How long will the battery last with GPS continually running?

tstray

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I do a lot of hikes in the 14 to 16 mile range or sometimes even longer. One problem I have had with using GPS on my phone to track hikes like that is that it drains the battery so quickly. Has anyone tested how long the battery will last on the band with the GPS running for six to eight hours or longer?

I don't have a band yet but I'm planning to get one as soon as I can get one at my local Microsoft store.
 

cardingtr

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Got the band today so tomorrow I'll run it to empty from 100% charge using gps. Lets see if the battery can outlast me on a long run with gps on. I'll also be wearing Garmin 620 for data comparison.
If I don't like what is see tomorrow, I might end up returning it for the next product like this but with better battery life.
 

eyecrispy

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Got the band today so tomorrow I'll run it to empty from 100% charge using gps. Lets see if the battery can outlast me on a long run with gps on. I'll also be wearing Garmin 620 for data comparison.
If I don't like what is see tomorrow, I might end up returning it for the next product like this but with better battery life.

Can't wait to hear your results. I doubt my long runs are as long as yours but when I'm training, I do run long ones on weekends. Going to test out the gps on an outdoor run today. Can't wait. Been too stinkin cold to be out this week.
 

cardingtr

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Did an early run today and the results, battery and GPS accuracy wise, is not good.
I turned on both at the same time at the same spot. Garmin got a GPS lock right away but Band took about a mile.
Its too cold for me so I stopped at 14 miles. I started with the Band at 100% charged. After about 2:22 hours running, the charge is down to 20% with GPS on. So I bet you it won't last another hr. This Band won't last 4 hours run.
Garmin recorded 14.12 miles, Band is 14.4 miles. The average and max hr is not good but I don't really expect either Band or Garmin to be accurate.
My average hr on Band is 137 while Garmin is 148. Acceptable for me.
So I might end up returning the band.
 

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Th3P

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Great to see this being tested Ive asked this question on multiple forums and yet to receive an answer so really appreciate you posting this.
I cycle road and mountain and can end up out for 6-8 hours and feared as much, I do have a Mio Cyclo that can last this long but the data captured would be more accurate with GPS factored in.
Have you any stats on exercise run time with just HR on?

Thanks again
 

eyecrispy

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I did a 4.5 mile run today. Had Runkeeper tracking on my iPhone in addition to the Band. My GPS locked immediately. I let it search and lock 3x last night to make sure it knew my location and today, it locked immediately.

The Band recorded 4.6 miles while Runkeepr recorded 4.5. Doesn't seem like a huge discrepancy but makes me seem faster than I really am. :) I hope that it'll even out more over the next few runs.

When I started off the day, I had 80% battery. About 5 hours into my day is when I went on the actual run. I didn't get to check my battery before the run but after a 4.5 mile run, I was down to 20%. Crazy. What's even crazier is that literally 3 min after I put it on the charger after the run, it said it was at 60% charge. That leads me to wonder how accurate the battery meter really is.
 

cardingtr

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I did another run today and what surprised me is the battery.
I charged it for about two hours and it only charged to 80%. I turned it off before I slept.
I run early for about 16 miles. What's amazing is that when I put it back to charge, it got 40% left. That's right, 40%!
Last week I run 14 miles for 21/2 hours and got 20% left. Today my run is around 2:41 hr: min. I figured the battery is getting better after a few cycles? This is a slow relaxed run so it might actually last a marathon if it can last another 40 min.
I run it with Garmin 620 plus heart rate monitor. The distance is almost same.
And what's also amazing it that I looked at Garmin data and my heart is actually more accurate with Band.
With Garmin I had a HR of 80s running 9:30s at 11th mile. That is low.
So I think its a keeper. I just wish it has auto pause and lap pace. I also run it in the rain and it seems fine.
 

eyecrispy

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Same here. I didn't run as long as you did but I was at 80% when I went out. Ran about 4 miles and was down to only 70% when I was done. Then I tracked 1.5 hrs of tae kwon do and then later in the evening, a 25 min video workout. I was down to about 50% when I went to bed. I'm about to go on another short run. Hopefully, my battery will last.

UPDATE: did a short 5K this morning without juicing up the band before I left. The battery showed about half full but I suspect it was less than that. When I was about 2 miles in, the band buzzed with the battery low warning. I booked it home the last mile and when I got it plugged in, it showed battery level at 10%. Moral of the story, this sucker will not make it through two short runs and a full day of activity without a charge. I'm glad I got this plugged in before it died and lost my run data.

Oh, and the GPS was spot on with Runkeeper on my iPhone today. Within 0.01 mile difference.
 
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mijacs

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Out of curiosity, are you turning off the display when you start the run. Someone mentioned that helped their battery life quite a bit.
Edit: Make sure watch mode is off as well.
 
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zack251

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I think the band is more useful for runners, not so much for hikers because of the battery life. Who would run for more than 4 hours really?
 

cardingtr

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Out of curiosity, are you turning off the display when you start the run. Someone mentioned that helped their battery life quite a bit.
Edit: Make sure watch mode is off as well.
I keep it on to see my time and pace.
But as soon as I find out the max battery life, next I'll do is turn off heart rate monitoring on long runs. I only need HRM on first thing in AM anyway to check my recovery. If above 50 I back off on running and/or hydrate more. If below 40 good to go.
 

eyecrispy

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I keep it on to see my time and pace.
But as soon as I find out the max battery life, next I'll do is turn off heart rate monitoring on long runs. I only need HRM on first thing in AM anyway to check my recovery. If above 50 I back off on running and/or hydrate more. If below 40 good to go.

I also keep it in to see time and pace. That's what it's there for. Defeats the purpose if I have to turn the screen off.
 

mfm77

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I know I'm late to the party here, but I did my first full marathon yesterday and also gave the Band a good first test run. Fully charged, GPS and HRM on, and with notifications turned off and the screen set to come on when I reached each mile, I managed to get through the entire race (5 hours) and still have a bit of battery left over. It did everything I expected it to, and I was quite happy with the stats. Hope this helps other folks!
 

jojoe42

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I know I'm late to the party here, but I did my first full marathon yesterday and also gave the Band a good first test run. Fully charged, GPS and HRM on, and with notifications turned off and the screen set to come on when I reached each mile, I managed to get through the entire race (5 hours) and still have a bit of battery left over. It did everything I expected it to, and I was quite happy with the stats. Hope this helps other folks!

Thanks so much for reporting back! Next up, time to see whether it can last half a day of ski runs :p
 

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