dvai

Hi all.

I have a Garmin 1030. Usually I just put it in sleep mode and holds the battery pretty well when not using. However, now is definitely not holding it. Meaning after 2-3 days without riding, I go and turn it on and is 3-4%. The only different thing is that I now have a bike with electronic shifting. I wonder if the Garmin stays connected to the bike and that drains the battery or the battery is simply wearing out (just like a phone or any other rechargeable battery). The Garmin is 3 years old.

Thoughts? I will definitely starting turning it off completely but I wonder if anyone had experienced this. Looked online and seems a recent updates messed up a bit the battery function.

Bald Paul

If you're not turning the unit off, the Bluetooth/ANT+ connection is always powered up, looking for the electronic shifting signals.
I have a Garmin on my bike with Di2. I turn mine off after riding, and it's fine.

Iride01 

I don't know either. I find my Garmin Edge 530 much lower on battery after a few days of non-use. My Edge 500 was good forever when turned off. I don't like this thing Garmin has done with units just going to sleep. I think it's probably because that allows them to download updates via Wi-Fi when you aren't trying to use the unit for other stuff.

I go to the extra effort of turning mine off. Though I have lately just gotten into the habit of connecting it to the charger the morning of the day I plan to ride. Though if you are a morning rider, maybe do that at bedtime.

Might be some issues with wifi usage during the sleep times. Perhaps Garmin will address that in future updates. They are loathe to let us know anything about stuff like that though until they actually have a fix.

TakingMyTime

Turn it off when you're done with it. Take it inside and connect it to your charger and top it off. It will then be ready for your next ride, no worries. It's that simple.

sfrider 

If you have a Varia or light, then it will also try to maintain a light network. It will also connect to devices on other bikes or an HRM preventing their use with e.g. Zwift. I make absolutely sure it's OFF when not in use. I see no use case for sleep other than maybe saving a bit of battery while stopped on the road someplace.