Charging to 78% and then stopping

[jckatz]

My Fossil watche is charging to 78% and then stopping. I have changed the USB A charger and that solved the problem for about 2 days and now the problem has continued.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zcD6Fp4f9cBqkTxA8

 

[B. Diddy]

Which Fossil watch is this? Does this also persist after a reboot? If so, you might want to try a factory reset (which doesn't take too long to set back up afterwards).

 

[jckatz]

I've done a reboot but not a factory reset. The model
Is Q explorist 1814
With a July 2020 patch

 

[B. Diddy]

I'd do the factory reset then.

 

[jckatz]

Factory reset didn't change behavior. If anything it's worse. Three days in a row my watch went into power saving mode in under 3 hours of use.

 

[B. Diddy]

Which generation is the watch? I'm not sure what the 1814 refers to. If the watch is pretty old, I'm wondering if the battery is starting to deteriorate.

 

[jckatz]

It's the 4th gen. Do you consider Date Ordered: 12/10/18
Very old?

I had my citizen Eco-Drive for 5 years before I replaced it with fossil. And it was replaced because Fossil had the looks and the features I wanted not because it needed replacement.

That being said gen5 has no features I want enough to replace it.

I am waiting for ekg and blood oxygen monitoring on a watch with all metal construction.

 

[B. Diddy]

Ok, that's not too old -- but it can also depend on how hard you use it, and how often it drains deeply. Like any battery, if it gets discharged on a regular basis to zero or near zero, that can shorten the overall battery life. 2 years of that could potentially lead to behavior like this. Would that be the case for you?

 

[jckatz]

Since it never lasted more than 13 hours I'd says always.

It's always been crap for battery life

 

[B. Diddy]

Hmm, not much else I can suggest, then. As far as I can tell, there's no Safe Mode for Wear OS devices that you could use to test.

You've already tried uninstalling all 3rd party apps?

 

[jckatz]

Well just gave in and ordered gen5. I've read lots of negative reviews about battery life how long should it last? Obviously I should have returned my gen 4 but just assumed smart watches didn't last a day unlike conventional watches that lasted years or decades.

 

[B. Diddy]

I just recently got a Fossil Carlyle (when it was on sale for a ridiculous $139 on Amazon!), and so far I think it's the best Wear OS watch I've ever had (and I've had a lot -- 1st gen ASUS Zenwatch, 1st gen Huawei Watch, LG Watch Style, two Michael Kors Access Graysons, Skagen Falster 2, and Misfit Vapor X). I don't think you'll be disappointed.

I haven't noticed too much deterioration in battery life on my main watches, but it's rare that I let them drop below 30%.

In terms of daily battery life, it really depends on the watch and how it's set in terms of power-saving. I like to keep my screen always on, with the brightness to adaptive, and no background HR monitoring. The Carlyle lasts through a long day (from about 8 AM to 11 PM) with about 30% to spare. The MK watches are even better, but that's because they're bigger. The Huawei is still decent, although I rarely use it any more. The Falster 2 and Vapor X can't quite make it through a long day like the Carlyle, and the LG poops out in the middle of the day (that watch was notorious for poor battery). I stopped using the ASUS a long time ago.

 

[kramer5150]

Yeah every holiday season Amazon blows out a couple fossil models. Last year the Fossil sport was around $90 IIRC, even the popular black and gray one. This year there were several gen5 models going for around $140.

jckatz... hard to say whats causing that. My 2 year old gen4 doesn't do that at all.

My gen4 explorist has been really really good since the Oct 2020 update. I have been a WearOS / Android Wear user since 2015. The past 3.5 months have been by far my best experience too. Prior to that update my watch would barely get 9-10 hours between charges.

Heres a typical day. Take it off the charger at 8:AM, by 10:30PM its down to about 55%.

Heres a day + overnight, where I turn on airplane mode and just use it as a dumb-watch as I sleep. I take it off the charger at about 7:00 AM, and make it to 12 noon the next day where its at about 35% and I re-charged it.

I have not altered my settings or usage in any way since October. Its purely the OS and that update that has reinvigorated my watch. Overall it has been noticeably less buggy, laggy, janky overall too. I still get that occasional stutter-lag, But it seems to be less frequent, like once every 1.5 months.

We will see how long this will last. Hopefully Google won't screw it up.