Garmin Instinct change battery

Hi, has anybody tried sucessfully to open a Garmin Instinct to change the battery and can provide a description? Can't find any videos in the web and the watch does not have screws.

Thanks for help!

Top Replies

4906382 over 4 years ago in reply to AquaTed +3

In every device with a rechargeable battery, there's a chance that this battery is faulty, dead on arrival etc. That's why they provide a warranty. Things are not so bad normally. There are early buyers…
sspanak over 4 years ago in reply to AquaTed +2

Folks, this is not normal. Garmin batteries do not usually degrade that much in six months. [b]AquaTed[/b], your Instinct should last much more than that. Just use it normally, do not let it discharge…
trux over 4 years ago in reply to 1751773 +1

1751773 said:
My battery doesn't even last for 24h

Cannot you apply the warranty? Not sure what country you are located in, but in the EU, all electronics has to have warranty of 2 years, and since…

All Replies

0 darnich over 4 years ago

I don't know if it helps but I had changed the battery on my old FR235 by pulling out the glass screen which was glued to the body with a suction cup. I had the help of a friend which owns a mobile phone repair shop and helped glue the screen back on with UV light

0 1751773 over 4 years ago in reply to darnich

Thank you; understood.The glass of my instinct is pretty small; the suction cup I used for my iPhone does not fit.

Your friend just pulled or did he also use heat?

0 6619804 over 4 years ago

See image of disassembled Instinct here:

https://www.watchuseek.com/threads/rangeman-gpr-b1000-crown.4871047/

I am not sure if you can disassemble and then glue it again together successfully. Parts of Instinct are available on eBay, so you can estimate how it is assembled.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/For-Garmin-Instinct-Screen-Replace-GPS-Sports-Running-Mountain-Watch-Display/373228205288

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Bezel-ring-without-glass-for-Garmin-Instinct-Tundra-part-repair-case-/254334753832

https://www.ebay.com/itm/New-Back-case-with-buttons-for-Garmin-Instinct-Flame-Red-genuine-part-repair/254386174139

Tell us if you succeeded .

0 darnich over 4 years ago in reply to 6619804

So it is a completely different assembly from the FR235...

0 1751773 over 4 years ago in reply to 6619804

Thank you. Doesn't really look like a do-it-yourself job...

So it means that the covers gets destroyed when I undo it with a knife or screwdriver or is there any trick with heat etc.?

Before I start: what I did not find at ebay yet is a battery. Do you know what's inside?

I sent a mail to Garmin parallel to find out what they would take.

0 6619804 over 4 years ago in reply to 1751773

I did not try it, I just found this info when I wanted to know how the Instinct is assembled. I found no info about the battery. So I wonder if you make any progress. Do you really need to change the battery? And why you plan to do it yourself?

0 1751773 over 4 years ago in reply to 6619804

My battery doesn't even last for 24h although I switched off everything I found including fitness tracking, compass and cardiac frequency sensor. GPS is off anyway and I hardly don't use light. Period of warranty is over.

I always try to repair everything myself first to save cost.

0 trux over 4 years ago in reply to 1751773

1751773 said:
My battery doesn't even last for 24h

Cannot you apply the warranty? Not sure what country you are located in, but in the EU, all electronics has to have warranty of 2 years, and since Instinct was first released in June 2018, there is a very good chance you are still under the warranty.

0 trux over 4 years ago in reply to trux

1751773 said:
I always try to repair everything myself first to save cost.

Personally I would not try opening my Instinct, since it is rated to 100m of water resistance, and for me it is the crucial property.You will never manage to get it as tight as it was originally, or performing the pressure test, which should be the standard when repaired in a certified workshop.

0 AquaTed over 4 years ago

Which raises the question that I was going to post at some point; does anyone know how long the battery in the Instinct is likely to last? I understand that there are significant variables regarding usage, but as they've been around a couple of years now, has anyone had battery failure yet? Like many on this forum, I love my Instinct and would like it to last at least a decade. Perhaps I'm being unrealistic.