Backlight Settings Query

If it's getting low I just charge it!

i don't understand why people are worried about battery life and charging.

I can't agree more. I wonder how many people who keeps going on and on about squeezing maximum operating time per charge are ultra-runners, who may have a legitimate practical concern in that regard?

Yes, we know rechargeable batteries will only last a limited (but not entirely predictable) number of recharge cycles before its ability to retain a charge is sufficiently reduced to be unacceptable, but then the solution would be to replace the battery (or the watch for a new model) – gadgets don't last forever, and it's only money (spent on toys-for-grown-ups). I just bought myself a FR630 today, and my FR235 (which I've been using for a little over 51 weeks) goes to my girlfriend who has recently started running with me; the latter functions no worse than it did the day I bought it, and a full charge still lasts longer than her Fitbit Charge HR's best performance to date.

If only there was some way for the watch to know the difference between day and night, and allow you to adjust the backlight activity setting accordingly ... /s

Something like an "Always on (only after sunset)" option for activities would be perfect.

EDIT: I just tried the writs turn idea as suggested by CHUNKYWIZARD and it works well when the watch is worn in the usual position, so may be an option for some. However i when running i wear my watch on the inside of my wrist/forearm which gives me the best HR signal. For this position the wrist turn backlight doesn't trigger.

I think an after dark setting certainly makes sense.

How hard is it to press a button when running? Sure use wrist turn, but why not set it to come on at key press too? There's enough buttons on the damn thing that it can't be that hard even when 'running at pace' to hit one of them to turn on the light. And let's face it, if you're going to want to turn on the light one assumes that'll be to see what the device is telling you so your focus will be on the device not where you're going anyway.

How hard is it to press a button when running? Sure use wrist turn, but why not set it to come on at key press too? There's enough buttons on the damn thing that it can't be that hard even when 'running at pace' to hit one of them to turn on the light. And let's face it, if you're going to want to turn on the light one assumes that'll be to see what the device is telling you so your focus will be on the device not where you're going anyway.

Well, the short answer is it's not hard.

But many people don't want the backlight automatically turning on outside of an activity (like me!). But when running in the dark and trying to hit a pace they do want it on so that a quick glance down is enough to double check how things are going (also me). It's not a big deal, but i'd rather not have to have to cross my arm over and hit the top left button every 30 seconds (or however frequently i want/need) to see things and nail the pace.

To switch this setting you have to dig to the bottom of the settings hierarchy, which is annoying. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to have it stay on like this ONLY when it was dark, and otherwise keep the backlight off unless manually pressed?

It may not be how you run or use your watch, but it's not an unreasonable request.

I genuinly think the people saying this isn't an issue are either a) not using this as a smart watch b) not using alerts for pace/HE whilst running c) never run in the dark or lastly d) are just unaware that their backlight is on during broad daylight half the time.

I dont see how anyone doing any of a,b or c above can not think this has been badly thought out and implemented. None of it seems very well thought out to me.

1. Wrist turn takes about a second from moving the wrist to the sensor coming on. I just want to be able to glance down
2. Wrist turn is 24/7 without the option to have it just in activities - why would you want that every time you roll over in bed
3. If I want the backlight on when I get a text then I need to specifically go through 4 levels of menu to turn that on.
4. But then when I start a daytime activity I need to go down the same 4 levels to turn it off so it does come on during a run. The repeat 3 when I finish.
5. If I want to have the backlight stay on during a run I need to go down the 4 menus levels to set backlight always on.
6. Then if I dont want the light to stay on permanently the moment I get a text I need to go to the 4 menu levels to change the timeout again at the end of the run.
7. None of the above can be changed from the activity menu once the activity is commenced.

Is the above really well thought out and 'not that difficult'?

My guess is its the same implementation as the 220 series before these watches became 'smart' and I just dont think it works.
Fair enough if the 'auto sunset' option is to remain on the fenix, but I think the current implementation needs a bit more customisation.

6. Then if I dont want the light to stay on permanently the moment I get a text I need to go to the 4 menu levels to change the timeout again at the end of the run.

Just to note, the backlight timeout settings ("always on" or some number of seconds) only apply to activities. Outside of activities the backlight times out after 8 seconds regardless.

For me i want the backlight to be "always on" when it's dark outside, and off otherwise (during activities). The backlight drains a significant amount of battery and about 60% of my running is during the day. Some people are happy to charge their watch every 4 days; not me. If i can get a week (which i can depending on how much i run) i'd much rather that, everything else being equal. Others might have different priorities; that's fine.

KR17

whats the issue with the backlight coming on during the day even if you can't see it? You might get 10mins less battery life, but it's not the end of the world. Just charge it a bit more often. By the way, if you don't want wristturn to work in the middle of the night, just set sleep time under do not disturb.

CW

whats the issue with the backlight coming on during the day even if you can't see it?

I've only seen this on a va-hr, but on it's face, right above the start button, there is a light sensor so it will suppress the back light if it's not needed. :)

Thanks, I'll test the wrist turn again during the quiet hours. I know my 235 didn't work like that at one point, but maybe it was a bug.

As for the backlight being on during the day, it seems to be by far the biggest drain on battery life. Again, I'm basing this on the 235 more than the 735.

Myabe there are workarounds, and maybe it does bother others as much as me, but it still clearly isn't as well thought out as it could be and it would be nice if Garmin looked at the implementation.