Instinct Solar charging: the charge is fiction

Hello.

I was using my Instinct solar at the beach, during all summer vacations and it gave me the, “theoretical”, record of 115days of battery.

Wow!!

But the next day, surprise: it was around 80….

So, it seems to be really something not accurate at all.
To say the less…

The watch wasn’t using gps. Only the ordinary smartwatch mode (notifications, pulse, counting pass…).

At the end, all that “battery recharge” was useless. I didn’t have any extra day, and I recharged it at the scheduled day, before the vacations.

So, I got sun exposure, the watch was (in theory) being recharged by the sun… but it didn’t stay there. As fast it cames, it goes.

Do you have an explanation for that?

Top Replies

trux 1 month ago in reply to jmkelly766 +1 suggested

jmkelly766 said:
I did set the watch in the window for an hour one sunny day and I got one whole day of charge added.

First of all, if it was not on the outer side of the window, then you should be aware…

All Replies

0 tPallis over 1 year ago

My experience so far with Solar 1 model is as you described. In sunny conditions i once saw 150days but the percentage was maybe 2-3% higher. Of course the 150days after 2 days of no sun activity went down to 20,19,18 etc...

However, during summer with everyday an activity, swimming (GPS on, HR on) the watch managed to stay alive for 30 days almost! I repeat i was exposed in the sun everyday, that helped to reach 30 days in total with no USB recharge.

When came back from summer i USB charged the watch and it hold only 20days of life (no sun exposure and fewer activities recorded). I am pretty sure that sun exposure extends the use of watch, just observe the battery percentage gauge and not days.

0 jmkelly766 7 months ago in reply to 1923087

I've had my Instinct Solar about 6 months now. I've noticed the solar charging is nearly worthless. I did set the watch in the window for an hour one sunny day and I got one whole day of charge added. Big whoop. Solar is a marketing gimmick in my opinion, not a useful function.

0 9664307 1 month ago

Puls HR uses a lot of battery, try turning off Puls HR and compare.

0 trux 1 month ago in reply to jmkelly766

jmkelly766 said:
I did set the watch in the window for an hour one sunny day and I got one whole day of charge added.

First of all, if it was not on the outer side of the window, then you should be aware that glass filters a significant (and the most energetic) part of the sunlight spectrum, hence it reduces the incoming solar energy greatly. And then, when the watch is exposed to the direct sunlight, without being cooled down by your skin, it overheats easily, and that again slows down the charging considerably, or even stops it completely.

Another fact important to keep on the mind is that the solar charging is disabled when the battery is full to 80% or more - that's in order to prevent upping the battery, and shortening its life, in this way.

For the best results, turn off the watch when solar-charging, let it outside (not behind any glass), and keep the bottom of the watch in a container with water, cooling it down (avoid water over the solar panels). However, if you are home, it makes no sense charging it by the Sun. Simply plug it into the charger. The solar charging was designed to slow down the power consumption on long outdoor trips with no access to electricity. It is not a replacement of the charger.