RunningAHEAD - Topic: Battery life over 1-2-3 years...

ToeJammer

posted: 6/4/2008 at 12:33 PM

A general question for "long time" users of Garmin, especially 305. Is anyone seeing a noticable decrease in battery life? The battery cannot be that big, and while it may not have power requirements like an iPod or a cell phone, those batteries only seem to be good for 2-4 years. Am I going to be looking at a new unit every couple of years if when it gets to where the charge only lasts a short time? G

milktruck

an amazing likeness

posted: 6/4/2008 at 10:57 PM
modified: 6/5/2008 at 3:23 PM

Toe, I have a Forerunner 205 that just passed its third birthday in May, and there's no obvious battery degradation. I do try to charge it fully Sunday night, then Wednesday night rather than keeping in the cradle all the time. I also have a spare FR205 that I keep on the shelf and remember to charge every 2 or 3 months -- and it isn't doing as well with battery life -- they definitely prefer to be used and constantly charged from my experience.

_{Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.}

Mr Medic

Running Dad

posted: 6/5/2008 at 1:06 PM

first I don't own a garmin but as for your question it all depends on what the battery is made of. Lithiums vs NiCads is what you need to look at. Lithiums don' mind being charged where as nicads really should be fully discharged. Lithiums will last quite a while if taken care of. As for any electronic you just have to realize that any unit will degrade over time so the more it's used the quicker it will need to be replaced. Hope this helps

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A Saucy Wench

posted: 6/5/2008 at 2:25 PM
modified: 6/5/2008 at 2:27 PM

Quote from Mr Medic on 6/5/2008 at 1:06 PM:

first I don't own a garmin but as for your question it all depends on what the battery is made of. Lithiums vs NiCads is what you need to look at. Lithiums don' mind being charged where as nicads really should be fully discharged. Lithiums will last quite a while if taken care of. As for any electronic you just have to realize that any unit will degrade over time so the more it's used the quicker it will need to be replaced. Hope this helps

Garmin's (all models 201-405 at least) use Lithium-Ion batteries. Charge and recharge.

I have become Death, the destroyer of electronic gadgets

"When I got too tired to run anymore I just pretended I wasnt tired and kept running anyway" - dd, age 7

paavoman

posted: 6/7/2008 at 10:42 PM

Li-on batteries usually last for at least 400 charge cycles. Even after that, capacity is only down 20%. These are figures for the iPods, but they should be similar for any device that uses these rechargeable batteries.

dpar

posted: 8/27/2008 at 9:02 AM

Thread rehash. It seems like I've been seeing a decrease in battery life. I'm pretty sure that I've had my 305 for 2 years now and am noticing that I have to recharge it a bit more often. I'm going to keep track now and see if it's just in my mind.

Teresadfp

One day at a time

posted: 8/27/2008 at 9:31 AM

I have to recharge my 305 after every run, even if I turn it off. If I don't, I get the "low battery" warning the next time I turn it on. It's annoying.

Run To Win

#2867

posted: 8/27/2008 at 9:37 AM

Quote from Teresadfp on 8/27/2008 at 9:31 AM:

I have to recharge my 305 after every run, even if I turn it off. If I don't, I get the "low battery" warning the next time I turn it on. It's annoying.

Open a support ticket with Garmin. They'll probably have you ship it to them and then they'll either ship a refurb or just replace the battery and ship it back.

Run to Win
25 Marathons, 17 Ultras, 16 States (Full List)

Teresadfp

One day at a time

posted: 8/28/2008 at 4:14 AM

Quote from Run To Win on 8/27/2008 at 9:37 AM:

Open a support ticket with Garmin. They'll probably have you ship it to them and then they'll either ship a refurb or just replace the battery and ship it back.

Thanks, Blaine, I'll do that.

Craig S

Menace to Sobriety

posted: 8/28/2008 at 11:44 AM

I've had a 201 for 4 years, no problems so far. Tell ya the truth, you'll probably want the new whistles and bells before the battery craps out and replace it anyway.

Janie, today I quit my job. And then I told my boss to go f*** himself, and then I blackmailed him for almost sixty thousand dollars. Pass the asparagus.

Berner

posted: 8/28/2008 at 11:53 AM

Sorry I missed this thread the first time. I had to send my 2-year old 305 in to Garmin for replacement due to the battery losing charge capacity. This was after two years of heavy (read, daily, multi-hour) use, so I don't consider it terrible performance. Garmin billed me their standard fee for all out-of-warranty repairs, and I got back a (likely refurbished) unit that has been working perfectly.

How To Run a Marathon: Step 1 - start running. There is no Step 2.

MrH

posted: 2/22/2011 at 2:32 PM

The battery on my 305 seems to have suddenly failed. It claims to be fully charged but turns off immediately it is removed from the charging cradle.

Pressing Mode & lap/reset together does nothing. Neither does Power and Mode. The charging contacts look very clean and the watch certainly has power when on the cradle as everything works.

The PC it is connected to sometimes thinks there is a problem with the device, so it may be more than just the battery.

It is at least 18 months old. Out of warranty repair is $79. A new one is about $120.

Any ideas before I try the repair or replace options?

The process is the goal.

Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.

milktruck

an amazing likeness

posted: 2/22/2011 at 2:54 PM
modified: 2/22/2011 at 3:01 PM

MrH -- I doubt it is battery as the 205/305 batteries seem to be holding up amazing well. I have a 205 from May 2006 that still works fine, use it nearly every day. Have another that I leave sitting around for months at a time in my gym bag and it is doing just as well. Reports on battery are for slow death over sudden death.

You might considered doing a hard reset of your Forerunner? This is the 'nuclear option' in that it flushes everything back to factory defaults:

Hard reset is by pressing MODE and RESET together, release just the RESET button and continue to hold the MODE. Now press the POWER-ON still holding the Mode button. This boots up the Forerunner into an 'erase all?' menu.

Again, if you do the hard reset, all the history and settings will be flushed from the device. But it usually works wonders.

_{Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.}

MrH

posted: 2/22/2011 at 3:16 PM

I'd tried the nuclear option ... I did get the erase all option but as soon as I remove the Garmin from the cradle it switches off again.

The device will turn on and find satellites sitting in the cradle, but is dead once it leaves the cradle.

The process is the goal.

Men heap together the mistakes of their lives, and create a monster they call Destiny.

milktruck

an amazing likeness

posted: 2/22/2011 at 3:22 PM
modified: 2/22/2011 at 3:23 PM

Wooka wooka woookkkkaaaaaa

cough

sputter

(sounds terminal)

_{Acceptable at a dance, invaluable in a shipwreck.}

Battery life over 1-2-3 years... (Read 1622 times)