Massive Issues with Week Old 5s plus

Sorry should add that I'm in the UK so times don't quite add up on my original post. For reference it's 13:17 here and the watch took nearly an hour to charge 12%.....

Unfortunately mate, the battery is not great currently, but not in your use case. The battery tends to perform badly after logging GPS activities. I would be looking to get that unit replaced.

Sorry, I just read your post properly. You have been using GPS. Yes the Battery is pants if you log any GPS activities, although some people are reporting they have no issue. Depending on who you get to speak to at Garmin they will either say that they are aware of the problem and are working on a fix or that they know nothing about the issue and no one else has reported it. There is a huge thread on here, in fact the biggest thread, about the battery issues people are experiencing. One thing I will add is that you can not take the battery level the watch is reporting to be true as that is bugged as well. If its seems to be stuck on a certain percentage, take it off charge and hold down the light button until the unit switches off (takes about twenty seconds) then switch it back on with the light button. This will unstuck the battery gauge and tell you the real level.

missfinch,

about your battery issue. You can try the same little fix which worked perfectly for my Fenix 5+.

1. Let the watch discharge, until it turns off by itself.
2. Put it on the charger and load it in ONE go all the way up to 100%
3. Once it reached 100%, wait for 2-3 hours more before you disconnect it.

That should adjust the controller of the battery.

About your step issue, this wont be fixed with a firmware update. I guess you´re typing on a keyboard and the watch recognize that as steps.

About the Firmware issue. 5.10 is the current firmware. 5.53 is only a beta so if you wont to have that you have to drag the files by your own. If this did not work you either did something wrong or you work on a Mac.

I hope that this helps you at least a little. If not, British patience might help.

Best regards
Christian

Thanks for the replies - will definitely give the running down the battery a go so thanks Christain.
The steps comments was purely to show that I hadn't done much during the day. I've only tracked the one GPS activity to date so that's why I'm so miffed.
Stiff upper lip and all that eh? Shame I'm Aussie, I don't have the patience of my neighbours ;)
Oh and still having issues with 'not authorised to post' - so have continually tried to reply to this thread but no real joy there either. On attempt 12 to reply....been loyal to Garmin for over 10 years and never had such bad issues.

I only got mine on Friday, but quickly became aware of the battery issues. I saw some pretty random numbers when setting mine up too. I put the beta version on and that seemed to settle it a bit. BTW, if you are on a Mac you need to download Android File Transfer to see the Garmin drive and load the beta files. But the battery life is not flash compared to the other 5 models - up to 11 hrs GPS+OHR. Ran 3:15 this morning and battery was indicating 41%. Wore it for nearly 24h from Friday 10pm and was down to 51% on Saturday night including about 2hrs of GPS activity.

I didn't expect to get 11 hrs with GPS as I know from experience that figure is usually very optimistic. However, I would think that the best I could expect using GPS is 7 to 8 hours using a chest strap. And that's without any music! I opted for the 5S+ as I prefer the smaller form factor. In hindsight, I think the 5+ might have been the better option.

Going to try the beta update - still having loads of issues - now only lasting 3 days in smartwatch mode. Did a 2 hour run on Sunday after charging to 100%, used GPS but nothing else (still no 3rd party apps installed or music), got home and was down to 60%. Wont even get through a marathon with it at this rate. Even considering going back to the Forerunner as that was a gem! Garmin have been in touch though. Will wait and see what happens using beta, fingers crossed! Totally gutted otherwise as love the look of the 5s plus sap...

Well it keeps getting worse...

The beta update hasn't worked Yesterday at 3pm it took 2.5 hours to charge my battery from 48% to full - I am now at 72% after doing one indoor activity (beep test) which lasted 7minutes and did not use GPS and this is 24 hours later. Nearly 30% in 24 hours is really poor. Still nothing loaded on my device beside factory settings. Garmin have said I can return the device for a replacement. The adviser said that I should ignore the written guidance saying I would receive a refurbished watch and said I would definitely get a new one in its place - have asked for this in writing! I've also been asked to send the watch back as recorded delivery with extra insurance at my own expense. Seems a bit unfair...

When enquiring about a replacement, I was told it would take 5-10 days to arrive - this really isn't good enough especially when I'm in th middle of a training program. So I asked about the option (which I was told about a while back) that I could pay for a brand new one and they would send next day delivery and they will refund me once I send back my device however they won't give details on how long a refund will take which is poor form. This will cost £10.99 and not refundable. When I asked whether or not they would waive this fee given this is not my fault and I’ve done everything they have asked me, I was told no. I know it’s only a tenner but it’s the principle!

So I've paid circa £700 for a faulty watch with known problems according to this forum. I now have to pay £10 to return it for maybe a new one or maybe a refurbished unit (I'm not sure what the truth is there) and wait 5-10 days for the pleasure of it to arrive. OR pay a non-refundable fee to get a next day delivery after I have bought an paid for a new device whilst mine is in transit then wait for Garmin to refund me, with no timescales given in that regard – so would be nearly £1.5k out of pocket for a short time. All for a FAULTY watch?? I really angry about this situation and how Garmin are treating me as a customer. This is my 3rd Garmin and I had bought a Fenix 5x sapphire for my partner about 5 months ago. There is no comparison between the two. His, in watch mode lasts well over a week, mine 3 days. His takes about an hour to charge from 20% to full, mine takes 3 hours to do 50% - using the same charger. A 1 hour run on his drains at max 4%, mine on the same run 20%. All settings are exactly the same.

I’m pretty mad about this whole farce.
Oh and I still have to post this about 5 times before it’s authorised and appears…

Totally agree that Garmin is a nightmare.
Never had a more frustrating customer experience as with Garmin.
Here are my top-Garmin features:

1) Totally ignoring customers complaints
2) Ship obviously untested software and (as we learn form months of silence and ignorance) most likely never ever fix essential bugs
3) Keep silent no matter what comes
4) Sell totally overpriced and not reliable working products

And now the usual storm may start on me by the Garmin-fanboys and icognito Garmin lobbyists :)

I'd return it and get the refund, it sounds like you've potentially got a duff model on your hands.

Then consider options. If battery life is really important to you, then perhaps consider the 5+ or the 5X+. If you like the 5S+, buy it again from a local store, or somewhere that offers no questions asked returns, and see how you fair there. The only thing I would suggest, is comparing battery life of the 5X vs the 5S+ is a touch unfair, as one of the known differences between the 5X and other models is its significantly increased battery life.

Alternatively if you want to step away from Garmin, there seems to be some incredible deals on devices of a Finnish origin at the moment.