Incorrect Elevation Gains Apple Watch

I have the same problem. Around double what I’m actually doing 

Exactly the same problem. I have a trip with 500m, since a few days it calculates 600 to 1300 meters. The graph is ok, but the calculation is not correct.

So is there any way to report that? How to send them an error report? I contacted them over "help - via mail" but did not receive any confirmation.

I reported by email as well.  I also found that if I go onto the Strava website and click the 3 dots to the left of my activity, there is an option to correct the elevation.  By clicking that Strava calculates the approximate elevation gain based on the database.   Then to make matters even more confusing, the elevation gain recorded on my ride yesterday seemed to be fine.

Hello,

Sorry to hear of the errors with elevation and thanks for posting about this.

Firstly, please note that you can swap the elevation data stream over from your watch hardware over to our server-side calculation which should look more accurate.

To correct your elevation:
 

• From the activity page click on (◦◦◦) the more options menu > Correct Elevation.
• From the pop-up, click "Correct Elevation."
• When the status changes from "Calculating" to "Updated," refresh the page.

I see Apple has also recently published an article with steps to calibrate your watch hardware if there are issues with data acquisition: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204516 

Please let us know if these troubleshooting steps are helpful.

I responded by email as well, but copying here for the benefit of the others that are experiencing the problem:  

I’ve already fixed the posts with the server side calculation. However, that doesn’t address the underlying problem. The watch is also calibrated correctly. I have verified that in the compass application.

There are several other users here that have already chimed in indicating that they are experiencing the same problem. Rather than trying to deflect the issue, you should be looking at your code to see what could be causing the issue, whether it’s in your own code or something that has happened due to recent OS updates. Either way, you should be regression testing to ensure it is working properly.

I just got an email from Hank in Strava Support, acknowledging that there is a problem they are looking into:  "Moving forward, we are investigating an issue with how the watch derived elevation is being synced and displayed in our system. Previously, we would use solely the Basemap elevation data (derived from Strava) for watch activities. Now, we use the elevation data coming directly from the watch and this is leading to issues with how the elevation data is displayed on our end. Your patience while we work to resolve this issue is very much appreciated."

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for your patience with this.  A fix has been rolled out in the latest update.  If you haven't done so already, please update your watch and let us know if you continue to have any problems after that.

Hi Jane,

I don't see an available update yet (Canadian app store).  I assume there's a bit of lag before it gets posted there?

What update are you referring to? There is no update available to the Strava app or the Apple watch itself.

Jane - what is the ETA for this update to be in the Apple store?  The most recent Strava update was Dec 22 based on anything I can see. 

So in other words it's a fix on the back end when posting rather than a fix that is downloaded to the code on the watch (and/or the phone the watch is paired to).  A little more detail in the explanation goes a long way.

Yes it seems to work. Data is displayed again as before.

Thanks very much!

Just wondering if there’s an update on this? I use the Workout app on my Apple Watch to track my activities then I sync them with Strava later. The Workout app shows the correct elevation during the activity, and the Fitness app shows the correct elevation after the workout. However, the elevation in Strava can be off by almost double. Correcting the elevation does work, but it would be nice to avoid having to do this. 

I just had to fix some elevation data that my device recorded incorrectly (750m elevation gain when it was more like 100m). On looking at the profile, it was fluctuating wildly (unsure why, as it is normally OK).

The  "Correct Elevation" option wasn't available to me so, to fix it, I exported the gpx file from strava, deleted the activity, edited the gpx file to remove all the <ele> entries, then imported it as a manual activity. This preserved all the original data (including segment times) but replaced the elevation with something calculated by strava (which is far closer to the truth than my device data in this case).

Removing the <ele> tags can be done quickly in the vim text editor using this command:

:%s/<ele.*ele>//g

Any other text editor that can delete things based on regular expression matching will also be fine and should be able to remove all the <ele> tags in bulk.

Hope this helps others who can't find any other way of fixing elevation information.

Broken (again?) with watchOS 9.6 and Strava 319.0.0

However the Strava button „fix elevation“ worked .. would be nice if it just works again 

Hi Jane, on 22 Dec 2023 I recorded a ride with Apple Watch Ultra 2 and Garmin Edge 830.

Apple Watch workout recorded 569m altitude gain. Garmin Edge 830 recorded 566m altitude gain.

Both recordings were imported into Strava.

In Strava App the Apple Watch workout showed 694m altitude gain.

In Strava App the Garmin Edge 830 showed 566m altitude gain.

The Apple Watch import shows Strava (incorrectly) increased the altitude gain by 125m.

Also, I am unable to adjust the elevation to fix any incorrect altitude readings for the workouts imported from my Apple Watch, but I am able to adjust the elevation of the correct altitude gain readings from workouts imported from the Garmin Edge.

I tried to correct the elevation to reflect the correct numbers, but it did not work . Any help would be great.

Just letting you know that this issue has not been fixed. Surely the fix is simply to not modify the imported data from Apple Watches?

Hi Jane, 

The problem still exists. There has been no improvement sincce I logged this issue. For example, today I went for a 26km ride. I recorded it with my Garmin 830 and my Apple Ultra 2 watch. The ride metrics between both devices were slightly different, but not concerning - except for the ascent data for the Apple Ultra 2, The Garmin 830 recorded a 419m ascent while the Apple Ultra recorded a 410m ascent. When the rides from these devices were imported to Strava the ascent figures for both devices are as follows. Garmin 830 has a 419m ascent (no change), while the Apple Ultra 2 shows a 446m ascent (increase of 36m or 8.8%). This clearly shows that Strava is modifying the Apple Ultra data upon import, but not the Garmin import data. Modifying the data is clearly unnecessary and throws the accuracy of Apple devices out by a significant margin. It means that you cannot trust the ascent data from Apple devices in Strava, but you can trust this data on the Apple devices. Note: this issue is not limited to the Apple Watch Ultra 2. I have found the same issue when I have recorded activities with my iPhone. Given Apple devices are how I typically record my activities I am considering not renewing my Strava membership unless this issue is resolved ASAP. 

Just adding a fresh comment (6-19-2024) that this issue HAS NOT BEEN RESOLVED!!! Jane the moderator has responded over at least two different threads over the course of the last 18 months stating that it’s fixed or an update is available or we can calibrate our watches instead. These are all dodging the larger systemic issue. Strava attempted a roll out of a difference manner in calculating metrics and is forcing their obviously incorrect algorithm onto our profiles and refusing to allow the devices to override with presumably the correct information. 

Strava team please either revise your baseline calculation methodologies or give us the option to permanently refer to our Apple Watches Health derived data instead. This 18-24 months long issue cannot go any further. 

Just experienced the same with a hiking workout. Just compare the elevation gain between the two screenshots. I also checked with my friends who did the same hike and tracked with Garmin and Suunto - they didn‘t experience this import issue and their data on Strava is correct and aligned with original devices..

I’m keen to hear an update from Strava explaining when they will finally deal with this issue.

I’m keen to hear an update from Strava explaining when they will finally deal with this issue.