Can I get some help with my Gear S2?

[tulahoob]

Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

My enthusiasm for the Gear S2 started well before it was released, and patiently waited until last week to get one.

Initial reaction was, wow, this looks and feels great. Excitement ensued, but sadly was short lived. I had 2 main motivations for this device; smart watch to work with my Galaxy S6 Edge+, and activity tracking. The latter was really important to me and it was to replace my Fitbit.

All worked well apart from the activity tracking and S Health combo. Issues encountered include:
- unreliability of HRM and inability to have working 24/7
- calorie burn way off compared to other devices
- battery dropping 50-60% in a 24 hour period
- no sleep tracking

This is a disclaimer in the user manual in reference to the HRM - 'This feature may not function properly while you are moving'.

Go figure!

After a painful few days of trying to get Samsung to rectify, or advise if fixes/upgrades were in the pipeline all I got from a 'tech', who had no knowledge of the device or S Health, was just do a factory reset.

I see that many others have issues, particularly around the activity tracking, so does anyone out there know if these issues will/can be fixed by Samsung (the tech couldn't tell me), before it goes back to the shop.

Thanks

 

[ShaggyKids]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

Really? "This feature may not function properly while moving." Doesn't do much good when we're not either. Sheesh!

 

[KoukiFC3S]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

I'm bummed that the step counter is under reporting. I kept comparing my steps to my Apple Watch & Fitbit friends and I looked like the lazy one.

 

[tstreete]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

A few quick answers. Others may be able to elaborate.

• On the HRM: most reviewers and testers have found it compares favorably to other smartwatches. I've found I need to clean the back of the watch now and then (just wipe it off), and it needs to be snug on my wrist for accuracy/consistency. It's true it does not do frequent round-the-clock heart monitoring, but can be set to do it every hour or two. If you manually initiate an exercise routine in SHealth on the watch, HRM is constant and solid during the routine.
• Calorie burn is calculated for specific exercise only, not factoring in round-the-clock activity. There's debate about whether this is a good or bad approach. (Some think round-the-clock calorie measurement isn't accurate, anyway. I have no opinion.)
• Battery dropping 50-60% in a 24 hour period is pretty much within specifications. (Lasts two days, depending on use.) Reducing screen brightness, using mostly-black watch faces, turning off wifi and NFC, and some other measures increase battery life.
• There's a limited sleep-tracking app in the store called GNight, and Sleep as Android has a sophisticated SHealth integrated Gear S2 watch app in beta testing. The beta can be downloaded from their website, reportedly.
• Samsung support teams are definitely not up to speed yet on the S2, it's true.

 

[tulahoob]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

Thanks tstreete, appreciate your comments.

I agree, when it's working the HRM is inline with other devices, but it's unreliable. On frequent it should check every 10mins (or so I've gathered), but can be between 10mins and 5 hours. It's brand new and I wipe down after exercise so it is clean.

The calorie burn is an interesting one. Yesterday as a last gasp attempt to rescue my faith in it I went for a run with it on one wrist, and my Fitbit Charge HR on the other. The calorie burn was significantly lower than the Fitbit, and significantly lower than the Suunto Running watch I usually use when running. I've built up a pretty good understanding of what I use up on a run as I have a set route, so that was a major disappointment. Perhaps it's the way they calculate the calorie burn?

Yet, walking it's fine. Perhaps when they say you shouldn't move when using the HRM, they mean it

Battery - I only use S Health and little else so surprised at battery, but in fairness it charges really quickly, and the charging dock is excellent.

I'll take a look at G Night, but I read on another thread Samsung has stopped Sleep as Android being available. Not certain though.

 

[Mznik60620]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

I've heard others concerned about the sleep tracker. I'm curious as to what benefits that provides. I used it maybe twice on my Gear 2 and all it did was tell me how many hours of sleep I got without movement. Does other sleep trackers provide more insight on your sleeping patterns?

 

[tulahoob]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

Hi Mznik60620. I've only ever used Fitbit, and it's quite good as it tells you when you slept, when you wake up, when you are restless, and then puts it all together in a nice chart by day, week or month.

It's not perfect by any means, and it's not a critical health function, but is useful to monitor sleep patterns. I work late some nights so it's good to see how solid my sleep is, versus what I think I've had.

 

[wsrobert]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

Personally, I think you're illogically getting hung up on the calorie burn calculation. It's not like you aren't burning calories while running. And no matter what you're using to track your burn, your body doesnt care. And is burning the same amount with each run. Better that whatever tracker you use is consistent in how it measures. Since none of them are accurate.

Much like activity trackers that track steps, they don't get it 100% right. And each activity tracker has its own way of calculating steps via algorithms and movement tracking. Getting bent out of shape because your fitbit counts x steps and the s2 counts y steps is missing the point. As long as each tracker is consistent with how it calculates steps, and calories burned, thats all that matters.

It does make it challenging moving from one tracker to another. But more reason to pick with a platform and stick to it. It'll always be apples to oranges - primarily because none of these trackers are sophisticated enough to actually get it right.

I do wish there was more transparency on how some of these trackers actually calculate various metrics. The S2 and its calorie burn calculations being a good example (not basal - only during workouts).

 

[icicle22]

I just jumped up to the Gear s2 from the Gear S and I am enjoying but I find the GPS to be unreliable using the Nike Running app. I have been using it for the last 6 months with the Gear S and I assumed it was tracking accurately. However with the Gear S2 the same app seems like it is under reporting mileage. A route I know is 2 miles came in under 1.9m. What I found was when I looked at the "map" that documented my run/walk it was very erratic. It appears that at times the GPS must lose connection and then when it find the connection it just connects the dots in a straight line. It give the appearance that I am walking through yards and houses sometimes and generally its jumping all over based on erratic data points.

When I reviewed some maps from previous runs using the Gear S they are pretty darn smooth as if the Gear S was collecting more frequent location data. When I walked around a cul-de-sac the actual path was round. With the Gear S2 it is more jagged....sometimes oddly so (only 1-2 data points is hard to make a circle). I think this is cutting out some of the distance when it calculated mileage.

Is anyone else seeing this? Also...in the spirit of the last post...I am trying not to obsess on this much. If the watch is a "little" off from the previous version (who knows is if was accurate to begin with) its not like my body isn't burning calories or getting an aerobic workout because of it. Honestly...I just use the watch to track time and distance and use MapMyFitness to actually calculate calories burned.

Anyway....my first post but I can guarantee won't be my last. Thanks!

 

[tulahoob]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

wsrobert, you are right about consistency, and I guess that's my frustration. When I pay $500 for a device that tells me it will track all my activity 24/7, and doesn't, I get a bit irritated. The HRM is erratic, with most times checking every 10mins, but sometimes not for 60 mins, or several hours.

I appreciate none are 100% accurate, and I don't expect them to be. For accuracy I wear a Suunto sports watch and HRM strap when running. I just want to know what I'm doing if I'm just mooching about the house, or taking the dogs for a walk etc.

I can work with different ways of calculating activity/calorie burn etc, as long as it's accurate (within reason) and consistent.

 

[tulahoob]

icicle22, my Gear S2 is connected to my Galaxy S6 Edge and yesterday on a walk I always do with my dogs the GPS map just showed 2 straight lines in completely the wrong direction, when in fact I did laps around a lake and a park.

Yet, 2 days prior it was spot on. Go figure.

 

[icicle22]

icicle22, my Gear S2 is connected to my Galaxy S6 Edge and yesterday on a walk I always do with my dogs the GPS map just showed 2 straight lines in completely the wrong direction, when in fact I did laps around a lake and a park.

Yet, 2 days prior it was spot on. Go figure.

In my testing last night I walked 1 mile and the app logged the mileage correct but the map only showed 2 straight lines and only went to my neighbors and back. Like 500 feet. However the mileage was right. I think something was wrong with the GPD maps last night or yesterday. I just bought my wife a Galaxy s6 and tried the NIke app with that and it actually only shows what looks like a heart rate or elevation graph? It looks like a wave form.

Anyway....I used the app on my watch again today to walk 4 miles on my lunch along a nature trail and it seemed dead on again. Weird.

 

[Mznik60620]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

Do you guys see a difference when you have your cell phone with you/connected to watch vs when you don't? I am thinking maybe it's reporting more accurately when using the GPS from the cell phone

 

[tulahoob]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

Connected to mobile at all times.

 

[icicle22]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

Connected to mobile at all times.

As in connected to "mobile phone" or "mobile network"?

On a different note I walked a mile with watch only and checked the NIke App and it showed a pretty accurate map with my path on it. Then, I walked the same exact path back home and the Nike App is only showing me a graph again that I guess represents my heart rate or elevation? It is not clear why this is happening. However the same mile path "back home" was only logged as .85 miles vs. the 1.01 on the first pass.

 

[tulahoob]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

Sorry, mobile phone is Aussie speak for cell phone.

It was connected to my phone via bluetooth so should have been using that. Had worked the other day.

 

[tulahoob]

Re: Gear S2. Great design & build, but...

Sorry, mobile phone is Aussie speak for cell phone.

It was connected to my phone via bluetooth so should have been using that. Had worked the other day.