Screen brightness outside

The AMOLED display type on the Approach S70 can sense ambient light, similar to smartphones. AMOLED display types tend to be affected more by direct sunlight, so often times when outside in direct light, the ambient light detected will decrease the screen brightness to reduce sunlight from washing out the picture. 

The Approach S70 does not have any design-related issues resulting in watches needing to be replaced as a result of the hardware or software. 

User's inquiring about the backlight not coming on the S70, have found the reason due to specific settings being enabled on the device, resulting in the display being turned off through the quick access menu. 

The new quick access menu, opened from the regular time screen by tapping the middle button on the side of the watch, displays boxes for quick access to certain settings on the watch. 

There is a box labeled "Display" that needs to be grayed out, in order for display features to work. Many users end up tapping to turn it from gray to green, thinking that should be selected to enable the display, but this results in the display features to be switched off...resulting in the gesture and backlight increase to become disabled to preserve power, or to keep the display dim when at a movie, taking a nap, etc. 

I am not sure what specifically was checked or done through troubleshooting in this circumstance, but Garmin Support is the best source to contact if the user has tried everything they could think of to troubleshoot.