Wahoo Bolt v1 GPS lock extremely slow after GPS fix update

After the GPS date fix on my Gen1 Bolt getting a GPS lock is extremely slow. It takes 5-10 minutes to get a lock! This makes the computer unusable for my daily commutes because I do not have time to wait on my yard for that long to get a lock.

When I go on a ride I start the computer and start biking after like 1 minute when it has heartrate lock. So I am moving when it is trying to get a lock.

Please fix this as it was not like this before. It seems like the GPS is doing a cold start every time it is started.

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Same here. Please Wahoo, go fix this.

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Me too. Took over 15 minutes today to find GPS. Any fox for this in sight please?

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Here with Bolt v1, GPS takes ages to lock even under the clear sky. Please fix it.

Thank you!

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Yep exactly the same issue after loading the patch ā€˜fix’. GPS take miles/minutes to acquire even when moving in clear space.

Logged with Support 5 days ago but nothing other than boiler plate response back yet.

Little confused now as patch listed at top of page https://support.wahoofitness.com/hc/en-us/requests/new is WB17-17055 while my BOLT V1 now shows it is running WB17-17068.

Anybody else with problem seeing this ?**
**

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Same here and yes, I see the same version info 17068 on my device - which I updated on the day the patch was originally released.

In another thread on this issue someone mentioned this behavior goes away after some rides, which is not the case for me. Even after several weeks now with 2 rides a day the signal is slow to acquire.

I got a response from support today. They suggested follow this procedure which I did a couple of times and it seems to have worked. The secret appears to be to go to the map page and wait for the GPS to acquire. I repeated this 3 times power-cycling the BOLT each time and it appears to acquire much faster now. Try this …. see if it works for you.

Please ensure the ELEMNT has completed the GPS calibration process by completing the following steps (for your next ride):

  1. Turn the ELEMNT on while outdoors

  2. After the warming up process is completed, using the page button, scroll to the map page of the ELEMNT

  3. Initially, you will see ā€œacquiring GPSā€ in the top corner of the maps screen

  4. Once acquiring GPS is no longer visible, press start ride.

cheers

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I also noticed that if I stay still outside while it is trying to acquire GPS it gets the lock much faster. Hope that I do not have to repeat this everytime. I will also try that map trick.

Hi, my BOLT-1 also got WB17-17068. So, howot downgrade to 17055, if that’s the correct FW Version?

Tested this morning with staying still outside on the map view and it took under 1 minute to get the lock.

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It definitely gets better when following these steps. Thanks for sharing the info Peteb!

And @R0M4N_AS3: No need to downgrade I assume, I guess this is just a typo with the version numbers in the list. As the latest one (showing 17068 on the device) is the only one fixed for this ā€œy2k-bug reloadedā€ you should stick to this version.

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I have a similar issue with my V1 Roam and currently have a garmin in my shoppting cart on Amazon because of my frustration with it. Received no response from Wahoo help on it. I will try this maps page reset to see if it gets better.

I have also had this issue since the August firmware fix, although I checked just now and my Bolt v1 is on WB17-17071. It definitely seems to take longer to acquire a GPS lock while moving (over 6 minutes this evening), but it never used to do this before the August firmware fix.

I will try the map screen trick to see if that helps. Although, I’m a little confused, did Wahoo support say to power off the Bolt after it acquires a GPS lock and repeat that another two times, @Peteb?

Yes, wahoo support says to hard reset 3 times after it acquires gps satellite each time, where i read somewhere. Hold power button till it shuts off, it will sometimes automatically restart. I’ve done it and it acquires gps signal faster right after BUT, after I leave it off for awhile it goes back to taking 3-6 minutes to lock into satellite sometimes even longer. And sometimes on device map screen arrow starts wandering of course and lagging. It has never done that before firmware screw up.

Its not a typo, his has probably upgraded to 2 more firmware updates. I’ve downloaded 2 more as well when it told me new firmware available. It still hasn’t fixed my slow gps signal lock. Device is Elemnt Roam v1

And you cannot reverse to an older firmware.

***update 11/12/25 I did a factory reset since firmware update weeks ago and so far it seemed to fix gps issue. It now locked onto gps in 5 seconds inside my car. I powered off and restarted 4 more times and each time it locked onto gps within seconds. The first time was a little slow. Will test on bike soon.

Before that I called wahoo tech support and they offered a 20% discount towards new version 3 unit.

I could not get it sorted. Support offered me a discount on a new bike computer, and I took them up for it.

My new Roam 3 acquires GPS as quickly as my Bolt v1 did in the past.

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