Is there any impact on watch battery life with Garmin Connect Mobile constantly running in background?

It seems I can't get weather updates without GCM running, but I'm concerned if there will be any impact on watch battery life when constantly syncing with GCM via bluetooth.

  • Just solved!
    Keep Connect IQ app running in the background also updates weather, without syncing health data with phone.

  • Maximizing battery usually comes at some sacrifice, so if you have access to charger... yes you would likely want to keep the automatic sync with GCM/phone enabled.  I would think that if you had it off, but had wifi setup for at home/office/etc that it would still get some updates when near your wifi areas.  If I go on a super long ride or ultra run, often i will turn off wifi (optical HR, screen dimmed, turn off some sensors that I am not using on activity, etc) on watch.  Probably all marginal gains of time... but better than watch dieing 10hrs into a run/ride.

  • I would think that if you had it off, but had wifi setup for at home/office/etc that it would still get some updates when near your wifi areas. 

    No, wi-fi sync with Connect only happens after an activity is completed (if auto wi-fi sync is enabled). It works this way because wi-fi syncing is more battery-intensive compared to bluetooth.

    If you plug the watch into a power source, the watch will also use wi-fi to sync with your music provider (e.g. Spotify) if applicable.

    Other than those 2 cases, wi-fi is not used by your watch unless you manually initiate a wi-fi sync.

    If I go on a super long ride or ultra run, often i will turn off wifi

    No point in turning off wi-fi during an activity (or at all) imo bc of what I said above, but there's def battery gains to be had by disabling bluetooth.

    When I go for a run, I almost never take my phone with me, so I always turn off bluetooth (as there's no point in leaving it enabled). If I forget to turn off bluetooth, the additional battery drain is noticeable.

    Even the watch knows that bluetooth has significant battery impact. Rn I have 40% battery and my FR955 is estimating 7 days of battery life (general usage), with bluetooth turned off. If I turn on bluetooth, the estimate changes to 6 days.

    in contrast, toggling wi-fi on and off has no impact on the battery life estimate.