How long does it take to charge your Garmin solar watch?

It typically takes about 6-8 hours to fully charge a Garmin solar watch.

Charging a Garmin solar watch is pretty easy. All you need to do is expose the watch to solar light. Then the watch will begin to charge as soon as it is exposed to light and will continue to charge as long as it is exposed to light.

From my personal experiences and based on official records, It typically takes about 6-8 hours to fully charge the watch, but the actual charging time will depend on the specific model of the watch and the amount of light it is exposed to.

Some models of Garmin solar watches have a power meter on the watch face that can help you gauge the charge level of the watch. This power meter will show the percentage of battery power remaining, and you can use this to determine when the watch is fully charged.

Does your Garmin Instinct solar need to be charged?

Well, you know it’s a more complicated question. I will say that maybe you need to charge it or not, depending on the charging status of your battery and the usage of your watch.

You know well that to activate your watch in its working condition, you have to charge it. And in that sense, yes, your Garmin instinct solar watch needs to be charged.

However, when you set your watch out of the box, it should be fully charged before it’s on your wrist. And, since it has solar technology when you are outside, and your watch is on smartwatch mode, you don’t need to charge it.

This is because the solar panel of the watch absorbs power from the sunlight and charges the battery. All right, as this Instinct solar watch provides you with fitness tracking, GPS, and mapping services, therefore, based on it, your watch battery life varies.

In smartwatch mode and with 3 hours of solar charging per day, your watch battery may last up to 24-54 days. Yet, in a battery saver function watch mode, it is up to 56 days, but the solar charging condition should be unlimited.

Besides, if you turn on the GPS mode with unlimited solar charging status, it will last up to 30-38 hours, while with the maximum battery-saving GPS mode, it is up to 70-145 hours.

However, turning on expedition GPS mode activity lasts a little longer, up to 28-68 days, with 3 hours of solar charging per day.

How do you know when your Garmin is fully charged?

There are a few ways to tell when your Garmin device is fully charged:

1. Check the battery icon on the device: When the battery icon is full, it means the device is fully charged.
2. Check the battery level indicator on the device: Most Garmin devices have a battery level indicator that shows the current battery level as a percentage. When the battery level indicator is at 100%, it means the device is fully charged.
3. Check the charging indicator: Many Garmin devices have a charging indicator that shows when the device is charging and when it is fully charged. The charging indicator may be a light or a message on the device’s screen.
4. Check the device’s documentation: The documentation that came with your Garmin device should include information on how to check the battery level and when the device is fully charged.

How long do different Garmin watches take to charge?

Usually, a Garmin watch takes about 140 minutes to charge without solar. Although, when you open up the box, you will see a partial charge in the watch; however, to get the best performance, you need to charge it fully.

For this, you have to plug the watch into a power source so it can charge. Well, this Garmin solar watch comes with a multi-pin USB cable. And, while plugging the device, you need to plug it via this cable into the power source. This will charge the Garmin battery fast.

However, as it’s a solar watch, a solar panel must be implanted into the watch power glass. This solar panel captures light and converts it into battery power that increases the lifespan of the battery of your Garmin Instinct solar watch.

Besides, it offers a smartwatch mode so, if you turn on your GPS activity mode, in that case, you may need to charge the watch, but surprisingly, it is only once over 3 months.

Here, I have provided you with an estimated battery charging time comparison chart of different Garmin solar watch models. So, you can get an idea about it.

Can you overcharge your Garmin watch?

As you may know, the Garmin Instinct solar watch comes with a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery. Therefore, apparently, it is recommended you do not overcharge your Garmin watch.

This is because this lithium-ion battery will be stressed when they are fully charged. Many consumers also claim that a partial battery charge helps last a longer period and retains more battery life.

Besides, this battery type offers the longest lifespan of the battery if you charge it between 20% and 80%. However, you can occasionally fully charge it to recalibrate your battery charge meter.

Final verdicts

Finally, your curiosity about How long does it take to charge your Garmin solar watch? Has been met up. Besides, I have also explained some other related information so you can know more about the matter.

Matthew Joseph Nandirio

Eng. Matthew Joseph Nandirio is the Founder of walkingsolar.
After graduating from the University of Houston in 2002, matt started working as a Solar Electrical Engineer for several multi-national solar energy companies.
He has a wide range of experiences including solar system requirement analysis, planning, maintaining, debugging and even solar device development through research.
He now shares his 20 years of expertise through his articles on the walkingsolar website.
Further, he is also the author of two books on Solar Technology, “Solar Power for Villages” and “DIY Solar System for Dummies”.