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Charging Frustration

JEFFREYDUNNING
over 2 years ago

The 945 is a great watch that I have been pleased with, with one frustrating exception - charging and USB connection.  Thank goodness for Bluetooth and Wifi updates, because I have had terrible luck keeping a connecting with the USB charing cable (maps updates are impossible via USB).  Same goes with charging where I need to constantly wiggle the charge cable to maintain a connection.

I routinely clean the watch with a cloth or cotton swab and water or alcohol, have replaced the charging cable, and have recently purchased little rubber plugs to cover the charge port.

Am I the only one with this issue?  I was surprised that I could not find similar questions on the forum.  Or is there a solution so simple that I haven't thought of yet?

  • 0 over 2 years ago

    Out of all of the charging ports used on the Garmin series over recent years, it is completely beyond me as to why they have settled for this option for all of their watches now. I absolutely swear by Garmin when recommending a running watch to friends, but the latest charging port they use is beyond frustrating and is a terrible design and extremely unreliable. The old clamp style charger used to connect every time without fault. Garmin need to sort this quickly as it is a big problem on such a great series of watches, such a massive shame.

    Dean

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to 4283315

    There is nothing wrong with the current connector design in general, however there is a very strict rule (also explained in the manual!) to NEVER (!!!!!) connect the cable to the watch without cleaning the golden connectors from sweat or humidity.

    This is a must, otherwise you will almost certain risk permanent damage to the connector.

    I always use a damp microfibre cloth to carefully clean the connector, afterwards dry it properly and this way it never failed for me, meanwhile on 4 different Garmin wearables.

    If you connect the cable immediately after taking off your watch, this almost certainly will lead to corrosion and damage which is irreparable and will lead to the behavior you describe.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to HUMODDA

    I tend to disagree, I've owned a few Garmin watches over a number of years now and the current connector design is by far the worst yet and the ONLY watch I've had issues with from the watches I've owned previously. This design is the only one where the connection is designed to be fully against your skin at all times meaning is has no airflow whatsoever when wearing. Why they've done this is beyond me. Previous connecters (I e clamp method) have been designed more to the side of the watch meaning it rarely pressed against the skin and had almost constant airflow whilst wearing. I always keep my watch clean (religiously actually!) and the issues I've had are down to poor connection only.

  • 0 over 2 years ago in reply to HUMODDA

    I disagree as well.  If you have to jump through hoops to charge the watch without causing "permanent damage", the design is not a good one.

    I wear my watch 24/7.  the only time I typically charge is when I am in the shower - which is directly after a workout and/or before bed.  What do you want me to do?  Take the watch off, wait an hour, and then plug it in?  Might as well buy an Apple watch if I won't be wearing it constantly.

    I have also never understood the location of the connector on Garmin watches.  I may need to charge the watch during a long race (I've only used my 945 for up to 50 mile races on one charge, but might be dicy for a 100).  Put the connector on the side of the watch, and it gets airflow and is accessible.  Or better yet, use contactless charging.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    I’m done with Garmin watches until they fix the charging issues.  I’ve owned five and every single I’ve has been a nightmare to charge.

  • 0 over 1 year ago

    My 945 no longer ‘clicks’ when I attach the charging cable and the electrical connection works only if I hold the cable and watch together. I thought it might be the charging cable, so I got another with the same result.
    The connectors are clean and bright.

    The problem is that the charging port on the watch is worn: on the outside of the metal ovalthat surrounds the pins, there are two little plastic bumps that mate with the holes in the metal parts of the charging cable.   With used, these little plastic pumps wear down, and as a result, the charging connector will not securely attached to the watch, and a good connection isn’t made.

    i’m not sure if there’s a way to fix this. Others have mentioned that bending in the metal parts of the charging cable may help, but this would seem to be a temporary fix. The main problem is that a part of the watch has worn off.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to banjobees

    Hi there, I'd definitely contact Garmin about this - they may replace your watch. My strap snapped off once (the actual watch snapped, not the strap) and they replaced the actual watch. They are really good like that to be fair, hopefully the constant issues they are having with the current charging port will convince them to go a different way, as I've said before, I can't believe they 'settled' on the worst of all of the cables they have had on previous models...

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to 4283315

    Thanks. I’ll give it a try and report back.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to banjobees

    You are right: Garmin Customer Service is super! They will replace the watch. Thanks again.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to banjobees

    Thats great news, good luck, should go smoothly from my experience! Slight smileThumbsup