Battery LIfe

[pilleus]

@brad_olwin said in Battery LIfe:

cause the watch to search for data and reduce battery life

I do not install apps which need the permission for location service. As soon as the airplane mode is activated the app will use internal GPS to find the location. That is a real problem for battery life.

[Steff]

@brad_olwin I only have 4 apps(altimeter barometer, feal the wear(disconnect alerts), stand up alerts, Shazam) installed and several watchfaces, even though I use only the Suunto watchfaces.

I will uninstall them all and try again tomorrow.

[pilleus]

@steff said in Battery LIfe:

altimeter barometer

Via sideload? I think the app from xda is not the best solution for the battery.

I use a barometer based altimeter without location service and no additional battery usage.

[Steff]

@pilleus yes, the one from XDA, sideloaded.

Which baramoter app do you use?

[pilleus]

@steff

https://forum.suunto.com/topic/3722/suunto-7/1025?_=1623142824273

[Nigel Taylor 0]

@brad_olwin said in Battery LIfe:

@steff From json files.

Excuse my ignorance, but is there a way to enable or show this, I’d love to see battery estimate data against my activities.

[Brad_Olwin]

@nigel-taylor-0 You have to download json files, this can be done on Android but not on iOS AFAIK. I have access to these as a tester but do not know how to download them on Android, ask @Steff

[Mff73]

@nigel-taylor-0
https://forum.suunto.com/post/33052

[Nigel Taylor 0]

@mff73 So the JSON from the phone rather than the JSON exportable from QS already.
Cheers, that explains why I couldn’t see it.

[Steff]

The easiest way to extract the json files is the following:

1. Make sure that the activity is synced in SuuntoApp

2. Install any file explorer which allow viewing of hidden system files.
   I use X-plore (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lonelycatgames.Xplore&hl=ro&gl=US) but there are many other options on PlayStore

3. Go to /Internal Storage/Android/data/com.stt.android.suunto/files/smlzip/

4. There you will find the activities synced in SuuntoApp, with a zip archive for every activity, named with the following format “entry_-1111111_1111.zip”
   The easiest way to identify an activity is to look at the date of archive file, assuming you synced the activity in the same day.

5. In every archive there are 2 files samples.json and summary.json
   Extract the “sample.json” somewhere.
   The simplest way is to copy the entire arhive somewhere (eg. Internal storage/Download) and extract it using any file explorer.

6. Upload the sample.json in https://quantified-self.io/

These steps are working only for Android.
For iOS I don’t think it’s possible to extract these files.

[Mff73]

@nigel-taylor-0
Yes, from the phone (android phone, as well explained by @Steff )

[Steff]

@brad_olwin I uninstalled all 3rd party apps and watchfaces and made the exactly same test as yesterday on the same route.

These are the results

So, almost exactly the same, even a little worse.

I ran out of ideas …

[Jamie BG]

@steff
Shouldn’t make an difference but worth a try.
In your gesture settings do you have tilt to wake on? If so try it with touch to wake only, and see if that makes a difference.
And of course lock your keys while tracking.

[Steff]

@jamie-bg tilt-to-wake is disabled.

I will also try with the keys locked.

[Brad_Olwin]

@steff If you are on Best GPS I think 7h is ok, I am getting a little more than that but not much.

[Steff]

@brad_olwin

On Suunto 7 product page it is stated: With an outdoor workout using the GPS, the Suunto 7 can last for up to 12 hours

I suppose it’s with Best GPS because on the bottom of the page they say: **All testing was carried out by Suunto in December 2019 using pre-production Suunto 7 devices with pre-release software.
Good GPS mode was introduced with September 2020 update.

I’m really curious how Suunto managed to obtain 12 hours of battery.

Another funny part is this: The Suunto 7 can keep going for up to 7 hours during outdoor training with GPS and maps, assuming the watch map is on for 10 seconds once every 3 minutes

7 hours with checking the map 10sec every 3 minutes ??
Really ?!?

I find it very troubling that a company like Suunto use such misleading claims.

Usually I expect this from companies whom their client base doesn’t care to much about the battery during activity (e.g. Samsung, fashion Wear OS, etc.).

This is why other sport oriented companies (e.g. Coros, Polar, Garmin) tends to underestimate their battery claims, because they know how important it’s the battery for their client base.

[Egika]

@steff some early tests I did, showed, that battery consumption was depending on the workout type.
Riding a bike made the battery last around 15-18h
Running was more in the range of 8h
And when hiking I got less than that. Being stationary or slow seems to eat more.

[Steff]

@egika so I guess, 7 hours with checking the map 10sec every 3 minutes was with a really fast bike

There is nowhere in the product page mentioned that you can obtain those claims only with fast moving sports and for the rest you get a lot less.
As I said…misleading claims.

And of course, no one really expected to get the maximum 12 hours claimed.
But you hope to get something like 9-10 hours in optimal conditions, not to struggle to barely get half(6 hours).

[A Former User]

@steff said in Battery LIfe:

On Suunto 7 product page it is stated: With an outdoor workout using the GPS, the Suunto 7 can last for up to 12 hours

I suppose it’s with Best GPS because on the bottom of the page they say: **All testing was carried out by Suunto in December 2019 using pre-production Suunto 7 devices with pre-release software.
Good GPS mode was introduced with September 2020 update.

So, they updated a battery claim in the page header based on 09/2020 firmware improvements and forgot the fine print? Happens to everyone. Especially people at the marketing department who are hardly ever known for attention to details. Otherwise they’d be working in the accounting department.

(My sincere apologies to the marketing people )

And @Egika is right: your rate of battery consumption will be directly proportional to GPS activity. Biking will eat less than running which will eat less than hiking. Part of it is due to speed and number of GPS fixes needed, part of it is due to increased demands of a typical trail (unless you are hiking in the desert), with lots of obstruction all around.

[Spree]

@steff This is why other sport oriented companies (e.g. Coros, Polar, Garmin) tends to underestimate their battery claims, because they know how important it’s the battery for their client base.

This is blatantly false, though ;). https://www.nakan.ch/wp/2020/02/03/autonomie-des-montres-cardio-gps-promesses-et-realite/.

Additionally, Suunto 7 is not really in the same category of other Suunto watches - this idea that there are “customer types” per brand, and not per product, baffles me a bit. Does it mean brands shouldn’t venture into different segments, because “their customers” expect something else?

With Suunto 7 you will never get more than 7-8 hours with low moving sports with Best GPS. As @NickK correctly said, clearly the “testing” part was not updated - what I suspect is that adding the “good” GPS setting was part of “catch up” to the original battery duration claims. If it was meant to be “up to 12 hours with Best GPS” it would obviously say so - since it would be a selling point.