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Disappointing battery life

I have just upgraded from a Fenix 5 to a Fenix 5 plus and so far I am finding the battery life to be a lot less than I would expect.

I used to get nearly 2 weeks battery life out of the Fenix 5 but so far the Fenix 5 plus has used 25% in 2 days, both watches are set up and used exactly the same.

I know the Fenix 5 plus is supposed to have slightly less battery life but at this rate it is not even going to last a week.

Does anyone know if this will improve if I cycle the battery a couple of times or if this is normal for this model

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0 Heidstocker over 6 years ago

Let me (again) jump in: I also sent them my details weeks ago when they contacted us the first time. I got no response, no feedback, no "we need some additional" and no "sth. is missing". So for sure I'm not doing it again.

Why I jump in: First to say again that the main issue is not how much battery it takes for an activity (that's reasonable and ok), not how much battery it takes in smart-mode (that's reasonable and ok). It's about the drain of the battery that can happen (might happen, must not happen) after an activity.

Yesterday at 6pm it was at 46% after an activity. So you might think: no need to charge it for a 70min run the next day. Now I'm at work my running-clothes beside me and I look forward to my lunch run. And you know what: the watch went down to 25% over night. That's about 20% battery drain in 12hours (I'm not even wearing it over night)! Native watch-face without seconds and without HR, just before someone jumps in and tells me that's the reason.

Sorry, I can't tell you how annoyed I'm at the moment. Hopefully it will last the next 4hours and it will have enough battery for my run.

0 renton82 over 6 years ago

Let me (again) jump in: I also sent them my details weeks ago when they contacted us the first time. I got no response, no feedback, no "we need some additional" and no "sth. is missing". So for sure I'm not doing it again.

Why I jump in: First to say again that the main issue is not how much battery it takes for an activity (that's reasonable and ok), not how much battery it takes in smart-mode (that's reasonable and ok). It's about the drain of the battery that can happen (might happen, must not happen) after an activity.

Yesterday at 6pm it was at 46% after an activity. So you might think: no need to charge it for a 70min run the next day. Now I'm at work my running-clothes beside me and I look forward to my lunch run. And you know what: the watch went down to 25% over night. That's about 20% battery drain in 12hours (I'm not even wearing it over night)! Native watch-face without seconds and without HR, just before someone jumps in and tells me that's the reason.

Sorry, I can't tell you how annoyed I'm at the moment. Hopefully it will last the next 4hours and it will have enough battery for my run.

I simply give up with Garmin... i have bought a Suunto 9 and it has a very good battery life but over all, a consistent discharge! It's perfectly coherent with battery meter and it has almost no bug; yes it has less stuff but almost all works flawlessly !

0 jimoestman over 6 years ago

What kind of bugs does it have?

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

I simply give up with Garmin... i have bought a Suunto 9 and it has a very good battery life but over all, a consistent discharge! It's perfectly coherent with battery meter and it has almost no bug; yes it has less stuff but almost all works flawlessly !

Please keep us informed about your experience since i guess more and more people tend to switch over to Suunto 9.

0 airtime0007 over 6 years ago

Great, thanks for this - I tried compressing the GARMIN folder before, and it was over 5GB. Now the compressed file is 2MB. I just sent everything to Garmin, hope it helps with finaly fixing this battery issue.

I have both "5s" and "5s Plus" - both are set-up exactly the same way (same watch-face, same widgets, etc.), and I use them both exactly the same way (with the exception of using "5s Plus" for Garmin Pay about once per week). With what I do, "5s" lasts me 7-8 days, and "5s Plus" only lasts me 3-4. I'd be OK with "5s Plus" lasting me 5-6 days...

I agree that Garmins first line tech support is possibly the worst I have seen for a tech based company but please persevere. They clearly have people who do know what they are doing and want to help, it is just a case of getting the stuff to the correct people. If you follow the exact format they have asked for above my hope is that it will get the correct people. I would guess that there are a lot of people answering the Tech support, some better than others and only some that are aware that there is a case open. Several different people including myself have had it confirmed that there is an open case for this issue, and for the first time the have said as much in the above post

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

The first watchface I was using did not have seconds enabled and I still was losing a lot of battery (20% per day). I switched to a different Connect IQ watch face that does have seconds enabled (no option to disable) but honestly I have not noticed a change in battery life. I am still losing a ridiculous amount per day. I suppose I could change to the stock face...but I really like this watch face.

Also I emailed product support about my battery issues and just got a stock reply on "ways to maximize battery life", of which most I am already doing. Yes, I could disable OHR and activity tracking, but that is the point of why I purchased the watch! If I can't use the features then I might as well just buy a regular cheap watch for $20.

Anyway, I am going to email them back to make sure my issues get added to the case file (as the original reply had no mention of this. It was as if they just saw the title of my email "fenix 5s battery life issues" and pasted the Garmin maximizing battery life instructions in the reply without even reading it or acknowledging that there is a bigger issue here.

After replying to their email, they sent another one asking me to return my device to them, although no information provided about sending me a replacement device. I don't think it's fair for me to be without the device for weeks while they attempt to fix it...

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Marie, of Garmin Europe, has replied to my email ... pointing out that unless bought directly from Garmin, they are not responsible for postage ... which is a fair point.

She has also assured me if I carry on with the initiated return, it will be a brand new boxed replacement I get, which seems far more reasonable.

Awaiting information about turnaround time though.

Definitely happier with this.

0 Sbassios over 6 years ago

Woth beta 4.65 the battery drain is less than 4.20 version...cycling 1 hour and 30 min(speed&cadence) and running 23 min with hrm tri and thr battery drain was 8%

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Marie, of Garmin Europe, has replied to my email ... pointing out that unless bought directly from Garmin, they are not responsible for postage ... which is a fair point.

She has also assured me if I carry on with the initiated return, it will be a brand new boxed replacement I get, which seems far more reasonable.

Awaiting information about turnaround time though.

Definitely happier with this.

Why exchange the watch when you're experiencing the same results as everyone else?

0 Gratefulhawk over 6 years ago

Exactly, I've had two 5+s now and both had the post activity battery drain, stuck battery meter at 100% and random uptick from 90%-100% when charging. I think people who don't have this problem are just not noticing it as much. I believe it's a software feature we all are stuck with until Garmin figures it out.
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