Related
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

Vivoactive 4s - Troubleshooting the watch (battery draining)

burn0ut
over 4 years ago

Hi all,

Since a while, I see many people have issues with their VA4(s) with the battery of the watch draining too fast.
Like many of you, I performed almost every suggestion I could find on this forum (and the internet) for trying to fix this issue.

The watch is running all latest firmware(s), I reverted to stock settings and stock watch faces. Turned logic energy consuming features off (bluetooth, heavy watch faces). But I can't get the watch lower then a 1.366%/h on a full battery load. I average in between 2 to 3 days for 1 battery load, which is not acceptable. (else I would have bought the Venue)
I have the feeling there is a software component or driver using energy for tasks that are not needed, or tasks that are never finished. (busy waiting / busy checking forever)
Maybe it's worth to mention I use this watch in combination with an iOS device.

A next step for me is leveling up the troubleshooting on the watch. I want to understand which component / software / driver is using power on a constant pace and causing the watch to drain so fast.
Are there any guides, tips or tricks I can use to perform this kind of troubleshooting? Is there any way I can get involved in helping troubleshooting this problem or joining a beta program?

I'm curious if multiple people also see this pattern.

Appreciate the help!

Kind regards,
Burn

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    After some extensive reading and troubleshooting, I could detect the root of the problem -->  watch faces with "background tasks".

    I did a factory reset and kept the stock face for a while. This drains the watch with 15% battery per day, like normal. (using all latest firmware)

    The following watch faces are VA4s friendly in terms of battery consumption: Alpha and DRG essential.

    On a lot of data rich watch faces I miss the option to only update the screen once every minute. Also updating/refreshing certain metrics like the weather should be configurable.

    Any other good watch faces and/or tips?

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to burn0ut

    Infocal has a 1-minute update option which has been doing well for me.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to swilkens

    I can confirm that Infocal with 1-minute refresh is working very well indeed!

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    Found a forum post which is matching my experience: https://forums.garmin.com/sports-fitness/healthandwellness/f/vivoactive-4-series/216123/anyone-experience-battery-drain-with-data-fields

    Two weeks ago, I reset the watch to factory defaults and started using it very "stock", doing no sport activities. Battery lifetime went up to 6 days.
    Yesterday, I did some bike tracking with the "Dozen Bike" data field enabled. After the activity, the battery was draining again like before. :(

    Currently, I uninstalled the data fields. Let's see!

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to burn0ut

    After a day, I might need to conclude it's not (entirely) "Dozen Bike" related. After the uninstall, I did track an activity. After that activity, the watch was again draining the battery faster, but it stabilized after a while. (still too much battery drain) Maybe it's because I needed to reboot the watch after the uninstall of "Dozen Bike"? Or maybe something is wrong with the GPS stack, or the way how the software tries to post the activity to the internet?

    This morning I shutdown the watch and restarted it. Since then, battery life is normal again.

  • 0 over 4 years ago

    I don’t use for any activity except walking.   Had 100%at 8:30 am and 4% at 4:30 pm the same day.   Help

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to 2277953

    Hello! 

    What I would like for you to start with is

    • Plug the device into the computer and sync with Garmin Express
    • Once it's finished, unplug the device and an update may go through.
    • Please reset the device to defaults
    • This will start the watch from new. Please go to watch settings, system then reset to defaults.
    • Clean the contacts with rubbing alcohol
    • Please charge fully through the computer

    Once these steps are completed, please test the device over the next 48 hours and report back how the battery has held up. We can then reevaluate from there.

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Garmin-AmberD

    Hi, I just purchased my watch and the battery only lasts for less than 24 hours. I am right now running reset, but it seems to take forever. Any advice? 

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Garmin-AmberD

    My wife had some serious battery problems, from the beginning with the Vivoactive 4s model. it was turned off already after 2 hours. so imaging how she was on Chrismas evening. så I tried to read around on the internet - and then I found this answer/guide from YOU.. thank god
    - After 18 hours of use, on/off with different activities it still on 89% power. so this guide really helped 

    I just thought you should know :-).

    // from the happy husband.. 

  • 0 over 4 years ago in reply to Garmin-AmberD

    My wife had some serious battery problems, from the beginning with the Vivoactive 4s model. it was turned off already after 2 hours. so imaging how she was on Chrismas evening. så I tried to read around on the internet - and then I found this answer/guide from YOU.. thank god
    - After 18 hours of use, on/off with different activities it still on 89% power. so this guide really helped 

    I just thought you should know :-).

    // from the happy husband..