a custom number (usually 9 or 10 digits)
"Save"

You then need to alter the "GPS Watch Mode" numeric value within the "Options and Settings" menu within the MapRun6 app. on your phone to match.

You can do this the opposite way as well - i.e. set a custom Id. number in MapRun6 and then change it within the Garmin IQ App. to match.

Thanks Peter!

 

[Peter Effeney]

Urban,

Good to hear.

Thanks for posting the steps.

Also to help anyone looking into this or related issues, see this link to the reference document on MapRunG:

https://maprunners.weebly.com/uploads/6/8/6/6/6866500/maprung_user_info_v16.pdf

Regards
Peter

[sandrina]

Hi

I have recently have a garmin vivoactive5. I m french, sorry for my english.

I can t find on the garmin IQ the maprunG or map run application. It is indicate there is a problèm with connection to the serveur.

Is the vivoactive5 compatible with the applications or not yet?
If it is compatible,  what can i do?

Thank you for your answer

[Peter Effeney]

sandrina,

We have now released a new version (version 1.8.1) that supports the vivoactive5.

Please let us know if you have any problems.

Peter

[dcurrie]

Minor niggle: I was waiting at the start for this week's MapRun and nothing was happening (I suspect my watch was still looking for satellites). I hit the back button and then, having second thoughts, I selected 'Continue'. At this point, it showed the time counting down (already about 50s in) though I still don't think it had registered the start yet (there had certainly been no beep). I started to run off but thought better of it, exited out, and started again. I've just recreated it again at home, even though I'm now miles away from the start location.

Cheers,
David

[Peter Effeney]

David,

Thanks for the report on the issue you identified. I can replicate it myself on my watch.

We'll include a fix in the next version.

regards

Peter