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Battery drops the first 5% within a few hours of charging, then levels off to normal drain.

LSH80
over 4 years ago

Not a massive issue, but thought I'd see if anyone else has the same or sorted similar? 

When I charge the watch, usualy every 8-10 days, it drops 5% very quickly. Then levels off and drains a couple of % a day, more on activity days.

Doesn't matter what percent I charge to, 100% or 70-80% it discharges very quicky over the next few hours then stablises.

I have a battery widget installed and you can see the drainage. 

Just thought I'd see if anyone knew why?

Thanks

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    same for me. I guess it's a normal behaviour...

  • +1 over 4 years ago

    Same for me. its goes from 100% to 97% very quickly then levels off to around 5% a day, if no activities are recorded.

  • +1 over 4 years ago

    Same here. It has always been this way. 

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I don't see this behavior on my fenix 6x Pro since I started leaving it on the charger for about an hour after reaching 100%.

    I have no hard evidence, but my strong suspicion is that when charging, the watch will show 100% when it switches from "bulk charge" to "trickle charge."  This trickle, or lower power, charging may continue to charge for some time after bulk, or higher power, charging stops.  I do notice, however, that if I remove the watch from the charger immediately after it shows 100%, the first couple of % drop fairly quickly; but if I leave it on the charger for about an hour after 100% is first displayed, the indicated state of charge will drop at a "normal" 3-4% per day or more depending on usage.

    I always charge to 100%, and leave it on the charger for about an hour after 100% is displayed.  But I can imagine if one only partially charges their watch to something less than 100%, like 70%, that one would observe a faster discharge rate for the first few %.

    And no, I am not worried about shortening the life of my battery by charging to 100%.  It is my belief, based on years of experience with Garmin watches, that fully charging to 100% does not shorten overall battery life.

    Just some thoughts.

    HTH

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to gaijin

    I also think that's how it is - when it first hits 100% on the charger, I believe it's still trickle-charging a little more for a while afterwards. Sort of like when you're filling your gas tank in your car, and the pump stops, some people pull the trigger a few more times to get just a little more gas into the tank.

    I make a habit of leaving my watch plugged in for 20-60 minutes after charging hits 100%, and I haven't seen this issue.

    I'm also not worried about shortening the battery life. I'll be upgrading my watch long before that ever becomes a concern. In the 18 months that I've been recharging my 6X to 100% every time I charge it, there's been no noticeable affect on battery life.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to C.sco
    C.sco said:
    I make a habit of leaving my watch plugged in for 20-60 minutes after charging hits 100%, and I haven't seen this issue.

    I've always tended to leave mine longer, and I've always had this sort of drop with the Fenix 5, Fenix 5 Plus and Fenix 6 Pro.

    I can be from 100% to 99% within 10 minutes of going off the charger.

    For me, it's normal and expected, 99 to 97% within an hour or two, then it all evens out. Pretty much my experience with Garmin.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to 5135968

    it appears to rapidly drop when I charge to any level, I charged to 80% before postin this just to see if it made any difference. Looks like others have found this issue so i'll take it to be more likely a software issue that likely reports incorrectly. Not a huge issue as it stabilizes and I get long heavy uses of the watch between charges.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I've had a 6X Pro Solar since December 2019. It was replaced a few weeks ago under warranty (nothing to do with the battery, but I mention it because my current watch is now quite new).

    I usually charge once per week, each Friday afternoon, to 80% or so. Last Friday I charged to 82% at lunchtime. The following morning the watch still showed 82%.

    It is now Monday afternoon, pretty much exactly 72 hours since charging and the watch is at 61%. That's a loss of 7% per day including recording 35 minutes walking each day with GPS and WHR and 2+ hours indoor cycling each day with strap and power meter.

    I have never witnessed a rapid drop in charge following charging or at any other time with either watch. I would not say that such a drop is normal behaviour at all. FWIW I do not use music, Garmin Pay or Pulse Ox. Otherwise all features are enabled and I never use power management options. 

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Same here.  I believe it's just how batteries work.  the voltage floats a bit higher after charging, but then once a load is on it - the voltage drops before it stabilizes.  

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Update:

    After installing 16.70 the battery started draining even faster, I did a factory reset and that seems to have resolved this.  Charged to 100%, down to 97% after 24 hours.

    I haven't installed any 3rd party watch faces yet.