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Does solar really work? Or we got fooled

SantoshRane
over 1 year ago

Since I’ve got the watch I’ve tried every possible suggestion and test regarding solar.

have kept the watch in sun for hrs, restarted as some forum suggested. But have not seen any battery % or any battery estimate changing.

it’s very disappointing to know that I trusted the brand and its marketing and fell in the solar trap.

Casio : a dead watch in solar charges.

Instinct : I don’t own it, but I’ve seen a video where it charged by solar and showed some % increase 

I’ve tried to disable all sensors n kept it only in watch mode and tried to give it hours of sun as well. But still no luck.

is there something I’m missing or solar is just a gimmick?

don’t see any update or mention in 10.43 as well.

thank you

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to bfinary
    bfinary said:
    It says solar charging CAN take place whilst the watch is off

    Which was the sole reason why I tested that. I just wanted to know whether I could rely on this just in case and this was a "check".

    With 2 weeks of battery life I'm not obsessed with every little percent of usage too, acknowleding that with my all sensor on this is acually pretty good even with Garmin ecosystem. Compared to other systems it is alomst stellar.

    The test with 4 days no use which led to the fact that it holded charge was even unintentionally, I just didnt want to take the Garmin with my for those days. But so this was a "check" too.

    Works as proposed, good.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to bfinary

    The german page states it more clear:

    https://support.garmin.com/de-DE/?faq=oxk6n3F7uC9jYSNu1CEaH7

    If the watch is ON the battery is not charged, only the watch functionality is powered. If the watch is OFF the battery will be charged. Of course, if all other requirements are fulfilled (sunlight, battery not fully charged...)

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Michael

    Thats a good one! Usually I don't bother with looking at the german Garmin pages since I always considered those as translated anyway. But here: way clearer statement. I stand corrected and vow betterment. ;-)

    I think one has to consider what a complex system as a Garmin does. If you'd take an older Casio like GW9400 - it can live on solar forever. That doesn't make the solar capabilties better. While it has a compass (OT: a more insensitive to misusage and calibration issues that is), wave controlled time keeping and a barometer/elevation sensor (same issues like Garmins as for working principle) it has no GPS, no HR and a very basic monochrome display and not what I'd call compute power. It just needs less energy. I tend to believe that the the solar unit in Garmins is more capable if for the sole reason that it's a newer system, but the sheer compute power just eats up way to much energy to expect to same result.

    I'm happy that it is a possiblity to emerency charge if battery is flat and no wall with power outlet nearby. That actually  might be an environment setting Garmin is made for. ;-)

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Erik T7

    I think it still possible to charge in full power save mode, I remember people testing that. Garmin just did not implement that the battery percentage can go upwards (without having a cable attached). It needs a reboot for that.

    Also Garmin documentation is not always the best source. It still says or watches can record naps (was true with Fenix 3), in the beginning they claimed F7 series has 256 colors.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Michael
    Michael said:

    The german page states it more clear:

    https://support.garmin.com/de-DE/?faq=oxk6n3F7uC9jYSNu1CEaH7

    If the watch is ON the battery is not charged

    Where does it say that ? Here is the translation of the German support page.
    There it only says that the charge MAY more effective when switched off at the same sun intensity :

    "Solar charging can be done when the watch is off and may result in a higher charge than when the watch is on at the same solar intensity."

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Michael

    It doesn’t actually state either of those things.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to bluefish
    bluefish said:
    Where does it say that ?

    At the beginning, starting with "Hinweis:"

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Grampy

    No, it does not say that it will NOT be charged. It says "not in the conventional sense".

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to bluefish

    Just for the record, the full translation: "The battery of a switched-on watch with solar is not charged in the conventional sense when exposed to sunlight, as if you connect the watch to a power source. However, battery life is significantly extended when the watch receives sunlight. If a switched-off watch receives sunlight, the battery is charged in the same way as via a power source, but much more slowly."

  • 0 over 1 year ago
    SantoshRane said:
    have kept the watch in sun for hrs

    You should always ensure sufficient heat dissipation. Either by wearing it on your wrist - the skin acts as a heat sink - or possibly by putting the watch in a glass with water.

    If the heat dissipation is not sufficient, this not only damages the Li-Ion battery, but also causes the electronics to switch off the charging function.