Instinct Solar - 10.00 Public Release Candidate

WaleczneSerce, there is no way the watch would have charged during an activity, especially with GPS on. GPS consumption is far beyond what the photovoltaic cells can generate even if they work at 100%. If you check the manual or even Garmin website, you would see that the only mode in which the battery charge would increase (hence provide infinite days), is if you disabled everything.

I can confirm that from real life, as well. The only way I was able to increase the charge was when I had no activity on, HR sensor was off, however, I was using the second watchface (the one without seconds) and Bluetooth was on (but not synchronizing). And for the record, I am still on version 9.30.

What you and KarsiyakaRocks probably mistake for charging is that the battery life estimate may vary throughout the day. With every button you press, every element of the watchface changing, or sun intensity changing, you would get different values. As a matter of fact, I also find it confusing, because I never know how much battery I have left, so I am really looking forward to switching to percentage in the new version.

The other thing that may confuse you is that battery charge may actually vary, depending on the current consumption. For example, if you had GPS on for a while and you turn it off, immediately after that you would see, say 20 days, but in 30 minutes, it may go up by a day or two (or 1-3%). This may look like charging from the sun, but it isn't. This is how all batteries behave when consumption drops suddenly. In this case, nothing can be done, just have it in mind and do your measurements after giving the watch some time in the current mode it is.

Still on 9.94 fw release. I've been using my instinct for exactly two weeks now. All sensors are off. No BT. About 18 hours with GPS enabled and right now it's showing me 43 days left before I need to recharge it. Pretty satisfied.

The solar charging on 9.94 work well. 3 hours of driving in sunny condition increase the number of days from 5 to 6. On version 10.0 even 7 hours of driving in very sunny condition does nor increase the battery load - it stayson 92%.

Hi, Thank you for your kind explanation. I am an engineer with 15 year experience. I ve used many other solar watches. i know my habits and again you re right days remaining gauge can chance anytime and the important thing is the percantage  however 9,97 and also 10.0 cannot increase the battery as 9.40 can do. And i cannot go back to 9.40 because it has some other problems. So ı am happy with my watch but unhappy with software bugs...

Some time ago I was doing some testing with the solar charging of me F6xPro Solar. The solar charing slow down the battery consumption during an activity, but never added % to the battery.

I put the device only in watch mode (no bt/music/sensors etc.) in bright sunlight, after 8 hours I gained 2% battery. That's as expected. This is how Garmin solar wearables work.

According to my deeeeeeply analysis based on the garmin values, instinct solar has to gain "%1" of battery after waiting 40 minutes under top level of sun light. I am going to try it today and let you know. Note: The watch has to be in battery saving mode to avoid any arguement with other battery consumers.

Right, do your test only in battery saving mode. "Before" and "after" tests should be conducted under the same conditions.

Also, make sure your charge is not around 100%. If the battery is full, the watch runs only on battery. This is clearly stated in the manual and you can see it in the widget - the sun turns into a battery and you should also see the vertical bars. In other words, when the battery is around 100% you won't be getting any extra days.

There were no changes to solar charging between 9.94 and 10.00 (the change logs reflect this). There are so many variables that come into play, and your situation hits several:

• Connection to your phone
• Wrist Heart Rate sensors
• Driving while watch is under a car windshield (they are known to negatively affect spectrum of sunlight)
• Position of the sun
• Your location based on proximity to the equator

These are just a few of the possibilities. In very certain circumstances will you see your battery charge increase. Your best bet at this is to put your watch in battery saver mode that disables everything except for turning the watch off.

It's also worth noting your last statement; "it stays on 92%". This means your watch is getting enough solar activity to delay the decrease of your battery life. It's doing its job!