Fenix 8 solar 51 mm - Does solar charging work or not on this watch or it's all a big lie ?!

2205313 said:

I noticed that no matter how you leave it in the sun (it stayed in the sun for 4 hours - it shows me about 250 k in about 4 hours) and no matter in which mode (smart, battery saving or even closed) did not increase the battery percentage even by 1%

What percentage did the watch have when you put it in the sun?

Remember that the watch has overheating protection to protect the battery. If the watch gets too hot, the charging process is interrupted. Ensure sufficient heat dissipation (for example by wearing the watch on your arm, or if you place it in the sun, place it in a glass of water).

Solar charging is deigned to extend your time between charges. It is not designed to be used as a primary charging device. 

From my read, that means while using your device outdoors it will maintain the current charge or slow down the battery discharge.

kstate1980 said:

Solar charging is deigned to extend your time between charges. It is not designed to be used as a primary charging device. 

From my read, that means while using your device outdoors it will maintain the current charge or slow down the battery discharge.

Absolutely correct.

But if I understood the OP correctly, his watch won't charge even if he puts it in the sun in battery saver mode.

2205313 said:

leave it in the sun (it stayed in the sun for 4 hours

2205313 said:

no matter in which mode (smart, battery saving or even closed) did not increase the battery percentage even by 1%

Then a slow charge should be possible.

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Solar charging also works when the watch is switched off.

Great comments.

I could be wrong but, even with battery saver mode, I'd think it would take a long time to see an increase in battery percentage.

I didn't know the battery could charge when off.

Your comment on overheating is relevant too.

I got my F8 Solar 51mm 4 weeks ago and wanted to give solar charging a shot to see the outcome. It was a cold morning without any clouds and I was wearing the watch. I put it on battery saver mode and worked on my computer for about 3 hours under the sunlight. It accumulated around 150K lux hours in 3 hours and the battery percentage went up by 1%. A couple of hours later the battery percentage dropped by 1%, back to what it was before solar charging. I guess I would have gained maybe a bit more charge if I turned off the watch completely but I didn't know that it had the capability to charging while being off back then.

Solar charging is clearly not enough for charging the watch but it helps maintaining the current state or even increasing the battery percentage a little bit depending on some other factors. Heat dissipation wasn't a problem because it was already cold outside and I was wearing the watch. It's safe to say that putting it in direct sunlight without any cooling isn't the optimal environment for solar charging.

Regarding the solar charge percentage delay; yes, I noticed that too. It wasn't the case when it was running on 11.90 but with 12.22 that's exactly the case.

Thanks for the answer!

According to the user manual given by the manufacturer (Garmin), the accepted temperature range (without entering protection mode) is: -20° and 80°C (between -4° and 176°F). Being the month of November, it is difficult to reach +80°C to be able to blame it on overheating.

To answer this question: when he put it on the window, I had about 67% battery. I put it on just to see if it charges... and I left it there for about 3-4 hours, and when I checked, nothing... not even 1% more, although I checked both on the watch and in the Garmin Conect application, approximately 250k lux received in this interval of almost 4 hours. On another sunny day, I put it on the window, put it in power save mode...nothing! It started, when I bought it, with another version of firmware in power save mode, it loaded 1%, now it doesn't load anymore! I also tried the 3rd option, the other day, with it closed (I had seen a reply from Garmin, that it still charges and closed, even better) and when I restarted it after about 3-4 hours.. . still nothing... as much as it was when I closed it and put it in the sun, it was the same when I restarted it... so no charge from the sun!

Reading the response above, in the latest version, there is a delay in displaying the change in percentage.

I think you are all wasting your time trying to test the solar by trying to charge the watch by putting in the sun. It is not made to be charged by the solar. You may get a percent or 2 in x number of hours, but it is not designed to be charged like that.

The way you should be testing it is to do outdoor activities, and measure the rate of discharge. Do an activity on a sunny day, and do the same activity for the same length of time on a cloudy day, and see what the difference is in the discharge rate.

From your answers, I notice that this delay in displaying the solar charge in real time is also present for other users, not only for me. I also assume that this function was working correctly before this wonderful update 12.22, which seems to have ruined what was good and was working on this watch which is still not a toy... and which costs quite a lot (1300 Euros) for a watch. Honestly, this issue with the software is embarrassing for the reputation of this company and for this top watch model! At this moment honestly... I have no way to recommend someone to invest a lot of money in a product of a company that does not respect its customers. How much does this Fenix ​​8 Solar cost, I think it's embarrassing to release a product with so many software errors on the market and I'm not saying anymore... to say that your watch has solar charging, which in fact is only in theory, because in the practice is non-existent. I understood, because I documented myself before buying it, that this solar charge is not a main charge, but a secondary, auxiliary one. Ok...I got it, but you can't see this help at all. After these 3 attempts in which I understood that there is no solar charge in fact or it may be but only for advertising to make it look good, I didn't get tired anymore and I wore it every day normally without looking for the sun light anymore desperately and I noticed that both, on sunny days (so it received sunlight) and on cloudy days or when I worked in the office, the battery discharge was about 1% per day, regardless of whether it was exposed to sunlight or without it. This clearly shows me that this product that claims to have solar charging actually doesn't have that much time, as on cloudy days it loses the same amount of battery capacity every day... so it doesn't slow down the battery discharge, as someone colleague of ours said above!

However... I (and the rest of you alike) gave the money Garmin asked for, but what did I get in return? A watch that looks good (here I have nothing to comment because it has a very nice design), but which does not work as Garmin has boasted? What does this mean, cheating? False advertisement?! Yes, I appreciate that now, Garmin is trying to fix the software. Very nice ! Even if they improved it, it would be even nicer, but I see that after about 4 software versions, this watch is getting worse and worse... All shouldn't these tests have been done before launch? I mean, after paying so much money for this watch, I have to be a tester for their products and software? But who is paying for my time and nerves to have to put up with all their failed software attempts? Those of us who paid 1300 euros for a watch, how long do we have to wait for this product to work as promised by the manufacturer Garmin? I paid to use it with full confidence at any time and anywhere, not to pray to the Holy Book after each update that something that was working wasn't broken !!!