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Most of the configuration of the Fenix 5X is done directly in the watch, but there are aspects that have to be done via either the website, the smart phone app, or the PC (Garmin Express.) The main thing that you can't do on the watch itself is configure Connect IQ apps, watch faces, and data fields. The configuration on the watch is fairly intuitive, but the sheer number of configuration options can be a little bewildering, and if you have to do a factory reset, you have to apply all configuration changes again from scratch. While that's a bit of a pain, it's rarely a problem in practice, and more than made up for bite the ability to configure the data shown during a workout without needing an Internet connection. Even better, you can configure the data shown during the workout actually during the workout itself. I find that surprisingly useful; just today it turned a little warm, and I was able to reconfigure my display to show the current temperature. One minor annoyance is that you can't add the Run app twice so that you can have two different configurations. For instance, I might want to have my watch configured with pace alerts and specific set of data screens for my long runs, but no alerts and different data for a short second run of the day. My work around is to use another app like "trail run" for the different configuration.
=GPS Accuracy=
I've tested the [[GPS Accuracy]] of the Fenix 5X with its initial release firmware, and it's possible that its accuracy will improve as the firmware matures. I tested using the 4.20 version of the GPS firmware, which is included in the 2.40 version of the overall firmware, and I'm in the process of testing the 4.30 GPS firmware. Based on my testing, the Fenix 5X certainly has plenty of room for improvement. At best, the GPS accuracy could be described as mediocre, and I think it's bad enough that it could significantly mess up your training. If you look at the middle, curved section, you can see that the Fenix 5X is doing particularly badly here. This is a challenging section, and reveals any weakness in a GPS watch. The right most segment with the right-angle turn is a section of the most watches do reasonably well on, but the Fenix 5X is struggling here as well. The tracks don't look too bad, you can see that the Fenix 5X is not able to calculate the distance correctly. The Fenix 5X doesn't get too badly confused going under the bridge, actually looks a little better in that area than the two Suunto watches shown for comparison. The blue lap markers are rather widely spread, again giving more evidence of poor GPS accuracy. It's possible that other versions of the Fenix 5 might have different GPS accuracy. It's possible that the plastic 935 might do a little better, but without testing it's impossible to know. (I buy all my test gear through retail channels. This allows me to be brutally honest in my reviews, as I don't need to keep the manufacturer happy in order to continue getting free samples or early access. The downside is that I'm more limited in the array of watches I can test. Therefore, it's unlikely that I will test other versions of the Fenix 5 at this point.) I've tested both the 4.20 and the 4.30 version of the GPS firmware (see below for details.)
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none;"
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|[[File:BridgeFenix 5X4.30.jpg|none|thumb|x300px| The GPS tracks from the Fenix 5Xwith the 4.30 GPS firmware. This diagram has tracks color coded with green indicating good accuracy through to red indicating poor accuracy, and the lap markers as blue dots.]]|- valign="top"|[[File:BridgeFenix 5X 4.20.jpg|none|thumb|x300px|Here's the GPS tracks from the Fenix 5X with the earlier 4.20 firmware. There are minor differences, and the later 4.30 is slightly better, but the differences are not statistically significant. The older version has slightly more distributed lap markers, and slightly tighter track marks.]]
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|[[File:BridgeSuunto Spartan Ultra 1.6.14.jpg|none |thumb |x300px|For comparison, here are the tracks from the [[Suunto Spartan Ultra]], which had appalling GPS accuracy when it was first released, but the latest firmware has improved things.]]