gps-guides

Author: Michael George

Created: 10 Jan 2025

COROS Advice

Do you own a COROS watch, or thinking of buying one for windsurfing / wingfoiling / kitesurfing? If the answer is yes, then this guide has been written for the benefit of you and your mates!

All GPS receivers are prone to errors, but some are more susceptible to glitches than others. Even if you own the best GPS watch, your settings and how you use it will influence the accuracy and likelihood of speeds being legitimate.

This guide has been written to help you get the best accuracy and features out of your COROS watch(es), and hopefully get as much enjoyment from your sessions as possible. 🤙

Topics

There is quite a lot to cover, so it has been split into the following topics:

• Watch choice
  • GNSS chipset and general features
• Watch setup
  • Firmware and watch settings
• Linking accounts
  • GPS-Speedsurfing, Hoolan, Waterspeed, Strava, Relive
• Watch usage
  • Wearing the watch, recording an activity, additional tips
• Data analysis
  • Reviewing results, exporting activities, importing activities
• Known issues

Please let me know if you find the guide useful, or whether anything needs further clarification.

Summary

I appreciate this was quite a long article, so here is a quick summary of the previous sections.

1. Choose a watch that uses the Airoha chipset - APEX 2, APEX 2 Pro, VERTIX 2 or VERTIX 2S.
2. Set it up properly - working firmware and suitable settings, especially the satellite systems.
3. Link your COROS account to websites such as GPS-Speedsurfing, Hoolan, Waterspeed, etc.
4. Use the speedsurfing activity, which behaves quite differently to the windsurfing activity.
5. Ensure your watch has a clear view of the sky for as much of the time as possible, especially during speed runs.
6. Try out the applications GpsarPro, GPSResults, and GPS Speedreader for more insights into your performance.

Finally

The most common causes of data issues, elevated speeds, and spikes:

• Exporting GPX files and importing them into GPS-Speedsurfing, Waterspeed, Strava, etc.
• COROS watches using the Sony chipset are especially prone to spikes - APEX Pro and VERTIX.
• COROS watches without the speedsurfing activity are prone to spikes - APEX, PACE 2, PACE 3, PACE Pro.
• Firmware issues since May 2024 have made many of the COROS watches quite unreliable!
• Newer watches such as the VERTIX 2 are prone to spikes when using standard GPS and / or windsurfing mode.

I hope this guide is useful to people who own a COROS watch. The advice will help you to get the most from your watch and maximize the chances of your speeds being accurate.