Suunto Race S completely unresponsive again after warranty repair

runner1

Hi everyone,

my Suunto Race S has suffered a second complete shutdown, with no solution so far. It suddenly switched off while I was wearing it on my wrist, despite showing around 65% battery remaining. There was no impact or other apparent external cause. Since then, there have been no signs of life whatsoever: no sensor lights, no vibration and no sound. The screen remains completely black, and the watch is entirely unresponsive.

Timeline:

July 2024: Purchased shortly after launch.
August 2025: Repaired directly by Suunto under warranty after approximately 13 months.
October 2026: The same symptoms returned, approximately 14 months after the repair.
The watch suddenly switched off while I was wearing it, with approximately 60–70% battery remaining on the display. It now shows no signs of life: no display, vibration, sensor lights, charging indication or Bluetooth connection.

What I’ve already tried:

Repeatedly holding the upper button for at least 12 seconds, including while connected to power.
Leaving it charging overnight.
Using three different power adapters and a laptop USB port.
Visually checking the charging contacts.
All tests used the original charging cable. I haven’t yet tested a second cable.

Previous repair:
The report lists a “battery reset,” replacement of the middle casing and gaskets, a software update, and functional and water-resistance testing. No specific cause was stated.

The watch is now outside its original warranty, and a free inspection or repair has been declined. I would prefer to get this watch working reliably again.

My questions:

Has anyone experienced this exact failure with a Race S, especially after a previous repair?
Was a specific faulty component identified, and did the repair resolve the problem long-term?
Has holding all three buttons for around 30 seconds, or leaving the watch unplugged until the battery runs down naturally and then recharging it, actually revived your Race S?

It’s frustrating to experience the same failure again after a warranty repair. Based on my experience with other manufacturers, I had hoped for a more constructive response from Suunto. What disappoints me most is that I still have no clear explanation for the repeated failure or a concrete proposal for a lasting solution.

I also ordered my Race S right at launch, so mine was one of the earliest units. Could an early production issue be relevant? Since the casing assembly was replaced in 2025, I don’t know which hardware revision is now inside the watch. I’d be interested to hear whether owners of later units have experienced the same failure.

I’m not assuming this is a widespread defect, but two similar failures have understandably affected my confidence. Any concrete experiences or service findings would be appreciated.

Brad_Olwin

@runner1 I see why you would be frustrated. I would contact support again. I believe there is at least a 3 month warranty on repaired watches. If you run into issues please send me a PM and I will see what I can do. Not sure I can do anything but I will try.

runner1

For further information:

The cable is fine. In the meantime i used a multimeter to verify it, voltage is measurable.

birdie

@runner1 Not with Race S but with at least two mobile phones and a 7 years old smartwatch.

In all three cases, it was a battery. Old battery shutting down abruptly. I didn’t matter what capacity it was at, 68%, 30%, 40%. Sudden drop to zero. Then back again to some percentage (mobile phone #1). Smartwatch dropped to 0% and never recovered. I’m now waiting for a replacement battery from China to change it myself (old, used and abused smartwatch, an ideal platform for training how to change a battery).

So, you may look at it as a battery problem. Changing battery in a service shop or Suunto support shouldn’t be a problem. And can lead to solving a problem. If the battery is not a problem, then something else is.

runner1

Out of nowhere, after 5 days, the watch suddenly came back to life and started showing a blinking battery icon indicating that the battery was empty and needed to be charged.

The watch was then charged normally to 100% and has been working again without any issues ever since.

This means that the watch continued to drain the battery while it was unresponsive, and the complete discharge of the battery resolved the frozen state. Therefore, it is definitely a software bug rather than a hardware defect (otherwise, the watch would still be malfunctioning). From my perspective, this is something that Suunto could fix through a software update.

So, if the watch freezes like this, do not charge it immediately (as recommended by Suunto). Instead, simply leave it untouched for a few days. Sad but true.

Hopefully, Suunto takes bugs like this seriously and addresses them in future software updates. However, based on my experiences with their customer support so far, I am not particularly optimistic.

runner1

@birdie Thanks for getting back on this.

After finding a solution i can say, that it is no battery issue - it’s more or less simply a software bug and the watch freezes completely for some days.

birdie

@runner1 Great!