I've used this watch multiple times in the local mountains and the GPS has been extremely accurate

I do not know enough to speculate on the cause, but I can confirm from detailed experience that the GPS is inaccurate and unreliable, especially in areas with tree cover (see some photos below for examples, and no, we did not randomly run up and down the slopes off the trails).Garmin has, in my opinion, a terrific package and set of features that would make this watch the hands-down best-of-breed were it not for this issue

GPS works great with an unobstructed line of sight to the sky

When you review the stand alone Fenix 3 microsite, you would think this is the most amazing GPS based uber watch ever

Gps works great and prompts ready pretty fast

If any one has any advice on improving GPS accuracy, I would welcome it.

well its been the best GPS watch I've

This could be terrific too - except the GPS has serious bugs and is currently inaccurate (mine shows the track 25 ft to the right of where I was).

Im having trouble to do Geocahing with it, still this is the best GPS enabled sportswatch

I have updated from Fenix2 to Fenix 3, which is a definite shift up but so far the only problem is while Fenix2 was not good enough GPS-wise and restarted itself on long runs, Fenix3 measures the distances less

Great GPS Watch - I highly recommend it!

but, if you're interested, search fenix 3 gps issues and look for the thread on the garmin forums, it's nearly 1000 posts deep at this point

But without an accurate GPS, what exactly are you buying here

it`s the best gps watch in the market hands down, a little bit bulcky but who cares.

I don't give it 5 stars because of following: The GPS is slow somehow

For my money, this is a far better solution than the apple/android options and is the only GPS watch available with the form factor and functionality to be both an everyday watch and a full-featured back-country companion.

Having truly poor GPS knocks everything off: pace, speed, averages, altitudes, miles, distance, elevation gains/losses, map tracks, etc

GPS works well enough for me

GPS works well enough for me

It is a fitness watch with great GPS, plus smart notifications from my smartphone

I always give the watch 1-2 minutes (until the speed reading settles down on 0.0) to acquire good GPS signal before I start my activity.

Basically, the GPS is accurate enough, and in conjunction with Connect and the ability to handshake with myFitnessPal, finally there is a LOT of telemetry available for those of us trying fully metric-ize our workout and fitness plans.

I "lost" two functions by conscious choice: active GPS map display (topo or street) and 24x7 HR monitoring

However, my biggest gripe is the GPS, which understates the distance by 150-250 meters ever-time I run

GPS has been dead on

GPS very inaccurate

The realities (which are easily verifiable on Garmin's own user forums if you think I lie as some accuracy threads are OVER 150 pages long):-for most USA users, the agreed reality is that the mythical GLONASS sensor being "on" makes already bad GPS results..... worse-GPS is consistently short in distance-barometric altitude you cannot lock in means you have to constantly keep up with manually setting it to make sure your altitude is proper

Failed GPS chip after 20 months

The GPS works really well and the battery life is better than expected

My first advice would be to look at a cheaper GPS watch and see if that has the features you want

GPS began to drift and then GPS failed following the latest update.

Not all Fenix 3 owners get this good GPS tracks

The Fenix isn't the most popular GPS on the market, probably because of its steep price

I do a lot of trail runs and so far, the gps has never been a problem even under trees that could possibly block signal.

I bought the Sapphire Edition with great hesitancy but decided to give it a try since I needed a new watch after my POJ Basis Watch literally fell apart after a year (a pox on the house of Intel).I considered the Apple Watch, but the daily charging requirement and the lack waterproofing or onboard GPS (plus the fact that the Apple is a whopping $500 more expensive for the Sapphire with the comparable metal band) made it a nonstarter

I am compelled to downgrade this rating to reflect the fatal flaw of this watch: its hopelessly inaccurate GPS chip.