- Fossil Gen 5 is one of the best Wear OS watches, but Wear OS remains underdeveloped and unevenly supported by Google.
- Many users report GPS failures on Fossil Gen 5 after a Wear OS software update, affecting Google Fit, Strava, Nike, and other apps.
- Problem persists despite resets; affected users have logged complaints for months in Google's Wear OS Help forum.
- Google says engineers are working hard on a fix and it should arrive soon.
- Temporary workaround: set phone to Airplane mode, launch Strava, wait for solid location pin, do outdoor activity, then disable Airplane mode.
There are only a small number of smartwatches running Google’s Wear OS software. And the Fossil Gen 5 happens to be among the best Wear OS smartwatches you can get your hands on. However, Wear OS is not the most refined operating system for smartwatches. Google often treats it like a step-child. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the Fossil Gen 5 users have been complaining about a Wear OS GPS issue for months.
A software update at the center of the Fossil Gen 5 Wear OS GPS issue
A lot of Fossil Gen 5 owners have complained in Google’s Wear OS Help forum that the GPS doesn’t work as intended on their smartwatches. One user said that their Fossil Gen 5 stopped using GPS for outdoor activities after a Wear OS software update. The problem persists whether you are using Google Fit, Strava, Nike, or any other app.
Another user Jayasimha G complained that he was facing GPS tracking issues with his Fossil Gen 5 running Wear OS. Jayasimha also encountered the problem after a software update. He said Google Fit app’s GPS tracking has become “very bad.” Even resetting the smartwatch didn’t fix the problem.
Google working on a fix
The issue has been haunting users for months. Google engineers appear to be aware of the problem. A Google employee said on May 14 that the company had been “working hard to get a fix out to our users.” We should expect it to arrive soon.
If you are facing the same problem, a user named John M Flores shared a fix that appears to have worked for him. Here’s what he did to resolve the Wear OS GPS issue in Fossils Gen 5:
- Put your phone on Airplane mode
- Launch Strava
- Wait for a while or do some stretching until the Strava location pin gets solid
- Go for your outdoor activities
- When you are back, turn off the Airplane mode on your phone
Let us know in the comments if it worked for you.
The Fossil Gen 5 is an excellent smartwatch featuring a built-in speaker, Qualcomm Snapdragon 3100 chipset, a heart rate sensor and much more. It has a 1.28-inch AMOLED display with 328ppi of pixel density. It comes with all of Google’s apps pre-installed, including Google Fit, YouTube, Translate and Google Assistant. It works with both Android and iOS devices. The Fossil Gen 5 is swim-proof up to a depth of 30 meters.
