Garmin watches are some of the best smartwatches in the business if you’re a swimmer, cyclist, or runner. But how long do Garmin watches last regarding battery capacity and total lifespan?
Below’s a handy guide that’ll show you about this fitness tracking watch.
So, How Long Do Garmin Watches Last?
Regarding battery life, newer Garmin watches can last up to 7 to 56 days in power save mode and 5 to 36 hours with full GPS mode. It usually depends on the Garmin model.
For instance, Garmin Instinct Solar has longer battery life (56 days) than Garmin Forerunner 45 (shorter battery life of 7 days). Lucky for you if you own a Garmin watch because they last longer than other smartwatches.
You can wear a Garmin watch all day, and with SPO2 and a sleep tracking sensor, so you can wear it even at night.
As for its total usable lifespan, Garmin watches can last up to five to seven years. They designed the components to last that long. Yet, all Garmin GPS watches rely on rechargeable batteries, which have a lifespan.
After seven years, a Garmin watch eventually becomes slow or has GPS issues every few months. However, you can do fixes or a factory reset.
Of course, the more dangerous your activities are or, the more you use your smartwatch, the more likely you are to cause damage to it. If you’re water rafting, mountain biking, running trails, or doing something similar, you risk breaking up the Garmin display, which could lead to internal water damage.
Related: Best Garmin Watch For Walking
7 Common Reasons Your Garmin Watch Is Dying So Fast or Has Stopped Working
Like all gadgets, your Garmin watch can experience problems too. Here are some of the common reasons why your smartwatch is dying too fast or has already stopped working:
1. Battery drains fast or needs replacement
Your Garmin watch may stop working if its rechargeable battery drains. A power-consuming watch face can cause this unnecessary activity tracking, high GPS usage, high capacity network connectivity, or online music playing.
The most common reason is the overuse of GPS. Searching and displaying data in a graph takes a lot of energy. Moreover, mobile phone synchronization involves constant data transfer and can drain your smartwatch battery quickly. Or your Garmin watch needs a battery replacement.
Because of charge and discharge cycling problems, Garmin batteries can lose capacity over the years. However, in some Garmin models, like the Edge, Forerunner, and Vivo smart, the original battery capacity is still at 80% after a few years of frequent charge and discharge cycles.
Are Garmin watch batteries replaceable?
Yes, smartwatch batteries are replaceable too, but it’s best to ask an expert to do the job because hundreds of macro circuit joints may break because of random assemblies. Incompatible batteries may also lead to unnatural power cuts.
Replacing the battery of a Garmin smartwatch is often only done if the battery is not charging, loses power quickly, or has other power issues.
How to maximize your Garmin watch’s battery life
To maximize the battery life of your smartwatch, do the following:
- Turn off the wrist heart rate monitor.
- Turn off activity tracking.
- Turn off GLONASS.
- Turn off the Bluetooth feature.
- Shorten the backlight timeout.
- Choose a Smart recording interval.
- Shorten the timeout to watch mode.
2. Water damage
Most Garmin smartwatches, especially those with a 5 ATM water resistance rating or higher, can withstand water exposure. You can wear them during swimming without resulting damage.
However, most of them can only live up to 100 meters deep. If you go beyond what the manufacturer allows, water can find its way into the dial window and the case. Eventually, the damage will reach the case back and the pushers or crown. Your best bet, if that happens, is to bring the smartwatch to a certified technician to fix it.
3. Physical damage
Physical damage is a far more apparent reason your watch may stop working. Some Garmin watches are made from plastic, so they’re less heavy for sports activity. However, it still has a breakable LCD screen. If you’ve dropped the timepiece more times, something inside may become loose and cause the watch to stop working.
4. Manufacturing issue
Lastly, it’s possible that you just got a “bad watch” right from the purchase. It could be that one part of the smartwatch is set up incorrectly. Don’t worry, though, as Garmin offers a warranty, so you can have one that’s fully functional if this is why your smartwatch stopped working.
5. Debris or dirt build-up in the charging port
Sometimes, debris, dust, or dirt build up in the Garmin charging port. It can happen to any other device with ports. The solution to this problem is simple. That is, by cleaning the port of the watch and charging it again.
Gently clean the port of your GPS watch with a cotton bud or cloth. It will help if you don’t press the port with pressure to avoid breaking it permanently. It’s also best to avoid using metallic substances or any liquids to clean it. After cleaning your Garmin watch, charge it once more for 30 minutes.
Related: How To Properly Clean A Rolex Watch
6. Bluetooth
Garmin batteries can quickly drain if you always turn on the Bluetooth function. The amount of battery drained will even depend on the number of notifications your watch receives from your synched phone and how much you sync to your fitness watch daily.
Playing music, receiving texts, answering phone calls, and other sync activities may cause the timepiece to get drained quickly.
7. Backlight and WiFi
Putting your backlight at 100% drains the battery quickly to maintain your desired brightness. Continuous searches for updates if you turn on the Wifi can also take a toll on your smartwatch’s battery.
What to do if my Garmin device keeps on rebooting
If your smartwatch is rebooting, install the available updates using Garmin Express. Doing so often fixes the problem.
If the GPS running watch is unresponsive or frozen, simply press and hold the power button of the timepiece until it powers off. After about 30 seconds, leave the Garmin to watch off for about a minute before turning it back on.
Another option is to plug it into a power source and press the power button until the watch powers off and turns it on again.
Related: Best Garmin Watch For Hunting
Garmin Watches With the Longest Battery Life
Garmin Instinct Solar – 56 Days ( 30 Hours with GPS)
Garmin Instinct Solar is a rugged watch and the current king of Garmin battery life. It lasts up to 56 days in standard smartwatch mode and up to 30 hours of GPS tracking.
I find it the most practical GPS watch with incredible battery life, owing to its Power Glass lens. This smartwatch has an impressive spec sheet with customizable power modes and blood oxygen sensors.
Garmin Fenix 6 – 14 Days ( 36 Hours with GPS)
Many fitness watch lovers prefer this model because it has a good battery life by a considerable margin. It can also track almost anything you do – from running to hiking. It can even follow when you use the rowing machine or do indoor sports, like skipping.
The GPS of this timepiece is also insanely accurate, and the heart-rate monitor works underwater.
Garmin Fenix 6X Pro – 21 Days ( 60 Hours with GPS)
Another excellent product offering from Garmin is the Fenix 6X Pro, which has long battery life. It can last for up to 21 days or 60 hours with GPS. This battery capacity drops to 15 hours when music is playing and on Expedition GPS mode. Garmin says this model can last for 80 days when in battery-saving mode.
Garmin Forerunner 945 – 14 Days ( 36 Hours with GPS)
Next on our list of Garmin watches with the longest battery life is the Garmin Forerunner 945. It can last up to 14 days without GPS and 36 hours in GPS mode. Activity tracking, smartphone notifications and music can last up to 14 hours.
Garmin Fenix 7S Solar – 14 Days (46 Hours with GPS)
What’s not to love about Garmin Fenix 7S Solar? It got better with solar charging and GPS features. And the best part is it’s comfortable on the wrist. It has a battery life of up to 14 hours without GPS mode and 46 hours with GPS.
Garmin Forerunner 955 – 15 Days (42 Hours with GPS)
Get up to 15 days of battery life with Garmin Forerunner 955 in standard smartwatch mode and up to 42 hours in GPS mode. If you put it in UltraTrac mode, it can even go longer with up to 80 hours.
The UltraTrac is a GPS mode but with a decreased update rate of the GPS data once a minute. This feature provides a much longer battery life to the smartwatch, although in GPS mode. The sensors and the ANT can continue to record while in this feature.
Final Thoughts
Garmin watches are designed with long battery life to track long exercise events with Glonass and GPS enabled. The overall system of these watches is also optimized so they can use as little energy as possible.
So, if you’re considering upgrading your fitness watch and one of the features you look for is battery life and durability, give this brand a try.
If you like this review, you might want to read our other reviews at EvesWatch.com.
My name is Eve Acosta and I’m the person behind this site. Watches are what get me ticking ;).
No, but seriously, I just love watches, I have over 30 myself. It’s an obsession of mine, which is why my husband recommended me to put my hobby into some good use and build this site – so I did.
My passion for timepieces came from the fact that my parents own a small chain of shops selling timepieces. I’ve worked at the shop since I was 11 and fell in love with the merchandise.
