Summary
- Reduce screen brightness and timeout, and use a simple watch face to save battery.
- Turn down the frequency of automatic heart rate and SpO2 readings when not exercising.
- To save battery on both devices, temporarily disable Bluetooth on your paired smartphone when connectivity isn’t needed.
- Limit using Sport Mode for outdoor tracking and set the companion app to use location services only while active; the watch relies on the phone’s GPS.
- For long trips, carry a compatible power bank and regularly update the watch’s firmware for better efficiency.
Smartwatches are a handy tool while travelling. They offer navigation, fitness tracking, and crucial notifications right on your wrist. However, constant use of features like GPS and a bright screen can quickly drain the battery.
Battery and GPS efficiency are paramount to ensuring your device is reliable throughout your journey. This guide will summarize the top quick tips for smartwatch travelers who want reliability on the go and to keep their device functional from takeoff to touchdown.
Quick Battery-Saving Tips for Travel Days
On travel days, every minute of battery life counts. Implement these core strategies to limit non-essential power drain:
Adjust Notification Settings: Limit notifications to the absolute essentials. You can do this through the watch’s companion app (e.g., FitCloudPro) on your connected smartphone by selecting which applications are allowed to send alerts to your smartwatch.
Manage Continuous Health Monitoring: While your smartwatch continuously monitors health vitals, you can adjust the frequency of automatic heart rate or blood oxygen (SpO2) measurements to extend battery life when not actively tracking a workout. Check your app’s “Automatic Health Monitor” or similar settings.
Optimize Display Settings
The display is your smartwatch’s biggest power drain, but minor adjustments yield significant gains. Instantly save crucial energy by adjusting the brightness to a lower setting.
Next, reduce your screen timeout (or auto-sleep time) to the absolute minimum (5-10 seconds is ideal). This setting is usually found in your smartwatch’s display menu.
Finally, replace your current face design with a simple, static design to prevent unnecessary background power hog. The Life Watch Deluxe offers customizable faces, so choose one that limits complex animations or data widgets.
Perform these three display hacks, and you’ll keep your essential travel buddy powered up for a long, long time.
Connectivity Management Tips
Your smartwatch’s constant Bluetooth connection to your phone is silently drawing power! The Bluetooth radio is constantly scanning and communicating, wasting your battery life.
1. Manage Bluetooth Connection
Since your smartwatch relies solely on Bluetooth for syncing, calls, and notifications, disabling it stops the passive power drain. To pause this drain, you can temporarily disable Bluetooth on your smartphone.
Enabling this setting will render your smartwatch unable to receive calls, texts, or notifications, and will also stop all data syncing until Bluetooth is re-enabled.
2. Control Data Syncing
Check your settings to manage how often data is transferred from your smartwatch to your phone. Instead of trying to stop background data exchange, focus on controlling the frequency of automatic health monitoring and data syncing to prevent unnecessary power usage.
Take control of your connections to guarantee power all week and then some!
Getting the Most Out of GPS While Traveling
Your smartwatch relies on your connected smartphone’s GPS to accurately track distance and outdoor routes. While the “Connected GPS” feature is essential for fitness, the constant use of your phone’s GPS radio can quickly drain its battery, which in turn limits your watch’s functionality.
To maximize your battery life while traveling:
Limit Tracking Usage: Only enable your watch’s Sport Mode or start outdoor tracking when it is truly essential. Because the phone’s GPS is high-drain, limit long tracking sessions or break them into shorter intervals to give your phone a breather.
Manage Phone Location Services: To prevent unnecessary battery drain, ensure the watch’s companion app on your smartphone is set to use location services only when the app is active or when tracking, rather than running in the background continuously.
This approach ensures you get the distance tracking you need while minimizing the power consumption of your phone, which your smartwatch depends on.
Advanced Travel Strategies
Planning a multi-day trip? You need an advanced power play to guarantee your smartwatch stays alive.
1. External Power Source: Carry a small, portable power bank to top up your battery whenever needed while you’re on the move. Your smartwatch charges via a standard USB magnetic cable, making it compatible with most universal power banks.
2. Software Maintenance: Never neglect the basics. Regularly update your smartwatch software/firmware, as manufacturers constantly release crucial updates that improve overall battery life and performance efficiency.
Conclusion
Stop worrying about a dead watch interrupting your journey. By strategically applying these key principles, you can drastically extend your smartwatch’s battery on the road.
The most critical step? Personalizing and setting these rules before you leave home!
A small amount of preparation ensures your most reliable travel essential is ready, charged, and efficient for every step of your adventure.
FAQs
1. Which setting is the single biggest drain on my smartwatch’s battery?
The display is generally the single most significant drain, especially if the brightness is set high or the screen timeout is long. Reducing both offers the most critical immediate battery savings.
2. How can I save battery if my smartwatch doesn’t have its own GPS?
Since your watch uses your phone’s GPS (Connected GPS), battery saving means limiting the phone’s use of location services. Use Sport Mode for tracking only when necessary, and verify that the companion app is not set to use location services in the background at all times.
3. Should I turn off Bluetooth entirely while traveling?
Temporarily disabling Bluetooth on your smartphone will save power on both devices by stopping constant communication. However, your smartwatch will lose all notifications, call/text alerts, and the ability to sync data until Bluetooth is re-enabled.
4. Can I adjust my automatic health monitoring settings to save power?
Yes, check your watch’s companion app settings (like “Automatic Health Monitor”) for the option to adjust the frequency of heart rate or SpO2 readings. Reducing the frequency at which the watch measures these vitals can significantly extend battery life.
5. Is it important to update my watch’s software before a trip?
Yes, regularly updating your smartwatch firmware/software is critical. Manufacturers often release updates that contain crucial bug fixes and performance optimizations specifically designed to improve battery efficiency.
