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Solar charge doesn't work.

2454585
3 months ago

Does solar charging work?
I have tried turning the watch off and leaving it more than 2h in full sun (in Spain) and it hasn't charged at all. This same test with a fenix 7 or fenix 7 pro charged 1%. With the supposed improvement in solar charging that they have implemented, I expected it to charge ... Is solar charging disabled, is my unit defective, or is it just all smoke and mirrors?

Maybe it no longer charges off like other models and you have to leave it on, so it is almost impossible to verify the charging data garmin offers?

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  • 0 3 months ago in reply to trux

    Thanks for the clarification Slight smile
    1 or 2% of top up every other day from solar will not affect battery health on the long run. That's beautifull.
    I noticed my Fenix 3 started getting serious battery degradation with the need to have it a 100% before a weekend of adventures to avoid getting caught out, hitting the charger if it was anywhere below 90%.
    The 6X I'd feel comfortable going out with 75% reduced drastically the amount of "unnecessary" charges. and the bettery kept much closer to launch specs for a longer period.
    Having had the Enduro 3 on my wrist for over a week, it feels so far ahead of my old watches. What a piece of kit.
    One day these will be just like the old ProTrek ABC solars that you can just pick of the drawer after 8years, stick it on the wrist and will come back to life.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to garminuser5555

    Not for me with the same test. It has always worked with the previous fenixs I have owned.

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to trux

    Maybe the point 2 is the right answer. I don't remember right now the battery percentage but for sure above 85-90. thank you, trux ;)

  • 0 3 months ago

    Ok I made non- professional solar charging test and I left my E3 on Sun for about 2.5h. Results, battery level rised from 43% to 46%. Solar intensivity as shown on photos down below. 

  • 0 3 months ago in reply to Jimmanator

    I also noticed that the battery seems to discharge faster from full capacity then slow down as it hits around 85%. It was the same with the F7. Is this a thing with other batteries/devices? 

  • 0 2 months ago

    I also have the enduro 3 and am noticing dismal solar performance compared to the instinct 2 solar. I'm not sure how Garmin came up with 90 days on solar in smartwatch mode. On a full charge I'm showing 42 days and it seems to drop as if there wasn't any solar. Many Florida days i'm getting 60k-100k of light daily.