Hello running chums. I know a lot of you, as I do, run with a running watch to record your route and your stats. Since graduating in Nov 2014 I've been running with my faithful Garmin FR15, which I'm very pleased with.
Since recovering from ankle injury in Oct I've been gradually lengthening my long run by abour 10% per month. This month I'm at 22km for my long run. I've decided to stick at 22km for the next few months and try to improve my times.
Anyway, Mr Garmin seems to be almost out of battery at the end of 2hrs 27mins (I know that isnt very quick for 22km, but like I said, I plan to work on that over the next few months )
Is 2hrs 27 mins pretty normal as a limit for running watches, or is mine on his way to retirement? What are your experiences, do you have watches which stay awake for longer?
The worst part about Mr Garmin running out of battery is that he loses all of the data for that run
Written by
Zev1963
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I've never used a Garmin but to me it sounds strange its battery life is so short, maybe as you said it is on his way to retirement. For your reference, I have a Fitbit Charge HR (hence no GPS, which drains quite a lot of battery power) and I have to charge it only every 4-5 days.
I have a Garmen Forerunner 10 and the battery will get me through a full days walking - 6/7 hours no probs, so it does sound to me as though perhaps yours is indeed feeling a bit under the weather ! I would be so gutted to lose a long run like that.....I feel your pain
Oh Zev, what a shame you lost all the data . Mind you , you've got the memory to keep in your head and that cant be taken away , but you still like seeing it there written down in black and white don't you
Have you been on the Garmin web site troubleshooting page ? I am sure they have info on there about the battery draining quickly.
Seems such a shame , nowts ever built to last these days is it ?
* Poppypug shuffles away muttering " When I was a lass..... *
Who did you buy it from? I got similar watch but for swimming from Amazon, when that went a bit wonky I contacted Amazon and a brand new watch arrived the very next day - worth a try...Or contact Garmin as PP says. It does sound a bit low, I thought they were meant to last about 8 hours.
Yes the blurb says 8 hours. A search of Mr Gooogle reveals that most people seem to get about 5 to 6 hours from a full charge. Mine is now 18 months old, so well out of warranty. I bought it from Amazon, and have been very happy with it. Maybe it is just worn out now. I don't know how long they are meant to live for. I don't even no if it is possible to replace the battery.
My swim watch was out of warranty too.. naughty me, I also contacted Finis (the makers) and they sent me a new one too...I had to show pics of Baldy smashing it to bits with a sledge hammer lol!
If I understand correctly they are a sealed unit, you can slice them open and replace the battery and stick it back together, but the cost of the battery is quite high, so probably not worth it. If it was me, I would have a bit of a moan but be prepared to cough up for a new one.
Yes they are a sealed unit , I got a new battery for mine, and someone very kindly replaced it for me but then there was some soldering involved and its really important to get it 100% right when sealing it up together again .
Its such a shame that Zev, you would expect a watch to last wouldn't you for quite a bit. Its not even 2 years old. Maybe if you emailed Garmin support they could suggest something ? xxx
Thanks Rob Its funny, during april I was running 18km each sunday nd it was quite a struggle at the end of the run, then this sunday I decided to up it to 22km and it didn't feel too difficult
It's a very sedate 22km at the moment though. 2hrs and 27mins !
Mine too Zev. I have the garmin f10 and I stopped bothering taking it on a hike as it always died on me despite being fully charged up for the job. Mind you I don't know if it's sold as a hiking watch.
Given that information I will definately have a go at replacing the battery. I may get a second running watch as well so that I have one if the other is unwell, but it's definately worth a go fixing it
before you start opening the watch it's worth checking for firware updates etc. The garmin forum will tell you how to do it. There are some older firmware versions that reduce how long it takes to drain the battery. Once you have the latest it should be fine again. Also resetting the watch may help too. Do you use a HRM? that will reduce the battery life.
Although it takes ages to connect to the gps, my fr15 will reccord a half marathon with lots of time to spare.
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