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VA4 Battery drain after SW 3.80

Just updated to SW 3.80 recently. Now I notice that my Vivoactive 4 is leaking battery like crazy, like 30% per day without doing any activity compare to 10-15% per day previously.

Anyone experiencing this issue with SW 3.80?

Top Replies

sjsherratt over 5 years ago +5

Yes, I have noticed an increase in battery drain rate with 3.80. The 3.80 "upgrade" happened Saturday around 5PM. I have not changed anything else. Watch face is Quattro. Pulse Ox is only on…
Former Member over 5 years ago +5

The same. I noted that my battery is draining a lot faster than normal. It went from 100% battery to 47% within 24 hours. I didn't do any activity. whereas before the update I was able to go 3-4 days with…
Gizmo over 5 years ago +4 suggested

I confirm - with the same use of the watch, battery consumption at 3.80 is a bit higher!

All Replies

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

At mine it looks better too..

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to arty118

I have the same problem.. a view seconds after syncing it looks good. But later it shows like you describe it.

0 accura over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

my experience is opposite of yours. before the BT update, my watch could last 4 days. After the update, it drained 30% in 12h.

0 sjsherratt over 5 years ago in reply to accura

Today, it is draining 4% per hour, no activities, Pulse Ox not running. Not good.

0 arty118 over 5 years ago

Just updated to SW 3.90 yesterday evening. Restarted the watch after updated. I got like 25% drain overnight. This is even worse!!!

0 Former Member over 5 years ago

I found a solution : use GPS for a running or bicking activity.

Just after the 3.80 update : I lost about 3% battery per hour.

I started a 5 min bicking activity with GPS, and after I lost only 0.5% batery per hour.

I think it come from the feature "synchronise time with GPS" ... I think, after an update, the watch is trying to check the satelite time. If you don't start an activity to get a GPS signal, the watch keep trying to synchronise time.

Good luck

0 Denise over 5 years ago in reply to arty118

I havent got an update, mine is still 3.80... When did that come out? I did get a BT update two or three days ago but it is still draining at a rate of 2.5 days max.

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

Where I can find this option on Vivoactive 4, probably there is no synchronise time with GPS option in this watch...

0 Former Member over 5 years ago in reply to Former Member

Long press lower right button
Tap Settings
Tap System
Tap Clock
--> auto or manual

But not sure the "drain battery bug" come from this.

Maybe, just try to reboot your wtach, get a GPS signal with an activity, then check the battery drain.

0 Denise over 5 years ago

Ok so according to the Vivoactive 4/4S Battery Life Information:

7-8 days (4S/4) smartwatch mode with activity tracking and 24/7 wrist-based heart rate monitoring

So what exactly is smartwatch mode? I assume this does not include Pulse Ox (I do not have Pulse Ox on, as it readings were consistently low by about 10%). I would like to test this 7 day (I have a 4S) theory but am unsure of what they mean by Smartwatch Mode. Any ideas?

edited to add: Not sure if I am allowed to post a link to another thread but googling, I found this. https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/fenix-5-plus-series/168905/battery-life-what-is-smartwatch-mode-as-described-in-the-manual-for-12-days-battery-usage

I am going to try to reset my watch to default settings and see what battery life I get then. Has anyone else tried this?