Incorrect Elevation Gains Apple Watch

[RonHuizenga]

Hi All,

I use Strava on my Apple Watch Series 6.  For the past few weeks (since last OS update), elevation gains (outdoor ride) have been way off, reporting at least double what they should be.  Is anyone else experiencing the same?  I removed and reinstalled Strava on my watch and phone, but that hasn't made any difference.

[levymetal]

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. 

[Jane · Accepted solution]

Hi All,

Sorry about the confusion.  There's no new release, the fix was applied to the current release.  So if your watch is up to date, the problem should be resolved.  

Give it a try and let us know the results.

[Onkelonken]

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

Thanks very much!

[RonHuizenga]

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.

[Jane]

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.

[RonHuizenga]

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. 

[CDparks]

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

[RonHuizenga]

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?

[Jane]

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.