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Not as promised battery life on 255s

Hi, 

yes I know it maybe needs some time indexing and also a few battery charges before being on 100% but in the first 2 days I notice a not as promised battery life. During 2h of configuring everything mostly through the app I lost 15% of battery life. Really not good but I did a lot of stuff with syncing many times via BT.

Now it has been about 2 days using the watch. Only one 45 cardio workout and one 45min walk with multiband on which didn't even take THAT much battery and I lost 25% more in around 2 days being at 60%. I know multiband cuts the gps battery life half but it was only 45min. And mostly not around many houses or trees. 

One thing to say is system brightness is very low on this device compared to my Fenix 6s Pro. When I need 20% on my 6s Pro I have 40% configured here for almost same brightness. I have BT turned off all the time, only twice a days turning it on for sync then off again. I have the device in airplane mode almost all the time. And I don't use pulseOX at all, have it turned to manually. The only thing taking battery life down is GPS Multiband which I don't use daily and mostly for around 45min when walking each second day. And 40% brightness because screen seems less bright then other device like my Fenix 6s Pro. 

Calculating this it would take me only to 8 days with one 45min workout each day. That is not the 12 days mentioned. And I barely use anything draining the battery. 

What about you other 255(s) users? Do you get the battery life promised, minus settings and maybe a day here or there with one charge?

Do you think it will get to normal after a few weeks like many claim with phones?

  • That is defintely not my experience. I always get almost the battery life it says it has. My Fenix 6s Pro really lasts almost 9 days as stated. I don't use battery draining stuff though. Always airplane mode when not syncing. No PulseOX, no CIQ stuff installed, no external HR strap. Only biking with extra cadence sensors. That's all. And never had problem with Garmin's battery life estimates, sorry. NEVER! Expecting 50% of what garmin says it has is a joke sorry. Yes, when you use much battery draining stuff it may be true to expect 50% but not otherwise if you use the watch as Garmin intened it with the stated battery life. 

    This is sugarcoating it and nothing else sorry. Like from a fanboy. I have Garmin watches and bike computers for over 12 years, not sure how long but at least 12 years. And of course I have read about these bugs but NEVER experienced them, not even with new models. Maybe because I don't install CIQ stuff. And if you don't use battery draining stuff you should expect the estimate, plus minus one day. 

    And if it is software problem I don't care. I need the watch to be stable. I installed so many beta updates, never had a MAJOR problem like this. I need a stable watch and if the watch has bugs and isn't stable at all I can't use it, therefor sent it back. But sugarcoating battery problems isn't the way to got buddy...

    Reseting a watch which helps with one day later having the same problem on a "fresh" watch. No thanks. 

  • You get better battery life on your 6s than I do on my 6 Pro! I get about 7 days, 8 if I am lucky.

    I do not trust Garmin estimates.

  • I have my 9 days roughly, 8 days when I do lot of sports. Maybe 6-7 days when I do workout each day 45-60min outside with GPS+galileo on. 

    I think it is because I use it in smartwatch mode most of the time. Of course HR sensor is on. But not PulseOX which is battery draining as hell. Airplane mdoe on all the time and I don't use CIQ (because I don't need it, the watch give me everything I need built in). Do you have the same usage?

    Often CIQ watchfaces bring battery life down by a lot. 

    Garmin's data on their website is smartwach mode. Not doing workouts. Each workout drains it a bit more then stated on their website. If you do lot of sports, wasn't it you who does 90min trainings each day, of course it is draining faster. I maybe do a workout each day for around 45 including walks. Normal workouts I do one each second day. Plus walks. So much less then you, if you were the user saying 45min plus 45min in the morning. It of course depends on usage. But again, on a busy work week without many workouts at all I get almost 9 days with my 6s Pro. Again, I have also read about those battery draining issues but with my settings and usage wa snever one who experienced it at all. 

    But after having problems with 255s before and reseting it and even a fresh install of Garmin Connect I have the same problem again? No this is not normal. 

  • I always use the stock watchface, no pulse ox. no notifications, no WIFI.

    6 Pro is in battery saver mode 10PM to 730AM. Do not use airplane mode on either watch.

    In the Fenix 6 forum I did a lot of battery analysys as many users reported very bad issues with battery since 19.20 firmware. 

    I do use a lot more GPS than you, often 2 or 3 hours a day is not unusual, that is always my biggest battery use.

  • Yeah of course then it is clearly GPS usage. Of course when you use the watch much more then the smartwatch mode battery life estimate then you will get less battery life. 2-3h is a LOT, WOW!!!!!!! Respect!!!!! Are you a professional athelete?

    Yeah GPS for sure is the reason for you cutting watch's battery life in half. But of course this normal then, not problem, bug or defect. 

    Airplane mode is a difference of at least one day in my experince. No notifications which I turned off before anyway, no BT, no Wifi (reportly being inactive either way when not syncing). Battery saver I also have turned on for sleep (HR on). 

    But from my usage and experience the Garmin stats on their website is always a good lead for me. Not with the 255s, of course that may be a sw bug. But again I never exprienced this, or maybe once with a watch which resolved it after reseting the watch. But never besides that in 12 years. 

  • But from my usage and experience the Garmin stats on their website is always a good lead for me.

    Not in my experience - 4 hour bike ride on the 6 Pro - far below the advertised GPS time. 4.5% an hour means I am about 12 hours short of advertised estimates.

  • This is this mornings indoor bike ride - 40 minutes indoors - Fenix 6 Pro and 255 connected both connected to Garmin HRM Pro, and 2 power meters

    255 in blue (bottom line), F6 Pro is top (purple)

    So the 255 for me is using no more battery than the 6 Pro for this non GPS activity

  • Yeah but every sensor costs more battery life when used. You use HRM Pro, power meters etc. This all adds up to battery life consumption. 

    I only use Garmin's cadence sensor indoor and outdoor. That's it. And even this costs more power then using no sensor at all. During the time I used my HR arm strap from Polar battery consumption was higher too. Not by a lot imo but it all adds up. The more stuff you use the more power it consumes. To me your battery life seems normal considering the circumstances. And F6 and 255 have same battery life btw. 

    If you only use GPS it consumes way less battery during longer activities then GPS+Galileo f.e. or with 255 multiband. So small settings can change battery life, every sensor means more battery consumption. 

    I am talking about battery life going down with NO explanation during all-day usage. Nothing turned on. 

    I think we are going round circles here. 

    Battery life is not normal on my 255s, not before thr reset, not one day after a full reset. And this is massive. Problems I (!!!) never had with any other Garmin. And this is not normal and there is no sugarcoating it that it loses battery life of 50% in one night with everything turned off. And this coming after a fullreset because of battery life problems 2 days before. So massive battery problems here with mine. As I did a full reset and new Connect app install on my phone, this is defintely a watch problem, either software or hardware, this is why I am returning it, even though I like the watch otherwise. 

  • I am talking about battery life going down with NO explanation during all-day usage. Nothing turned on. 

    I know you are - this is often reported for other watches where there is unexplained drain just in smartwatch mode, doing nothing.

    I have seen this myself on the Fenix 6 and before with the Fenix 5+

    It is a problem that Garmin do not seem to have solved yet as you have seen.

  • A problem, big problem, that doesn't occur in Fenix models. The airplane mode works like a charm in them... 1 year waiting for the fix in the 945lte model...