Replace my smart watch battery

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rogercruse

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#304440 4-May-2023 07:43

I owned a Garmin smart watch (Vivoactive 3) for five years and it still works fine but the watch when fully charged barely lasts 8-9 hours... it needs a new battery.

I also checked a couple of my local watch dealers/repairers and they suggested I contact Garmin about a repair.

So I did, I phoned the Garmin Support Centre in Australia about getting the battery replaced, either by them or a recommended repairer. And their suggestion was to exchange it for a small fee... I didn't enquire whether this was a new or re-conditioned smart watch.

I declined their offer as I was hoping for a local solution. Maybe I was too hasty.

Any comments?

Senecio

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#3072083 4-May-2023 08:13

These sorts of watches aren't designed to be opened. Everything is glued in place these days so you will find it hard to find anyone who will touch it.

If you take Garmin up on their offer then you will receive a reconditioned watch. However that's usually a new or near new watch that has been returned and tested to be fine. They might put a new band on it and that's about it.

dacraka

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#3072276 4-May-2023 13:55

How much did they tell you the fee would be?

mattyb

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#3072328 4-May-2023 14:22

Following... I also have a Vivoactive 3 with fast degrading battery life.

rogercruse

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#3072355 4-May-2023 16:46

dacraka:... How much did they tell you the fee would be? ...

They mention a fee of Au$187 (or about NZ$200).

Again, didn't ask if this was for a new or reconditioned device. But thinking about it now, and comparing against ebay / trademe prices, it's probably a refurbished one.

Maybe I should phone again!!

yann

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#3072424 4-May-2023 19:17

I used to have a VA3, but I did see Amazon had a sale on Garmin watches the other week. I can't quite remember what the VA4 was being sold for, but there was some decent discounts on some models. Looking at Amazon (AU though the link here is for a UK unit), you can get a new VA4 for NZD$365 including shipping. For me, that would be getting into the zone of just getting the VA4 and and selling the the VA3 for whatever you could get, either as is or getting it replaced and then selling perhaps.

Amazon Link

Maybe an opportune time to upgrade, but not too sure how much you'd get for your watch.

hsvhel

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#3072483 4-May-2023 21:37

These devices were never designed to be a substantial life time device.

We are, sadly in a throw away economy

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Zorg2000

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#3072589 5-May-2023 08:58

I have had really good experiences with Garmin Support. After 2 years my watch developed a dead spot on the LCD screen. I sent it back to them and they replaced it with a refurbished model for free. However the battery on the 'new' watch barely lasted a day before needing charging. Contacted Garmin support again, they swapped the refurbished one for a brand new one for free. Have also managed to get free strap replacements for kids watches from them in the past.