This discussion has been locked.

You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Realistic battery life, fenix 5?

Former Member over 7 years ago

Hello all,

So last week I bought a fenix 5. Store had it in open box and on the shelf but it was off, I was worried about it having been on for months on the shelf but they told me it had never been powered on, they only had the 5X on display powered up. Bought it, no discount got home and charged it. The battery was completely discharged.

One of my main reasons for buying the fenix 5 vs a 3 or another less expensive option was battery life - as I am starting to run ultra marathons.

Last Saturday ran my first. I started with 95% charge. GPS only mode (no Glonnass). I played occasionally with the watch during the race, and often moved it into view to see my HR (with backlight at 50%). Halfway into the race, 7 hours in, I notice it is at 40% battery. I changed it to Ultratrac in the activity settings menu, and start avoiding using the backlight or play with it(still glancing at it often to see HR).

My race time was 14 hours 30 minutes. When I made it across the finish line, literally 1 minute after, I glance at the watch to stop the activity and it powered down.

I know actual, realistic device times are often lower than what the manufacturer advertises. Still, advertised GPS mode at 20 hours and Ultratrac 60 hours, seems I should have gotten to the end of this race with a good battery reserve. I am planning longer races later in the season so... this watch might not cut it, apparently. My iphone 7 plus in airplane mode, but doing GPS tracking, went through all of this with 30% power left and me taking some pictures and listening to podcasts on the way.

So question to the group - is this the normal battery life I can expect from this device while tracking activities? Or did I get a dud or a battery affected by it being a showroom device?

Unsure if I am just being paranoid and need to enjoy the device and go Ultratrac from the start, turn off the backlight (not needed to be honest).

Thanks all,

Juan

Top Replies

Garmin-Heath over 5 years ago +1 verified

If you are experiencing rapid battery drain, where your watch is only lasting a few days, first verify on latest software version. If you are using any third-party Connect IQ watch faces, try changing…

All Replies

0 mcalista over 7 years ago

I just did a 12 hour day high in the Adirondack mountain high peaks. From a full charge, GPS only mode, oHRM on, no external sensors, no bluetooth connectivity, no third party apps or data fields except ActivFace watch face, and I left the activity running even during rest stops, I was at 21% batter life remaining. Luckily I brought a battery pack to recharge after the hike.

That would sound about right for the 5S, but a little short for the F5.

The only thing missing from your list (in terms of battery saving) is the backlight settings, so you may want to check those (if you haven't already).

0 scottj2 over 7 years ago

Yup, forgot to mention that. I disabled the backlight for all activities. I also disabled alerts and vibration, not that it should matter much.

I just double checked the GPS settings and see that I was using GPS+GLONASS, so I should be able to gain a little battery life by going GPS only next time. I'm not really sure where I can gain more battery life other than that.

Depending on the weather, I might get out again this weekend for an even longer hike and retest.

0 nmyeti over 7 years ago

I just did a 12 hour day high in the Adirondack mountain high peaks. From a full charge, GPS only mode, oHRM on, no external sensors, no bluetooth connectivity, no third party apps or data fields except ActivFace watch face, and I left the activity running even during rest stops, I was at 21% batter life remaining. Luckily I brought a battery pack to recharge after the hike.

Were you using 1s recording or smart recording?

I'm expecting to take my Fenix backpacking this fall in the Pecos Wilderness and trying to figure out what i want to use for settings.

0 scottj2 over 7 years ago

1s recording for me. Based on my understanding, 1s vs smart has no impact over battery life.

If you're planning on going for more than 12+ hours, I would invest in a rechargeable battery to recharge your watch. You can get a decent one for less than $20 USD. Just get one rated for a smaller device, otherwise the battery pack might not recognize it since it doesn't draw a huge amount. I think mine is the Anker powercore mini.

0 nmyeti over 7 years ago

1s recording for me. Based on my understanding, 1s vs smart has no impact over battery life.

If you're planning on going for more than 12+ hours, I would invest in a rechargeable battery to recharge your watch. You can get a decent one for less than $20 USD. Just get one rated for a smaller device, otherwise the battery pack might not recognize it since it doesn't draw a huge amount. I think mine is the Anker powercore mini.

Good tip, I just tested the cheap one i bought from Amazon last year and it appears to work fine. I took this battery pack on the same trip last year to charge my phone (which acts as a camera) so it will be in my bag anyway.

0 FlipStone over 7 years ago

1s recording for me. Based on my understanding, 1s vs smart has no impact over battery life.

If you're planning on going for more than 12+ hours, I would invest in a rechargeable battery to recharge your watch. You can get a decent one for less than $20 USD. Just get one rated for a smaller device, otherwise the battery pack might not recognize it since it doesn't draw a huge amount. I think mine is the Anker powercore mini.

Well, 1s recording means more data writing to the watch so I can imagine it does have some impact... Might be interesting to measure it sometime.

0 scottj2 over 7 years ago

Well, 1s recording means more data writing to the watch so I can imagine it does have some impact... Might be interesting to measure it sometime.

That was my thought as well, but I was told it wouldn't have an effect on battery life. Who knows at this point. I agree it would be a good idea to test it out.

0 FlipStone over 7 years ago

That was my thought as well, but I was told it wouldn't have an effect on battery life. Who knows at this point. I agree it would be a good idea to test it out.

Also, more data = more syncing = more cpu time = more battery

So all in all, it has to take up more battery, question is if it is significant compared to normal battery life. Hope I think about this when I have to do some longer similar workouts so I can give the tests a try ;)

0 nmyeti over 7 years ago

Also, more data = more syncing = more cpu time = more battery

So all in all, it has to take up more battery, question is if it is significant compared to normal battery life. Hope I think about this when I have to do some longer similar workouts so I can give the tests a try ;)

Given how poorly the Garmin Connect mobile app works when you don't have a data connection, I doubt i'll be trying to sync anything until I get back into cell service range so from that perspective it won't matter much as by the time it does I'll be back to a power outlet. I am concerned with how long of a track can stay on the watch before it needs to be synced to connect. Does anyone know the specification for how long we can record internally in 1 second mode before we need to worry about internal storage?

0 Former Member over 7 years ago

Hey thanks all again for the answers, very interesting and learnt a lot - going to get the heart rate band, being more precise and hopefully, power efficient. Waiting for my next ultra to test this but next, at multi day events so will have a power bank with me on those.