# Can I switch a Garmin off/on mid ride?



## Joobert (30 May 2016)

As the title sugests, can I turn my garmin off then on again mid ride?

Let me elaborate...

For example.. If I was to create say a 150 mile route and use this course on my Garmin 810, ride 100 miles then stop somewhere for a couple of hours break before picking up the last 50 miles. I want to save battery so would the Garmin remember the first 100 miles if I switched the Garmin off/on again, so I could log the course as one uninterupted ride?


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## Roadrider48 (30 May 2016)

I would imagine you just press stop and then power it down. When you turn it back on it should just resume.
I have never planned a route myself but that's what happens when I use my 800 for everyday use.


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## PK99 (30 May 2016)

Joobert said:


> As the title sugests, can I turn my garmin off then on again mid ride?
> 
> Let me elaborate...
> 
> For example.. If I was to create say a 150 mile route and use this course on my Garmin 810, ride 100 miles then stop somewhere for a couple of hours break before picking up the last 50 miles. I want to save battery so would the Garmin remember the first 100 miles if I switched the Garmin off/on again, so I could log the course as one uninterupted ride?




Yes.no problem


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (30 May 2016)

Yes


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## Debade (30 May 2016)

I have the 500 but turn it on/off during rides. On the 500, if the ride is not reset, I think it just continues to measure the same ride.


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## StuAff (30 May 2016)

As they've said, it'll be one interrupted ride (unless you reset of course...) regardless of how many times you turn it on and off. Power it down with a track or course loaded and it'll still be ready and waiting when you switch it on again.


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## Joobert (30 May 2016)

Ok, thanks all for your advice, I'll give it a go!


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## Lpoolck (30 May 2016)

Yes you can, but I find on long routes my 1000 ends up not giving any turn by turn directions (everything else works as it should). I put it down to a bug in the software but your question has made me think if its linked to me powering it down during a rest stop.


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## Gert Lush (30 May 2016)

Yep, do it every time I ride to work to get my commute on one file instead of two.


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## Broadside (30 May 2016)

On my Edge 800 after I switch it back on I need to press start or it will not record the ride after switching on. 

Switch on, press start and then you're laughing.


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## jonny jeez (30 May 2016)

Gert Lush said:


> Yep, do it every time I ride to work to get my commute on one file instead of two.


I'm gonna try that.


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## jonny jeez (30 May 2016)

Gert Lush said:


> Yep, do it every time I ride to work to get my commute on one file instead of two.


Just to confirm, so that I don't lose data. You'ride in, hit pause, then switch off the garmin (without resetting) . Then when you turn it back on you hit start and ride home?

And it stitches the two rides together?

what does it do to your average time and stuff (not that I'm too bothered, just interested to see)?


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## Gert Lush (30 May 2016)

jonny jeez said:


> I'm gonna try that.



Don't forget to pause it, didn't say that earlier but all you gotta do is hold down the power off button when it's paused.

The only thing that changes is that on strava the elapsed time will include the length that it was paused. So my commutes have a moving time of 18 minutes but an elapsed time of 9hrs odd.

Edit: Just saw your other post after I wrote this. I find my average time is slower because I'm always more tired after work so I could average 16mph on the way in but maybe 12-13mph on the way home and it'll obviously be lower because of that. I don't know whether you'll be able to see but here's a link to one on strava. https://www.strava.com/activities/589013843 

Also just looking at this but it always cocks up the elevation afterwards so you'll see (maybe) that it'll say on the way in it's 1-5ft but on the way home it's like -60-65ft. Not sure what's up with that..


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## Broadside (30 May 2016)

Gert Lush said:


> Don't forget to pause it, didn't say that earlier but all you gotta do is hold down the power off button when it's paused.
> 
> The only thing that changes is that on strava the elapsed time will include the length that it was paused. So my commutes have a moving time of 18 minutes but an elapsed time of 9hrs odd.
> 
> ...



Depends on the Garmin model, but on the units with a barometric sensor if there is a change in air pressure during the day (quite likely) it will make a difference to the elevation recorded. If the weather got worse as a result of falling air pressure the garmin will record a leap in climbing/ascent.


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## Gert Lush (30 May 2016)

Broadside said:


> Depends on the Garmin model, but on the units with a barometric sensor if there is a change in air pressure during the day (quite likely) it will make a difference to the elevation recorded. If the weather got worse as a result of falling air pressure the garmin will record a leap in climbing/ascent.



It's an 810. That might be quite likely tbh because on my longer days I start at 8.30-9am ish and finish at 6pm so I imagine it would be different


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## ianrauk (30 May 2016)

I switch my Garmins (200 & Touring) off all the time mid ride during lunch/breaks etc.
It doesn't effect the recording or average.


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## Chris1983 (30 May 2016)

Lpoolck said:


> Yes you can, but I find on long routes my 1000 ends up not giving any turn by turn directions (everything else works as it should). I put it down to a bug in the software but your question has made me think if its linked to me powering it down during a rest stop.



My edge 1000 does the same occasional. Especially if it thinks I've missed a way point. I wish there was a skip to next way point option.


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## Gert Lush (31 May 2016)

Today the elevation went all the way from about 4ft to -191ft on the way home. Must be something to do with the turning on and off.


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## Heisenberg71 (1 Jun 2016)

My Edge 1000 has a sleep option, so you don't need to turn it off when resting. 
Seems to work fine for me, but I agree that Garmins can be somewhat unpredictable and often frustrating.


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## Ajax Bay (1 Jun 2016)

I have a 500 and on rides of longer than 13 hours (eg first part of a 400 or 600 Audax) I want to put some charge in at a stop/control (from a 2.2Ahc power bank). As soon as I plug it in the ride terminates (effectively 'switches off' as per thread title) and when I start off again I have to restart ie a new activity and the distance travelled is 'lost'. This matters because the turns on the routesheet are marked from the start eg 274k L @ T $ Penzance. Can someone tell me if there's a routine/work-around I can follow to resolve this, please? (I have been through the manual.)


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## PK99 (1 Jun 2016)

Heisenberg71 said:


> My Edge 1000 has a sleep option, so you don't need to turn it off when resting.
> Seems to work fine for me, but I agree that Garmins can be somewhat unpredictable and often frustrating.



If I were you I'd be pretty uncertain about that.... don't you find Garmins are great for telling you where you are or what speed you are going but not both?


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## Ajax Bay (1 Jun 2016)

Not original, @PK99  but raised a smile, nonetheless. The old ones are good ones.


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## smutchin (2 Jun 2016)

jonny jeez said:


> what does it do to your average time and stuff (not that I'm too bothered, just interested to see)?



If you're uploading to Strava, all your averages are calculated on moving time rather than elapsed time, so you can rest assured that you won't be made to look even slower than you already are.



Gert Lush said:


> Also just looking at this but it always cocks up the elevation afterwards so you'll see (maybe) that it'll say on the way in it's 1-5ft but on the way home it's like -60-65ft. Not sure what's up with that..



I used to have this problem until I realised that...



Broadside said:


> Depends on the Garmin model, but on the units with a barometric sensor if there is a change in air pressure during the day (quite likely) it will make a difference to the elevation recorded. If the weather got worse as a result of falling air pressure the garmin will record a leap in climbing/ascent.



...this was the answer. It took me a while to cotton on - I didn't even realise my 510 had a barometric sensor until very recently. Wet weather can interfere with the sensor too but it's usually down to turning the device off when you stop and turning it on again later, by which time atmospheric conditions have changed.

The 510 has more than enough battery capacity to leave it running for the duration of a 200km audax without turning it off at controls, so now I don't bother and just leave it outside on the bike. I've even turned off the auto-pause. It's fine. I have a battery pack to top it up for longer rides.


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## Iainj837 (2 Jun 2016)

Would this be the case for the Garmin 200, I always use the Garmin for work but have to save the data and switch off which mean 2 activities instead of one


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## ianrauk (2 Jun 2016)

Iainj837 said:


> Would this be the case for the Garmin 200, I always use the Garmin for work but have to save the data and switch off which mean 2 activities instead of one




Nope... as I said up thread. You can switch off without saving and also charge up mid ride and you will not lose the recording.


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## TheJDog (2 Jun 2016)

Even if you save and start a new one (to be sure of not losing when you switch off - sometimes strange things do happen), rides are just stored as XML and they are a piece of piss to stitch together by hand (or I would guess there is something on the web to do it).


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## GravityFighter (2 Jun 2016)

I have the 510 and this automatically powers down & switches off after a few mins once I have paused mid-ride. Then when I turn it back on the same ride is continued automatically until I hit the 'Play' triangular button to end the ride and save it. 

Would have thought the 810 does similar.


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## R_nger (2 Jun 2016)

TheJDog said:


> Even if you save and start a new one (to be sure of not losing when you switch off - sometimes strange things do happen), rides are just stored as XML and they are a piece of piss to stitch together by hand (or I would guess there is something on the web to do it).


They're not XML on the Edge models, they're binary FIT files. They may appear as XML when you send them to your tool of choice, but I think they may lose data during the conversion (certainly heartrate and cadence, possibly temperature too)


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## smutchin (2 Jun 2016)

GravityFighter said:


> I have the 510 and this automatically powers down & switches off after a few mins once I have paused mid-ride. Then when I turn it back on the same ride is continued automatically until I hit the 'Play' triangular button to end the ride and save it.



Yeah - a handy battery-saving feature, except for the annoying way it buggers up the elevation data. 

This is why I never pause mine during rides now - the battery still lasts long enough to get around a 200km audax with plenty to spare (as long as I remembered to charge it up before starting).

It's actually quite useful to leave it running while doing an audax because then the displayed average speed is a true 'audax average', including stops. It still reverts to 'moving average' when I upload the ride.


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## TheJDog (3 Jun 2016)

R_nger said:


> They're not XML on the Edge models, they're binary FIT files. They may appear as XML when you send them to your tool of choice, but I think they may lose data during the conversion (certainly heartrate and cadence, possibly temperature too)



Oh, OK, but you can easily get the XML by downloading with Strava or Garmin Connect, stitch together, delete the old ride(s), re-upload oh this is sounding like a lot of trouble,


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