First Ride

Is it louder when it is not on the mount? Also under system there is an option for tones - is it on?  Under the sensors for the radar there is an option for alert settings and then tones.  It should be on Multi Tone - is it off?

Colored outlines are simply indications that you've started/stopped the timer. 

I don't get your question on Timer Start Mode.  Manual is you just hit the button when you want.  Prompted, you'll get a message and beep at the speed you set. You still need to press the button to start the timer.  Auto means it will start the timer when you reach the speed you set.  Personally, I use prompted because I want to decide when to start the timer and not forget to start it. 

Yes the beep is very weak and there are no settings to change the volume.

Your battery drain seems unusually high, ~3x what it should be.  Things I would try is charging it and trying again and if that doesn't work, do a factory reset.  If those don't resolve it, contact Garmin Support.  Other's might chime in some suggestions.

Sound is extremely disappointing for old guys like me that are losing the high frequency range.

Something definitely wrong with your battery. With power metre, HRM, Varia front and rear plus phone connected a 4=5 hour ride will take me down to 50% or so. If I am also following a course down to 20 %.

Compared to my previous 520 which would have been near flat at 5 hours with everything and a course. 

2 hours to 50% with out a course is not normal. 

As far as the volume goes,  I'm 63 and my hearing isn't what it was but on country roads without much traffic,  where the radar is of use,  I have no problem hearing the alerts. If I'm riding in town I might not hear it but it's really irrelevant when riding in traffic anyway. I suppose different people hear different tones,  but given you also have what seems to be a problem with batteries you may have just got a dodgy 830.

Overall having had a 500, 1000,  810, 520, I think the 830 is by far the best,  most reliable Edge they have made and the first with a touch screen that is actually worth having. 

Went on a second ride today that was 2.5 hrs. Battery performance was a little better but still showed 66% at end of the ride. I had route navigation and Varia radar/light running with backlight at about 80%.  Again my Edge 800 (w/o Varia) would have been around 80% - 85%. So not sure if this a bad battery or what is expected. Will run it a few more times before I reach out to Garmin support. 

I think the notification was a little better as I was on backroads. The turn notifications and other general beeps were definitely louder than the Varia warnings which remained nearly if not totally undetectable (I confirmed the Varia was set to multi-tone). For fun, I used a sound level meter and recorded the opening "beep" when you turn on the Edge 830 and my older 800. I was indoors in a quiet room. As suspected the 800 was about 15% louder. 

A new problem developed. I stopped for a bio break and the 830 went into Auto Pause as required because that is my setting. However, after starting back up the yellow border surrounded the screen which I think signaled I was still in Auto Pause and although elapsed time and course navigation was still running it stopped recording the ride despite all attempts to restart by manually pressing the start button again. There was no way I could get it started again (unless I would have stopped the ride and started over).  Has anyone experienced this issue? 

Does anyone know if there is documentation regarding the various colors of the screen borders that appear while riding or stopped?  I can't find reference to it at all in the 830 manual. 

Why do you have the backlight turned up so high? 80% backlight will have a significant effect on battery performance. Did you run the 800 at such a high level too? I have a 1030 and I don't have the backlight turned on and I have no problems viewing the screen in normal conditions but I do turn it on for cloudy days. Battery lasts for at least 15 hours. Should be similar for the 830.

Regarding the backlight, there is an "auto" brightness mode that will adjust backlight brightness as needed, which should save the battery by dimming the light in darker conditions.  I think if you swipe down from the top it gives you the option to turn that on.

Regarding the manual/user documentation, yes it is basically useless.  This was frustrating to me when I first got my 830.  Your best bet is to post questions on this forum and usually they will be answered.  I posted a lot of "how do I" and "why does it do this" and "what does this symbol mean" questions when I couldn't find any clear explanation in the manual.  My first several rides left me frequently scratching my head wondering what the 830 was doing.  (This is my first Edge device though and you might not have the same struggles.)

I was so frustrated last night with my 830 (along with posted issues would not connect to my PC for loading a new course) that I ended up doing a full reset of the device along with having to enter back all my settings which took about an hour. Went on a 3-hour ride today to check it out and to my happy amazement, everything worked as it was supposed to, at least I think. The only real issue was when I loaded my course it said there was an error and sure enough it had me going in the wrong direction sometimes but I think this had more to do with course and maps than anything else.  I was running Varia radar/light, course nav, and speed/cadence sensors with display brightness set to auto. After the 3 hrs. the battery level was at 55% which still seemed a little low but maybe normal with everything that was running.  If I don't have many other issues with the course/map nav I will be satisfied with finally getting the device dialed in. Thanks for all the comments. Heck, the notification volume was even louder. 

Still not as good of battery life as mine.  I have Di2 sensor, Varia Radar. and HR Monitor.  Also 8 IQ data fields.  After 5 hour ride I have 60% remaining.  When you power off the unit are you holding the button down until the power off screen appears and then press the red power off button?

That's what I was afraid of as I started on full 100% today. Yes, I do fully power down and press the red button. I have also noticed if I turn the unit on to make any setup changes or other reasons (not even connected to the bike or any sensors/apps) I will lose at least at least 10% charge in the first 10-15 minutes or so. That just does not sound right to me.