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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 Dr Phil over 6 years ago

A little over 6.5 hrs of GPS connected to external HR and BT to iPhone, GPS only, 1sec recording, following a course, 20 min alerts, auto lapping 5km and 55% battery left. Fenix 5+. Seems alright to me.

No added data fields or 3rd party watch face, Garmin Classic Sport watch face. Software 6.51b.

0 chatlow over 6 years ago

just over 5 hours hike on Saturday (with Garmin HR connected) and lost 30% battery. Happy with that. Smartwatch mode still impressed and no problems for me. Post activity drain seems to be around 2-3% in an hour then normal again. Charging % still a PITA which I hope they can fix

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Finally, after approx. 6 months of use I am also affected by the excessive post activity battery drain.
So don’t feel save if your watch did not show this issue by now.
The nightmare with this watch and Garmin as company is never ending....

0 Tommylee84 over 6 years ago

Well, we are a little under 6 months into this life cycle and we are still having this issue. We can expect rumors of the next "Fenix" here soon, but we that adopted the 5s/5 Plus series from the start are left with a device that have these battery issues with P.A.D or random battery percent reading or long delayed charging times. This will probably be swept under the rug like the 3HR GPS issue, the 5 BT issue, the 5x HR sensor cracks. They will move on to the next series and just give us more music or "bug" fixes that don't fix the major issue that we have until we grow quiet. It's the Garmin way...

0 Former Member over 6 years ago

Well, we are a little under 6 months into this life cycle and we are still having this issue. We can expect rumors of the next "Fenix" here soon, but we that adopted the 5s/5 Plus series from the start are left with a device that have these battery issues with P.A.D or random battery percent reading or long delayed charging times. This will probably be swept under the rug like the 3HR GPS issue, the 5 BT issue, the 5x HR sensor cracks. They will move on to the next series and just give us more music or "bug" fixes that don't fix the major issue that we have until we grow quiet. It's the Garmin way...

Totally agree..
Let's face the truth, Garmin is not willing or able to ever fix this (and other) issues on this device anymore.
Lesson learned for me is - don't waste your money in Garmin products since you are TOTALLY LOST if anything essential is not working.

0 GaryHawke over 6 years ago

So, I contacted Garmin UK support, tried all the fixes but nothing solved the problem, battery drained within 72 hours, with nothing more then being used to tell the time. Garmin are going to replace the item. However, having spent over £700 on a watch and having Garmin admit a fault, I still have to pay to send the watch back. Leaving me out of pocket with a watch that does not work. This is the second time that I have had to send a Garmin watch back and then the replacement they sent was the wrong watch. If I was not lazy and had so much data on Garmin Connect I would stop using their watches.

0 MiGR73cz over 6 years ago

Here is my story. I had two Fenixes 5 (5X Plus Sapphire sn: 5G50 and 5 Sapphire sn: 53A1). Both units have been affected by this battery issue (1% battery drain per hour). Therefore, I returned both units to a seller and Garmin.
Finally, I have 3rd Fenix (5 Plus Sapphire sn: 5MS0) and it performs as expected (0.2 - 0.5% per hour) even it has bunch of CIQ apps / gadgets / watch-faces loaded. Now, I am happy with that.
BTW: all three units have been completely dead when I unboxed them.

0 GaryHawke over 6 years ago

Received my replacement my Fenix 5 plus it was dead on arrival so charged it for 12 hours. I have just got back from an hours run and I have lost 6% battery, seems a little high compared to my Fenix 5. Whilst I was waiting for a replacement, I went back to my Fenix 5 and noticed that after 6 days, with a 90 min run, 60 mins rowing, and 60 mins strength the battery had drained 60%. The replacement Fenix 5 plus is the first Garmin watch I have owned that had arrived dead, and I have been using Garmin since the forerunner 10.

0 Gr4z over 6 years ago

Received my replacement my Fenix 5 plus it was dead on arrival so charged it for 12 hours. I have just got back from an hours run and I have lost 6% battery, seems a little high compared to my Fenix 5. Whilst I was waiting for a replacement, I went back to my Fenix 5 and noticed that after 6 days, with a 90 min run, 60 mins rowing, and 60 mins strength the battery had drained 60%. The replacement Fenix 5 plus is the first Garmin watch I have owned that had arrived dead, and I have been using Garmin since the forerunner 10.

6% after a 1 hour run is about right for the 5+. That's what I get with mine.

0 Dr Phil over 6 years ago

Wouldn't necessarily read anything into the fact it arrived dead. Mine did too. Made sure it was fully charged before I did anything and it's been fine since.

Unlike trying to post to this damn forum!!!