If you are not getting the advertised battery life out of your GPS device, it is possible that it's a hardware issue, but there are a few things you can check first.
- Are you on the most recent firmware update?
- A lot of time battery performance can be a software issue. One of the many things we've tweaked in our firmware over time is battery management. Here's an article on how to update your firmware.
- Are you using Adaptive or 1-second recording?
- In the GPS device's menu, go to Info and then GPS. There you will see the options 1 Second and Adaptive. Adaptive can save battery life. Here's an article with more info.
- What is your backlight setting?
- We don't currently have an indicator that shows the backlight is on, and if you're riding during the day, you might not notice. In the GPS device's menu, go to Auto and then Light. Since every category in the Auto menu is referring to auto options, Light is referring to auto-backlight. If Light is turned to Off, it means that when you hit the backlight button (also the Enter button), the backlight will stay on until the next time you hit the button. If Light is switched to On, it means the backlight will automatically turn off after 10 seconds.
- What kind of temperatures are you riding in?
- Cold temperatures will negatively impact any battery. The battery capacity/runtime for our GPS devices (and LED) will only be 80% at 0° Celsius (32° Fahrenheit) versus 100% at 25° Celcius (77° Fahrenheit)
Again, there's always the possibility it's a defect or the battery didn't age well. If you've tried the above, and are still seeing <80% of the advertised runtime, contact us (if you're in the US) or your original place of purchase (if you're outside the US) to explore options.