Battery stops holding a charge

Former Member over 5 years ago

I have seen a number of battery questions here, but nothing which has helped resolve my issue. Sorry for Yet Another Battery question.

My Fenix V has always worked perfectly, holding a charge for at least a week. I’m on version 4.24.1.4 of the app.

Last weekend, it ran down to 5% after a few days of hiking. I plugged it in and charged it, and since then it doesn’t hold a charge for even a half day. Two hours ago I charged it to 100%, and now it is down to 76% with no activities. A 30 minute jog yesterday led to a 25% battery drop.

I have restarted the watch, per instructions here. I have made sure I have the newest version. I let it run down and then restarted it after charging. Nothing has improved the situation. I’ve had the watch two years now and granted it gets some hard use, but it feels a bit soon to be getting a new watch. I live in Hong Kong/Jakarta, so my repair options are limited.

Has anyone had this issue and found a solution? I have no non-garmin widgets or watch faces

Thanks.

Top Replies

RonHi over 5 years ago +1

Are you charging it with a computer or USB charger? Is the charging method the same that you have used in the past and if a charger, the same charger?

All Replies

0 RonHi over 5 years ago

Are you charging it with a computer or USB charger? Is the charging method the same that you have used in the past and if a charger, the same charger?

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

Welcome to the Fenix 5 disappointment group. Checking the internet (tri forums, reddit, facebook groups, this forum) it seems that this is happening to dozens of people.

I'm wondering if Garmin is even checking forums? or do we all need to call CS and waste an hour troubleshooting and be told the same thing?

There doesn't seem to be a fix for this. Try the latest firmware beta as it seems it worked for some, it didn't work for me though (I have a Fenix 5, 2 years old, same issue but mine drains to 5% after any activity and turns off mid session).

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to RonHi

Good question. I have a charger downstairs and up, and I usually use the upstairs charger. This time I was unpacking my bags, so I used the downstairs charger. It was the same cable. I haven’t had any problems with the charger on other devices.

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

Do you know if the 6 is having similar problems? I switched to the Fenix from Suunto, but now I’m wondering if I should switch back.

0 jose.cboliveira over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

I believe that is too soon for battery problems specially with the long time between charges => fewer cycles.

How many times do you charge it each week?

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

Hello group,

I have no solutions, but my Fenix 5 is 2 years old and the battery issues started last week. Three times now I have fully charged my watch via USB to 100% only to find it drained to 0 bu the morning. Heres a few things to consider:

1. I never sleep with the watch on. So, when I charge it I always leave it off overnight and turn it on the following morning.

2. Watch is 2 years old and this started happening out of nowhere.

3. It has all the updates.

4. I've gone through the recommended reset steps 2 times now.

My thoughts, could Garmin be pulling a software trick like Apple does to force its customers to upgrade?