Latest Garmin Fenix 7 update attempts to fix battery drain issue

Garmin has issued a software update that addresses a battery drain issue on the Fenix 7. There is also new firmware for a few other watches.

The latest software version for Fenix 7, Enduro 2 and Tactix 7 goes under the number 9.37. This is a public release, so not an Alpha or Beta. Which means it goes out to everyone.

The change log consists on only a single item. It reads as follows.

“Fixed issue causing increased battery drain after disconnect from a charger”

Epix (gen 2) users get one further update. It is a fix for potential issues where the Always On display would switch itself off.

Was the problem introduced with version 9.36 of the software?

While Garmin watches are known for their excellent battery life, they do sometimes experience battery drain. There could be a multitude of reasons for this and most of the time a software update resolves the problem.

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Recently a faster battery drain was reported after version 9.36 of the Fenix 7 software. A growing thread on Garmin forums discusses the issue. Users are reporting up to a 25% decrease in battery life in a single day. While that would be great for the likes of the Apple Watch, it is a cause of concern if you own a Garmin. Others are not seeing such significant declines but are experiencing a deterioration in battery usage.

The drain is manifested differently. Some users report significantly more drain during activity, for others it is at other times. Which makes it difficult to pinpoint the cause of the problem.

Garmin has now released into the wild software update 9.37. Whether it manages to resolve the battery drain for all users remains to be seen. It is still too early to make a determination on its effectiveness.

Other Garmin watches get new software

A few other Garmin watches are also getting new software. Unlike exciting updates that landed a couple of months ago, these are iterative changes.

The Venu/Vivoactive 4 series has been updated to software version 7.4. However this is still in Beta so is a Release Candidate and will not go out to everyone. It only fixes an issue that sometimes appears with acquiring GPS.

The recently released Venu Sq 2 gets is first update. Version 2.29 brings more options for watches faces, support for activity alert settings on GCM, along with a few fixes and improvements.

Owners of the first edition of Venu Sq can download software version 4.10. It brings support for heart rate monitor as speed and distance sensor, improvements for heart rate based training metrics and more.

Finally, the vivomove Sport also gets some love in the guise of software version 3.01. But it is nothing more than system stability and user interface improvements.

All of these software releases should make their way to your watch automatically via Garmin Connect. We’ve pulled together a guide that explains in detail how to update your Garmin watch. These types of updates can take up to a week before they reach all users.

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