Let’s Face It, Batteries Are Rubbish
Genciana Haggins
Contacted Garmin support in Malaysia - they have no idea about the watch, no help, no advises. Just: send the watch for battery check. But when PulseOx drains like this, it's not mainly the battery, it's a rubbish software/ hardware setup. The (Garmin official) shop in Malaysia refused to take the watch back. I once followed the Garmin service suggestion to send the watch (Fenix 5X Plus Titan, erratic heart rate). The watch was new and I got a used, refurbished watch back as replacement - that's more cheating than service.
Beside this, my Garmin Express connects to Mainland China. I just "escaped" from there and really don't like to be forced to connect to there. There is no Malaysia connection and I also can't choose a different connection as Garmin has a ridiculous regional policy.
Yes, at least try a factory reset. Mine will last two days with always-on display, notifications, all-day Pulse Ox, and third-party watch faces. Your experience is not typical. Sounds as if something if wrong with that watch.
Hi there, I have reset the watch 8 times, even with deleting history. Yesterday I was done with it. After test fully charged. Shut off everything what can be shut off. After 4 hours the watch was dead. The official Garmin shop refused to replace the watch or even to take it back for service. And Garmin shop asks me to post the watch her for selling, ridiculous.
Which firmware version is your watch on? Mine on 5.27 has high battery drain with the AOD on, even if it's only the borders of a grey colored and thin hour/minute hands turned on (less than 5% of the screen on, for sure). I can only get 2 days of battery life in total, with no GPS, activities or music, only having AOD, night pulseOx and notifications turned ON.
However, adding to your point that your watch may be faulty (or your firmware is old), my battery drain during the night (when the screen is off, but with pulseOx on) is really low, around 5% or less of battery usage for an 8 hour period. With AOD on during the day, I get that same drainage in about an hour.
After only 14 days of use the battery life was down to 4 hours. Compare the 199 USD Coros Pace 2 of my wife, with whole day oxygen measurement, always on display, 24/7 heart rate tracking, 1 hour GPS per day and 1 hour indoor activity, need to charge every 20 days. And she gets the same (and more) metrics like from Venu 2.
I see that most of you currently have Connect IQ content installed. If the battery drain persists and if you have any Connect IQ (CIQ) Content, especially watch faces, you may need to delete that content until the independent developer is able to update their app/watch face to function correctly (without causing a battery drain) with the new firmware version on your watch. You can use any of the 3 FAQs below to uninstall the CIQ content.
If you would like to submit feedback to the developer of the CIQ content, you can do so by clicking the link below and searching for the download page of the CIQ content. In the bottom right corner of that page, you will find the option to contact the developer.
I have uninstalled all additional content I added to my watch and the battery keeps draining at the same rat as before. This means that with stock apps, my watch will have up to 4 days of battery life. I'm afraid whatever update was pushed to "try and fix the battery issues" didn't work. I'm happy to provide more info if needed.
Additionally, I still see some Connect IQ content installed on your watch. If, after removing all of the content from your watch and optimizing the battery life using the FAQ above, you are still experiencing what you feel is a significant battery drain, please reach out to your Local Garmin Product Support Team.
Winter is coming and your car battery is already a bit on weak side?
Or you had the battery stored unused for a long time?
In those and some other cases your mechanic will suggest to buy a new battery.
And let's face it: For a small, standard car battery it might be the best option anyway as they are quite cheap.
But what if the battery if bigger, like for a 4WD or a truck?
Worst case would be a shed full of big batteries for your solar system if you are off the grid...
If you trust science then charging and discharging a lead acid battery goes like this:
During the charging PbO2 is formed on the positive plates.
During the discharge it forms back to lead as a reduction process.
Problem with this I don't trust science without questioning when it comes to the real world application LOL
The reason manufacturers state a life time of around 3 years of usage is because in our real world the battery "ages".
A perfect charge and discharge cycle throughout the life of a battery basically never happens.
This is why some good solar charge controllers are so expensive: They try the best to keep the battery healthy.
Still the battery won't last more than maybe 4 years or 5 if the climate is very nice throughout the year.
And of course only if you always keep the destilled water at hand to top up the battery cells.
Before you ask: No, the following won't work on a dead or badly abused battery.
The aging happens because of the formation of sulfate on the positive lead plates.
This not only partially isolates the plate surface but also reduces the capability of PbO2 reduction.
A physically fit but lightly ages battery shows a white buildup on the plates if you have enough space to see it.
This is the lead oxide (PbO2) and the more that remains the lower the capacity of the battery will be.
If this buildup is too much it cuses bulging of the plates but also the destruction of the lead plate itself.
Holes or other areas where only PbO2 remains won't "heal" again as the base is lost.
Even if the oxide is reduced back the lead it won't be a flat plate anymore but something that looks like a mountain range.
A new battery is easier to prepare than trying to restore a battery that is already deemed to be past the due date, so we start here.
When you get a new battery it comes pre-charged these days.
This means the shop only fills the sulphuric acid in and you are good to go.
As said sulphate is what we don't wont see on our plates!
Many chemical reactions are affected by impurites, catalysts or simply a different temperature.
The same is true for the phosphate build up in our batteries.
If you add about 5ml of phosphoric acid per cell to your battery mix the phosphate process will be greatly reduced and some cases totally blocked for several years.
Ok, too complicated?
Phosphoric acid can be obtained in many shops for different purposes, even Coke has it in the mix.
For me the cheapest option was rust remover from the hardware store.
Although in these concentrations the acid is quite harmless to your skin I strongly recommend using nitrile gloves or to wash the exposed skin as soon as possible.
Wearing googles or using a face shield is always a good idea as you only have two eyes!
Use a syringe, dripper or measuring cap to get 5ml of phosphoric acid.
Add to the battery cell and repeat until all cells are done.
So called maintenance free batteries still loose water and can be topped up - usually it is only a pressed in plastic strip covering the caps on the cells.
You new battery is now ready for a prolonged life :)
To keep it that way I recommend another 2 - 2.5ml of phosphoric acid per cell every 12 months together with the top up of destilled water.
Again:
If the battery is cheap get a new one!
If the battery was badly abused over the years it might not work!
If the battery plates are already bulged, you have build up on the bottom or even plates with a short a new battery is required.
What works great for a new battery also helps your oldtimer.
Only downside is that it takes some time and might not always work as good as you hoped.
As before you start by adding about 5ml of phosphoric acid per cell - for bigger ones like truck and 4WD batteries use 7.5 - 10ml.
Top up with destilled water - no tap water, no rain water, no de-mineralised water.
Now you want a good battery charger capable of automatic functions like these new trickle chargers that would keep an unused battery fully charged while still bein able to charge empty ones in a relative short time.
Old style, transformer based chargers might require close monitoring from your side to prevent gassing (the acid in the cell bubbles like an open bottle of your favourtie soda drink...
Once the phosphoric acid is added and the cells topped up you want to charge the battery for about 3 full days, a week if only charge during the day or night due to monitoring the process.
Here is what actually happens:
During the charge the lead oxide (PbO2) is reduced back to lead.
The presence of our phosphoric acid now also reduces the phosphate on the lead plates.
Over time more and more of the PbO2 will now turn back to lead.
If after three days of charging there is no visible change in PbO2 reduction - the white stuff on the plates, it could mean the battery is too damaged to benefit.
In a car a battery like this would have struggled to start the engine for some weeks already.
If you do see a reduction of PbO2 but no further reduction two days later it might help to add another 2.5ml of phosphoric acid per cell and to continue the charging for another 3 days.
Now you should see a definate difference to the look of the plates compared to the start.
That means you battery is good to go if the follwing points are all true:
a) The charger is no longer pumping amps into the battery - if the battery still draws more than 500mA it is either not fully charged or you might have too much build up of either PbO2 or sludge at the bottom of the battery.
b) The acid still looks clear in the cells - if it is cloudy, brownish or you see a lot of tiny things floating around it means the battery was too damaged to be fixed this way.
c) If you disconnect the charger and let the battery rest it should still show 12V or slightly more when you measure the next day - a self discharge here indicates either damaged plates, damaged isolation between the plates or a build up of sludge at the bottom of the battery, again bad luck.
Words of warning for the charging:
As I don't know the state of your battery it is your job to keep yourself safe here!
Don't charge the battery inside, have it outside in a plastic box or container to the stuff is contained if things go wrong - you don't want sulfuric acid spilled in your home, garage or garden!
Unregulated or old style chargers are often strong enough to deliver more than 5A for the charging.
Especially at the start a weak battery will draw a lot of power from the charger and the battery can produce a lot of hydrogen gas in the process.
You want the cells to be able to release this gas so don't seal you maintenance free battery back up for the charging.
A working battery is usually no problem here, but more abuse and age can mean a short is produced during the charging.
A strong charger with no protection will be able to overheat the battery to the point where the plastic melts, the acid boils over or if the pressure can't escape the battery explodes like a water bomb.
All the above should not be a problem if you use common sense:
If the battery was totally useless before already, looks like a piece of crap or had the plates already sitting dry for a cm or more than you should only try if the new battery would really stretch the budget too much and use the mentioned precausions.