Garmin rolling out new smartwatch beta update with battery bug fix

Garmin has announced Public Beta Version 13.60 for the Forerunner 245, Forerunner 745 and Forerunner 945 smartwatches. The software fixes a battery-related bug that appeared when users installed the previous update.

Public Beta Version 13.40 arrived in early October, resolving issues relating to the inReach Messenger and the Strength Activity. Shortly after its release, users of these Forerunner smartwatches reported that the battery level was being reported incorrectly, overstating the remaining charge of the watch. For example, one Forerunner 945 user reported seeing a 90% drop in battery level after 12 hours of use and then the charge jumping immediately to 80% when it was plugged in. According to Garmin, this smartwatch should run on a single charge for up to two weeks in smartwatch mode. Aside from this false battery level indication, it appears that there was no issue with faster than expected battery drain. Public Beta Version 13.60 is said to resolve this problem.

In a series of recent posts on the Garmin forum, a company representative indicated that beta version 13.60 update is available for at least 20% of Forerunner 245, Forerunner 745 and Forerunner 945 smartwatch users. However, it is unclear when the rollout will be complete. You can manually download the software by going to the Main menu > Settings > System > Software Update > Check For Updates.