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Not charging?

My Forerunner 230 has stopped charging. I plugged it in last night with 32% battery left but this morning it just shows the battery symbol on the screen, and won't either switch on or do anything else. If I unplug the charger the screen fades as it switches itself off but it doesn't seem to be charging to actually reset or do anything else. Any ideas what I can do about this?
It had a difficulty charging a few months ago but seemed to charge ok after a reset but now I can't even reset it.
  • Not sure how old your 230 is, but could possibly be over 3 years, as the release date was October 2015. You might have reached the recharge cycle limit (typically around 500 discharge/charge cycles), which means your device is done. Nonetheless, when attempting the reset, how were you trying to get there? If you can't have the watch powered on for even a few seconds to get to Settings >> System >> Restore Defaults, then you can try this:

    With watch powered off press and hold power and lap buttons simultaneously until you see the "Clear user data" prompt
    press arrow up to highlight the "Yes" then press the top right button (running man) to enter the selection.
  • Thanks for your reply. I brought the watch in March or February 2016, so it's fairly old but the battery has still been going strong - I use the watch every day for cycling or running and it has generally only needed charging a once a week-ish,
    Unfortunately, it's completely dead - I get the Garmin logo for a few seconds when I try to power it up, but it doesn't even make it to fully started-up. It just doesn't seem to register the charging cable being attached, I've got 2 cables and neither do anything - I've tried plugging it into my mac and the mains socket. It's really annoying as the watch was working fine before I put it on charge.

    I'll try the buttons you suggest but I don't think it has sufficient power to reset.
  • Yes, sounds like this might be futile if you cannot maintain power to the device for even a few seconds. You might have to contact Garmin to see if there is anything that can be done. Garmin offers Out of warranty repair. I believe it's around $99 (USD) for an F230. You'll need to weigh whether or not it is worth it to you, or if you want to go with a new/different device.
  • Hello. I know the article is old, but what was your outcome and cause with your watch.I have a 235 and have the exact symptoms starting at 9 months then going dead before 14 months. Did they offer you one of their exchange programs?

    Thanks

  • Same again. Has anyone resolved this?

  • Hi, so the long and the short was they did a 'refurbish' replacement for me. I requested a few times for a reason so I could share and help others but I've had no response. Although the device is deemed "old" I would never recommend this model to anyone for long term use. 

    Sadly we have misplaced the charging cable so have been unable to try the refurbished device, I hope I will get a few years service out of it.

     

  • Hi, I have the same problem with 235. I checked the cable with a meter and there is no voltage at the ends. Can anyone tell me if I should have a voltage reading on the ends of the cable? Is the voltage only shown when the watch is connected?

  • I have the 230 i probably bought it around 2015 or 16 has been acting up the last year or so but always manage to get it to charge, it finally would not take charge this wkd, but thanks to Selogramp, i reset the watch and its now taking charge, also i cleaned the charger alligator clips and contact charging surface on the watch with rubbing alcohol to loosen any debris. Hope this helps --Happy Cyclist

  • Same issue with the 230 bought in 2015; i use it for running and cycling, I  cleaned the contact tips with rubbing Alcohol, had probably <1% power left but enough to reset the watch and now it appears to be recharging again thank goodness, i really like the 230, its my favorite watch its a shame that it has a 3 to 4 year lifetime but its worked super well so far! Best of luck to you all!