Solution to battery drain? (New issue for me)

Today's entertainment...

100% battery at 11am, just before heading out for a run.

Phone connection disabled, optical heart rate off.

At 1430, watch was at 36%.

So 64% used in 3.5 hours.  Yes, I was listening to podcasts and had the GPS on, but that's a total estimate of less than 6 hours!

I'm planning a multi day event soon with 12-15 hours per day, looks like I might need a different watch ️

You're not having much luck! I think this is one for Garmin Support - hope you are not in the UK, as the turnaround time is 6 to 8 weeks  (or it was a month ago) if you need a swap out.

Doesn't help you, but I'm down to 59% 4:17 PM UK time, and that's after 1 hour 15 minutes of indoor cycling. I was at 62% 08:55 AM, so my workaround is working 100% for me, but you look to have a far deeper problems..

Battery drain reports are very common here, but I think yours is definitely one of the worse cases we've seen here..

I'll get in touch with Garmin Support now as you suggest (I am in the UK... annoying about the timing!  I'm also not even sure I'm still in warranty as the watch is 18 months old or so).

I've seen a load of battery drain issues over the years (I've had a Fenix 3, 5X, 5X Pro and now 6X) and generally thought they were probably due to either some stuck internal process (fix with a reboot), or dodgy Connect IQ add ons, or very occasionally a software bug which tends to appear for lots of people and get corrected pretty quickly.

Sadly in this case, it doesn't seem to be that.

What I can't understand is why it's suddenly started happening.  I've had the watch for over 18 months with no issues - very early on I did a 10 hour run and used 20% of the battery in full GPS mode.  And yet today I'm out for about 3h30 and using 64% of the battery!

The last watch update happened a good few weeks before I starting having big issues.  And the last Garmin Connect update was over 2 weeks ago (I'm on iOS), but I don't think GC is the issue as today I ran with the Phone mode on the watch disabled (and didn't even have the phone with GC on with me).

Thanks very much for your help though - your battery levels/times are really useful and it's good to hear that this does seem to be a genuine issue.

madmezza said:

I'm also not even sure I'm still in warranty as the watch is 18 months old or so

You get 2 years here, it seems to be from the date it was attached to your Garmin Connect account.

Good luck :)

Great, fingers crossed! 

I'm hoping it doesn't magically fix, as it will make me very worried if I then go to do something long... I've lost confidence in this watch, a replacement might restore some of that, although (as an embedded software developer myself) I do think Garmin have some of the worst production software of any major company!  It's making me think I might go back to a watch for daytime (not a Garmin), and a running watch (maybe a Garmin, maybe not).  Getting a bit fed up with the reliability to be honest.

madmezza said:

I'm also not even sure I'm still in warranty as the watch is 18 months old or so

The battery is not covered by the warranty.

Garmin UK do replace it for the battery drain issue,. I've had it with the Fenix 5 Plus personally. 

My report: 'Hello My Fenix 5 Plus is draining battery very quickly - it needs charging every 2 days. I have noted a log of loss of battery charge. Yesterday at Sunday 16th 2PM UK time I charged the battery to 100% By Sunday 16th 5PM (3 hours after full charge) battery was at 95% By Sunday 16th 7:40PM battery was at 91% By Sunday 16th 10:10PM battery was at 88% At 5:15AM Monday 17th, battery was at 77% At 8:00AM Monday 17th and overnight, 18 hours after full charge, battery was at 72%, 28% loss over 18 hours..'

This was back middle last year.

<< Ref:17xxxxxK0 >> Re: fēnix® 5 Plus - Power and Charging <Q#:1xxxxz0>

Hi 5135968

Thank you for contacting Garmin, I’m very sorry to hear you’re having these issues, but I’m happy to help you resolve it, I would also like to apologise for delay in responding, we currently have a backlog of emails we are working our hardest to get through, I’m extremely grateful for your patience and understanding.

Note: During this period, all inbound deliveries are being quarantined for 3 days to ensure the health and safety of our team. Our turnaround time for exchanges has therefore been increased to 5-10 working days to accommodate this. We thank you for your understanding.

I have successfully booked your Garmin device in to be replaced under Order 10xxxxxxx79 and you will receive an email from Garmin with a secure link to complete this order which will be valid for 30 days. If you do not wish to process with this replacement then please disregard the email.

Please note: If you have not received the email please ensure you have checked your Junk folder.

I have also included some instructions which will assist you in completing the required steps:

1. Please enter your email address to complete the checkout as a guest or sign into your existing Garmin account
2. Fill in your shipping and billing information, then click "Proceed to Payment"
3. If there is a charge, select a payment option and enter the required details, then click "Place Order"
4. Upon completion, you will receive a confirmation email with the details of your transaction and shipping instructions

Important Information

• Please do not ship your product back until you have received the email with our return address details
• Please do not send any accessories such as watch bands, SD cards, cables or product boxes
• Garmin will not be responsible for returning additional items included in the package

Kind regards,

Alex

Garmin Europe

5135968 said:

Garmin UK do replace it for the battery drain issue,.

With you. Not in general.

I had merely pointed out the warranty conditions.

However, if the battery does not have a proven production defect, you have no legal claim to replacement. I cannot judge your individual case. However, a look at the Garmin limited warranty shows that the battery is only included in the warranty in case of production defects. As a customer, you have to prove that first. Everything else is goodwill.

After the watch ran for 18 months without any problems, I think production damage is hard to trace.

I myself have often noticed at Garmin that it depends on the corresponding employee what is possible and what is rejected.

„This Limited Warranty does not apply to: (i) cosmetic damage, such as scratches, nicks and dents; (ii) consumable parts, such as batteries, unless product damage has occurred due to a defect in materials or workmanship;“

You're correct.  They don't have to replace your watch for battery issues that aren't proven to be a defect in materials, but they usually will do so anyway. I think a lot of the replacement cases is regional also.  I've read post where people have had the exact same issue as me and Garmin did nothing for them, but hooked me up.  I tore the rubber boot cover on my speed sensor (my fault). I called support to inquire on how to order a new one.  They overnighted me a new one free of charge without me asking.