UKC

Also applicable to the running forums

Anybody else having issues with Strava recently? A few of us at work use it, (android app), and we've all recently had various problems, such as finishing a route, the app says 'x' miles, but following upload it says zero miles, and it's impossible to recover the GPX file.
My big bugbear is the time taken to actually start recording, as the app attempts to find an internet connection, (some chance in rural Cumbria), then sits there pondering for a few minutes. I've now gone back to using sportstrack live, as it's a far more robust app and doesn't require an internet connection to save the route. I then upload at home and export the GPX file to Strava, which allows me to do the segment comparing and get abuse from mates that Strava's really good for.
However, at the moment Strava's spent the last 20 minutes 'Changing Activity Type', and I suspect it's never going to sort itself out.
Anyone else having problems with Strava?

In reply to Ridge: Clunky on my phone - sometimes it will crash mid ride particularly if I stop and look at it - very schrodingers cat. But I suspect it's my now nearly 3 year old HTC phone - its forever filling up it's memory and then things stop working well.

In reply to Ridge:

From your description it's the App rather than Strava itself. I've not used the Android app but I (and one or two others) have had problems with the iPhone version suddenly stopping recording in the middle of a ride and you get a straight line from that point back to the finish.

Not had any problem with dedicated GPS devices such as the Garmins.

ALC

In reply to Ridge:
Strangely yes. Had me down as taking 7 minutes to finish what should have been about a 23 second sprint!
However, i did drop my Garmin shortly after and was worried it was that....i hope to be out testing later if this bloody rain holds off

In reply to Ridge:

I use Strava android App with no issues and usually have no internet/data connection to start recording or during ride.

In reply to Ridge:

Have you got the latest version? When I first started using strava at the start of the year it was really flaky on an old HTC phone. Then it got much better after an application update (end of May I think).

Of course, the latest version might have made it worse again. I get the impression that Android app performance is very different between different phones.

In reply to Ridge:
New strava user, new android phone, Surrey hills,, no problem

It's way more reliable now I've got a GPS watch, rather than Android App. I used to get random outlying points messing things up. The changing activity thing is a bug on the website too. You might find it's done it if you open another tab, just not updating the screen.

In reply to Ridge:
My wife uses it on her Samsung (Android) and it's way more unstable that my iPhone. it often seems to stop mid-ride, or appear to stop but actually record the ride after all. I've switched to a basic Garmin Edge (200), because I was fed up with the iPhone running out of juice and clunking around on the front to f my bike

In reply to FrankBooth:

I use Sports-tracker.com. Doesn't really concentrate on segments and KOM like Strava. However, the Android app is very stable and you can export the gpx files and presumably import them to Strava. It's main limitation is the battery life of your phone.

In reply to Ridge:
I use the Android App ona HTC phone and have had problems before. However now a days i turn my internet connection off before starting a ride i have found this to be much more reliable (but not perfect) it will then just sit on your phone unsynched until you turn the connection back on - ive turned my phone off and on and it hasnt lost the unsynched data.
I just wish they would stop sending out updates that put on more pointless functionality - who cares about watching a training video

MJ

In reply to Ridge:
Had a similar problem with Runkeeper on my Iphone last week, although in this case it tells me I had run 19km wheras I had only done 10.

Seems like it didn't initialise properly, or was getting bad data, but the GPS trace was all over the place. To make matters worse it was my first 10K run.

Not sure if the problem lies with the phone or the app

Mind you with a time of 58 minutes for 19k I'm expecting a call from the GB selectors any time soon.

In reply to Ridge:
No problems using the website to upload from my Garmin (including changing the activity type), but even my Garmin GPS unit struggles to find a satellite (in London!) sometimes. I actually find (if I forget the sat nav) that my phone finds a GPS connection much more quickly than the Garmin.

In reply to evilellie: which Garmin? my 405 is awful in any forest/woods.

But I find strava great, if a tad slow at times..

In reply to Ridge:

The only problem I've had with strava (on my android phone) is forgetting the charge the phone overnight then setting off on an 80 mile ride!

In reply to IainRUK:
Mine is an Edge 800. It can be terrible out in the woods, but also sometimes terrible in town where I would assume there is plentiful GPS coverage. One of the garmin forums did suggest clearing out all the activities periodically would speed it up, but I've not really noticed a difference (except of course it's quicker uploading stuff).

In reply to Ridge:

If you have problems with signal, then I can recommend the 510. No mapping, but the GPS part is far better than the other models.

I've not used Strava, but my friend uses it all the time. It regularly tells him that he hit 50mph on the flat when my Garmin says 30mph, so I've never bothered trying it, seem unreliable. Although he does use a mobile phone for it so maybe that's why.

In reply to evilellie:

GPS 'coverage' is all about view of the sky and the ability to pick up a clear signal from enough satellites to calculate your position. If you are in an urban canyon, you may well lose contact with a satellite, similarly in wooded areas. A number of things will help, particulalry the quality of your GPS processor.

In reply to nniff:
I don't think that's the problem, as usually it works fine (in the same location), but sometimes just completely fails to find any satellites (queue me waving it around pointing at the sky). Also I would expect a dedicated GPS unit to be better at this than my phone, which never has a problem finding a GPS signal.

In reply to evilellie: My Edge 800 is really good. Keeps a connection through trees, I can even get a connection indoors sometimes, it's massively better than my Forerunner 305. I'm often quite surprised where it will pick up satellites. Dove over 20000 miles with mine and it rarely has any problem connecting. Perhaps it's just yours?

sIn reply to Escher:
Yeah, maybe. It has never been able to get a signal when indoors. It's odd though, it does seem ok in the Surrey Hills, where even phone reception is a problem from all the hills and trees, but then sometimes it struggles on the top of a hill with a clear view in London.

In reply to Ridge:

Just been emailed by Strava... to be an ambassador...

Logging every day... I actually get nothing.. but a nice badge...