Garmin Fenix 6s solar, slowly, weak charging.

Hi!

14/08/2021 my Garmin Fenix 6s solar was with open sun, at least 6 hours. Nothing had happened. See solar graph, but no real charging.

Top Replies

KenMar over 3 years ago in reply to Dr Phil +3 suggested

I live in Australia so our summer sun is pretty strong.

I've found that even placing 6X Pro Solar in direct sunlight, on a ledge, not wearing for at least 6 hours showing a solid 100% solar charging graph…
subra over 3 years ago +1

2792389 said:
Nothing had happened. See solar graph, but no real charging.

I read somewhere that when charging with solar energy, the battery is not charged directly. Instead, the battery is relieved by…
2792389 over 3 years ago in reply to subra +1

Sent email to support with solar graph and description.

All Replies

+1 Misiek over 3 years ago in reply to subra

>> I read somewhere that when charging with solar energy, the battery is not charged directly.

This is wrong, I can see battery charge increase as many other people (just search "garmin solar charging test" on YT, I shared sample link above).

0 subra over 3 years ago in reply to Misiek

Misiek said:
This is wrong, I can see battery charge increase as many other people (just search "garmin solar charging test" on YT, I shared sample link above).

The question is: "what is true?"

There are many users and YT who have found that the battery does not charge or in power save mode the battery charges very slowly at best (<1%/h with 50,000lux) e.g.

https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/fenix-6-series/259460/fyi---solar-charging-with-tactix-delta-solar

https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/fenix-6-series/213202/no-solar-charge-with-100-000-lux#pifragment-464=1

Since for a battery charge of 50% at least 50h of sun are needed (~4d with 12h sun per day) it's not really usable.

The battery capacity is also temperature dependent. So if the watch is in the sun and heats up, the capacity may increase slightly.

Perhaps Garmin-Chris can enlightening us.

0 subra over 3 years ago in reply to subra

YT e.g.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdtC2Bn9guc

Look at 12:30

Instinct solar charges, Fenix 6 not. Why not?

0 Misiek over 3 years ago in reply to subra

subra said:
Instinct solar charges, Fenix 6 not. Why not?

I think he simply has a faulty watch. This is still quite new tech, thus faulty units are expected. Or some battery hungry app is running in the background. Idk. I think there is no reason other people would lie showing Fenix 6 gets charged (like 8% increase after 6 hours of sun exposure shared earlier).

0 subra over 3 years ago in reply to Misiek

Misiek said:
I think there is no reason other people would lie showing Fenix 6 gets charged

No, I don't think anyone is lying. But some users test this feature more seriously than others. I just want to know if the battery really charges or not. And not only in the 3rd decimal which may be measurement noise. Has anyone charged the battery e.g. from 30% to 50%?

I'm really curious to see what Garmin support responds to OP and in case if the watch should replaced whether this solves the charging problem of OP.

0 subra over 3 years ago in reply to subra

FYI from Garmin: https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=kGDYS8VOj30eMl3lMyqSi6

"Garmin solar watches use a Power Glass watch lens to convert sunlight into battery power, extending your time between charges. The solar charging is not designed to be used as the primary charging source or to achieve indefinite power."

0 Misiek over 3 years ago in reply to subra

subra said:
"Garmin solar watches use a Power Glass watch lens to convert sunlight into battery power, extending your time between charges. The solar charging is not designed to be used as the primary charging source or to achieve indefinite power."

Ok, so it proves it extends the time between charges (i.e. gives charge increase) and how I read the other part is that we should not abuse it to achieve indefinite / primary power source as it was not designed / tested for it (so you should still use your charger from time to time ;-)).

BTW, I was driving my car for 3,5 hours in sunny weather today, got 2,1% battery increase with all the features enabled (heart rate, BT, notifications etc.), but watch was not really used as I was focused on driving the car. So definitely it is not an error or a glitch as you stated and as mentioned earlier any battery widget can quickly prove the charge increases (it grows by 0,1% constantly). It is harder to notice 1% battery increase as in fact you should not use your watch too much for more than 1 hour to see it. I suggest to give it a try and I'm pretty sure you will see it. If not, your watch is faulty, so ask for a replacement.

BTW, maybe guys reporting no increase use some screen protector ? I guess it might decrease solar charging efficiency.

0 gaijin over 3 years ago in reply to subra

subra said:
Has anyone charged the battery e.g. from 30% to 50%?

No.

While the Instinct Solar models are designed to recharge the battery using solar energy, the fenix 6 series is NOT. The solar power design in the fenix 6 series is designed to SUPPLEMENT onboard battery power, thus extending usage time by utilizing available solar power first, then battery power.

Any perceived "gain" in battery charge using solar energy on the fenix 6 series watches is illusory.

HTH

0 2792389 over 3 years ago in reply to Misiek

The film is not installed on the screen, but the battery charge itself is, in principle, not bad, the watch worked for three weeks with daily use. But other brands of watches are charged up to 100 percent even in low light.

0 Misiek over 3 years ago in reply to gaijin

gaijin said:
Any perceived "gain" in battery charge using solar energy on the fenix 6 series watches is illusory.

8% charge increase after 6 hours of sun exposure for Fenix 6S Pro Solar (as proved here: https://youtu.be/-F7oaGfG9-4?t=99) or mine 2,1% battery charge increase after 3,5 hours in the car today is something more than illusory I would say ;-)