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Instinct 2/2X Solar is Not Always Solar Charging When It Should Be

Vlad B
over 1 year ago

Hello, my Instinct 2X doesn't charge by sunlight or charges max 1% per day even though I get strong exposure to the sun. Is this normal?

I bought the watch because of all the hype they created around the idea of unlimited power. Ok I get that the watch still needs to be charged by cable from time to time. But barely getting 1% for a full day of exposure makes the solar charge function useless. Garmin marketed this watch as twice more capable of extracting power from sunlight but it doesn't seem to work.

I'm attaching a photo of today's solar exposure, i left it on the balcony in direct sunlight, no shadows, it was on power saving mode all the time.

I did many similar trials and never got more than 1% charge. I also wore it during August at a festival where i would get max sunlight exposure daily. Still no more than 1% charge per day.

.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin - Chris

    This is very frustrating. I've opened this thread 2 months ago and since the issue appeared you keep telling us that it's gonna be solved. How about patching it up now, not later?

    It's crazy how silly the situation is for a brand I've always thought is ultra premium, I finally make courage to spend a premium amount of money and then there's all these minor things breaking the nice promised experience.

    When will you update the watch?

    Or solve the lag and slowness of the UI?

    And to the trolls saying that if I don't like Garmin, I shouldn't buy Garmin (the forum is full of them and the moderators don't do anything when they spam righteously), I LOVE GARMIN, but I want it to work as shown in their commercials and online product pages!

    Love.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Vlad B
    Vlad B said:
    This is very frustrating. I've opened this thread 2 months ago and since the issue appeared you keep telling us that it's gonna be solved. How about patching it up now, not later?

    Software bugs do not get immediately fixed as much as that sounds like a perfect world to live in together. (Unless it is a major feature deal breaker that impacts every single watch in use worldwide.) There is even a workaround for the current solar charging issue.

    The issue will most likely be resolved when the current Beta phase, that has already began, is completed. We cannot make any guarantees but the software issue is being worked on.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin - Chris

    I think the problem here is your conflation of "two months" with immediate! Some might also argue that a "feature" which informs the very name of the product - solar - qualifies as major. All the same, your input is appreciated.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    Register to the Beta program so you can help the community testing the Beta version and addressing bugs.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    November 2, 2023 - I can confirm this is an issue on my Instinct 2S as well.  After a full USB charge, my solar intensity graph does not display any amount.  I can also confirm that restarting the watch is a usable workaround for now.  Looking forward to a future software update. 

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 9241610

    I always assume that after a full charge the solar intensity graph didn't display anything since the watch didn't need to be charged.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    I have an Instinct 2s solar and I have the same problem. After charging, the solar intensity stops working (also solar charge). Each time, I have to restart the watch and the problem is solved, it is a bit annoying.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    My suggestion is to install from Garmin Connect IQ the watchface Instinct Mission.

    One of the data it can display is the battery drain of the day. So when the watch charges with the sun, the battery drain decrease and can become a positive value. My Instinct 2X charges 0.1% every 5k Lux average.

     

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to Garmin - Chris

    Hi, does the new release of firmware 14.12 fix the issue related to the battary not charging correctly from solar after being charged via USB? I've looked at the release notes and don't see a mention that fixes this particular issue. Is the workaround still necessary with 14.12?

    Thanks

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to garminfongbeast.com

    Yes. The issue should be resolved now.

    (Thank you for your post to remind me to update this thread after the software release hit 100% yesterday.)