Connecting port cover

Never used one. Never felt the need. Never had any issues with corrosion despite swimming in pool and sea and heaps of sweaty activities. Key is to clean the watch after each activity and ensure the charging port is dry before connecting the cable.

I use a silicon port cover.

My original GF6XPS that was replaced by Garmin due to battery drain and charging issues, the contacts were corroding and  was replaced with a brand new one so decided to use a silicon cover even though I never wear it in water.

Sorry to bring back an old thread but I am curious if people think the charging port needs protection?  I am not sure if its related but I used these silicone covers/plugs with my Fenix 6 Pro and it had charging issues, eventually not charging at all.  I religiously cleaned and dried the charging connectors after each workout before putting the silicone cover back on.  I am receiving my Fenix 7 today.

gaijin said:

No.  The covers do no good and probably do harm by trapping moisture which promotes corrosion.

100%.

I used to use the silicone port covers on my Fenix 6X for a few months. What I discovered was that there was always substantial wetness underneath the cover every time I removed it.

Indeed it probably does help keep moisture from getting it - but like you said, the problem is that once it gets in, it never evaporates. So the port ends up being damp 24/7.

Fortunately I discovered that before any damage was caused, and I've never used them since. I threw them away. My charging ports have been fine ever since, never any corrosion. The key to success is occasionally rinsing your watch off with fresh water, as per Garmin's instructions.

This all understood:

My experience is that the seal of those caps is complete. I started using them from the first day I ever wore a garmin since a friend of mine who accompanies me e.g. at sailing events had real issues with corroding contacts. This said: I applied the cover first thing when I got the first garmin ever even before I ever 'd worn it. That worked perfect for me. However I'm aware of the problem itself. If there is an only so slight amount of moisture in the compartement it may even enhance the risk of corrosion due to the warmth of the body. If there is any moisture inside it might sit deep between contacts and housing and there is no way to predict when the watch will be really dry again. So I only remove it when loading the watch which I do hours after using it in water or rinsing it. Of course I check for moisture everytime I remove the cap for loading - non so far for almost 5 years. I use it for sailing, swimming in sea water and even diving - of couse only in shallow waters like underneath the boat to check out the hull. To me the cap used with aproppiate care seem the better solution than to expose the watch without cap to sea water for - in my case - often a prolonged amount of time.

But that of course is only my experience & opinion. The risk as described by gajin et al. is definitely a real one esp. when you rinse it and after considerable drying think you are safe to reapply the cap afterwards. Of course there are tiny spacings for the moisture to hide of quiete a long time.

Just bear in mind that submerging the watch even in shallow water will generate significant hydrostatic pressure that can force water past the port cover, and then the water will be trapped there. That will quickly corrode any metal, especially if it's salt water.

I definitely would not use a port cover if the watch is routinely exposed to water, at least not without frequent inspection and maintenance like electrical contact cleaning / conditioning with a product like DeoxIT. Even WD-40 would be beneficial -- while most people use it as a lubricant, it's actually a water displacement product (hence the WD in the name).