Garmin 510 Bugs

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sethjs
Posts: 279
Joined: Fri Feb 04, 2011 4:02 pm
Location: San Francisco, CA

by sethjs

I continually encounter an amazing number of bugs in my 510.

Latest one: I have the unit set to auto-pause when speed is at 0. It's now randomly auto-pausing, reasonably frequently, when my speed is nowhere near 0 and it is simultaneously reading out speeds of 10 mph+. I am using a speed/cadence sensor - this is not because it perceives 0 due to GPS error in switchbacks.

Anyone see and/or find a fix for this particular bug?

This is in addition to frequently dropping the connection to my phone (have tried both iOS and Android - iOS is worse, but Android connection has issues as well). Often not uploading the ride file. Occasionally having power numbers jump around, etc, which seems aggravated by using the laps function.

I wonder if we should create a "known bugs" list to help Garmin track these down.

by Weenie


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Horacio
Posts: 214
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 5:28 am

by Horacio

I bought one, used it a few rides and was really disappointed in the unit. Mine would just shut down mid ride. Such a POS! That's like the last thing I wanted to deal with on a 8% climb! Took it back to my LBS and told them the thing sucks. They reluctantly returned it.
I'm very sour on Garmin. I have 2 500's and both lose sat connection in clear sky or if I'm doing an out of saddle effort in the hills with my head over the unit.
No way in hell will I ever buy another model until they beta test the crap out of it, work the bugs out on their own time instead of rushing it to market and allowing eager cyclists to think they're getting the latest and greatest for their hard earned dollar.

n808
Posts: 103
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:09 pm
Location: Seattle, WA | Gjøvik, Norway

by n808

Garmin's Edge 510 forum is probably a better place to vent frustration... Lots of fellow disgruntled owners there. Garmin won't read it though, but at least you are not alone in complaining...

After Garmin fixed the horrible bugs in firmware 2.9 and 3.0 that randomly deleted your files and corrupted the entire file system, mine has been working reasonably well with firmware 3.10. Bluetooth connection not great. Uploads always fail if phone is not next to unit. Also, make sure GPS fix is acquired before starting a ride, or it may not save any data points. With both GPS and GLONASS enabled, it usually acquires GPS fix very quickly though.
(2012/2014) Scott Addict R1, SRAM Red 6.6kg | 2012 Scott Scale Pro, SRAM X0, 9.4kg

rowdysluggins
Posts: 349
Joined: Tue Apr 27, 2010 2:36 am
Location: Taylosville, Utah

by rowdysluggins

That's pretty strange. My 500 has been rock solid, and I've considered upgrading. I guess I'll just wait until next gen.

ToffieBoi
Posts: 417
Joined: Fri Jan 31, 2014 4:54 pm
Location: Krakow, Poland

by ToffieBoi

I was using 500 for a long time and upgraded for 510 Asia.

Only on one ride, I lost my map data, (HR, speed, cadance and elevation was correct) but I am not sure still if I turned off GPS the night before while I am changing the settings or not. Apart from that one, I had no problems whatsoever, even if this is the cheap Asia version with a lower version of software.

Maybe this time the Asia version is the better one :D

djwalker
Posts: 165
Joined: Sat Oct 31, 2009 7:35 pm

by djwalker

Unfortunately, the file system corruption issues are not fixed in version 3.1. I got a replacement 510 from Garmin after my original 510 barometer failed. That "new" unit constantly freezes, resets, loses data, etc. In an email to me Garmin admitted that the file system corruption still exists in 3.1 and they are working to fix it. I ended up sending my 510 in for a refund since this was the 5th Garmin product failure I have had in 4 years (hardware and software). I got fed up with the lack of reliability. My old 500 worked great. My newer 800's and 510 not so much.

n808
Posts: 103
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:09 pm
Location: Seattle, WA | Gjøvik, Norway

by n808

I guess I have been lucky for now then. I saw your post on the edge forum as well. Thanks for letting us know!
The Garmin Edge 510 is either a garbage product and they can't manage to get the firmware to work-around hardware bugs, or the firmware is utter unfixable junk.
(2012/2014) Scott Addict R1, SRAM Red 6.6kg | 2012 Scott Scale Pro, SRAM X0, 9.4kg

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proedgebiker
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2009 4:54 am
Location: Sunny, FL
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by proedgebiker

My 510 has been solid, I use it with an iPhone 5s & STAGES pm for power and cadence.


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kevhogaz
Posts: 232
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 5:18 am
Location: Arizona

by kevhogaz

djwalker wrote:. I got a replacement 510 from Garmin after my original 510 barometer failed. the lack of reliability. My old 500 worked great.


How did you go about getting your 510 replaced? My barometer has quit working on mine, as well. Did they warranty it for you?

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Tinea Pedis
Posts: 8615
Joined: Sat Mar 14, 2009 6:08 am
Contact:

by Tinea Pedis

Have owned or used extensively most Garmin's.

The best is still the 705. The 800 was pretty damn good too - except for the absurd design for the USB and SD card ports. Not a day goes by too that I don't regret getting rid of it for an 810. How Garmin are able to release a newer design with worse firmware is really quite an achievement.

maquisard
Posts: 3772
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 8:51 pm
Location: France

by maquisard

Buy a Powertap Joule GPS.

It lacks some of the fancier features of the Garmins but for data acquisition you won't get better. I have never had a single crash, no mid ride shut downs or data loss. It just works.

stevebax
Posts: 3
Joined: Sat Oct 19, 2013 1:10 am

by stevebax

Just gotta put my 2 cents worth in ;) the anger ive built up for garmin in the last 6 months can hardly be put into words. but short story, im on my 3rd edge 510 since january. Its the biggest bugged pile of crap released onto an unsuspecting public. and i wish ill health on whoever is responsible for it.

kevhogaz
Posts: 232
Joined: Fri Aug 05, 2011 5:18 am
Location: Arizona

by kevhogaz

Can you upload the Joule directly to STRAVA, or do you need to download fit files? I like the idea of the Joule's simplicity, and have been considering picking one up.

maquisard
Posts: 3772
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 8:51 pm
Location: France

by maquisard

Install Poweragent ( the Powertap Windows or Mac ) software on your computer and it uploads directly to Strava.

I tried a Garmin 510 but returned it because of the already mentioned firmware issues.

by Weenie


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n808
Posts: 103
Joined: Sun Mar 16, 2014 3:09 pm
Location: Seattle, WA | Gjøvik, Norway

by n808

Tinea Pedis wrote:Have owned or used extensively most Garmin's.
The best is still the 705. The 800 was pretty damn good too - except for the absurd design for the USB and SD card ports. Not a day goes by too that I don't regret getting rid of it for an 810. How Garmin are able to release a newer design with worse firmware is really quite an achievement.

No, it's easy when you produce more new hardware than you have firmware developer capacity for. Then you end up with crap firmware that never gets fixed properly, as the developers have to move onto the next project before fixing all the previous bugs. Ironing out most significant bugs before release, that's much harder, but a lot of device manufacturers manage anyway. The Garmin Edge 1000 was probably the worst so far. It essentially did not work as anything but a basic cycle computer when it was released.

stevebax wrote:Just gotta put my 2 cents worth in ;) the anger ive built up for garmin in the last 6 months can hardly be put into words. but short story, im on my 3rd edge 510 since january. Its the biggest bugged pile of crap released onto an unsuspecting public. and i wish ill health on whoever is responsible for it.

I had that feeling for a while after losing several rides' datapoints, and Garmin Support was completely useless. The heart strap never worked properly, a replacement did not help. Then it started deleting files and corrupting the file system and I felt like throwing it in the garbage bin.

After f/w 3.10 fixed the file system corruption (for me at least) and I figured out it's critical to wait for GPS Fix Acquired before starting a recording to avoid lost data points, I haven't had a single failure. I also bought a Polar soft strap to use with the Garmin sensor. That solved the HRM dropout problems. Bluetooth uploads fail 90% of the time, but I don't consider that too critical. If I place the devices side-by-side on a table indoors, the uploads complete most of the time. LiveTrack generally works well if I make sure the GC app is running all the time. Routing seems to work well, too. I recently added a speed sensor, the 2014 version, and a Stages Power Meter. Both of these work without any issues.

I still think Garmin's hardware/firmware development cycle/philosophy is absolutely horrible, and getting worse, so I am unlikely to upgrade to a different Garmin product anytime in the foreseeable future.
(2012/2014) Scott Addict R1, SRAM Red 6.6kg | 2012 Scott Scale Pro, SRAM X0, 9.4kg

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