We’ve heard from several riders with a Garmin fēnix 9 whose sessions are missing GPS data. GPS starts normally but stops about 15 seconds into the session, while the rest of the session (time, heart rate, jumps) keeps recording. It doesn’t happen in every session, and the same watch can work fine one day and not the next.
We’ve looked into this in detail: the watch stops sending GPS positions to the Surfr app, even though the app keeps asking for them. This is an issue in the watch software on Garmin’s side, so it can only be fixed by Garmin.
ℹ️ Update October 2026: We’ve reported this bug to Garmin, and Garmin has acknowledged it. We don’t know yet when Garmin will release a fix.
Because GPS data stops coming through, you may notice:
Only a very short track on the map
Little or no distance and speed
All jumps shown at the same spot
What can you do?
Please report the issue to Garmin Support as well. The more riders report it, the higher the priority on Garmin’s side.
Go to support.garmin.com and search for your watch model.
On your watch’s support page, choose Contact Us / Support Center. Depending on your country you’ll get a support case form (email), chat or phone.
Look up your software version and serial number first: on the watch under Settings → System → About, or in Garmin Connect under your device.
Copy the message below and fill in the parts between [brackets].
Optional but stronger: attach an affected session. In connect.garmin.com, open the Surfr activity, press the gear icon and choose Export Original (a ZIP with your FIT file).
Copy this message to Garmin
Subject: fēnix 9 - GPS stops delivering positions to a Connect IQ app shortly after the start of an activity (CIQQA-4769)
Hello Garmin Support,
I’m having a GPS problem on my fēnix 9 (exact model: [e.g. fēnix 9 Pro 47mm], software version: [version], serial number: [serial]).
When I record a kitesurf session with the Surfr app (a Connect IQ app), GPS works for about 15 seconds after the first fix and then stops completely for the rest of the session. The activity itself keeps running and heart rate and other data keep recording, but there are no more GPS positions, so the track and distance are missing.
It doesn’t happen every time: the same watch works in some sessions and fails in others.
This matches a bug that is already reported and acknowledged on the Garmin Connect IQ developer forum, reference CIQQA-4769: “fenix 9 Pro: GPS stops delivering positions to a Connect IQ app about 14 seconds into an activity”.
An example of an affected session: [date and time of the session]. [If attached: The original FIT file of this session is attached.]
Could you please let me know whether this will be fixed in a firmware update, and add my report to the existing bug?
Thank you,
[Name]
💡 Did this happen to you? Let us know via the chat with the date of the session. Every example helps us push this with Garmin.