Increasing the Battery Life of a Collar Using an Alpha Handheld

Garmin dog collars broadcast their position to the Alpha® handheld at specific intervals.  The more often that happens, the more the collar battery is drained.

If needed, the charge life of the collar battery can be lengthened by decreasing how often the collar position is updated with the handheld. In order to adjust the update rate, the handheld and dog collar will need to be paired and actively tracking. 

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To Adjust the Update Rate on the Alpha® 100 Handheld: 

1. Touch Dog List
2. Select the collar to adjust
3. Touch Show Info
4. Touch 
5. Touch Change Update Rate
6. Select desired update rate¹

To Adjust the Update Rate on the Alpha® 200 and Alpha® 200i Handhelds: 

1. Touch Dog List
2. Select the collar to adjust
3. Touch Update Rate
4. Select desired update rate¹

To Adjust the Update Rate on the Alpha® 200 Plus, Alpha® 300, and Alpha® 300i Handhelds:

1. Touch the Home button
2. Touch Dog List
3. Select the collar to adjust
4. Touch Update Rate
   NOTE: Alpha T 20 and Alpha TT 25 collars have a Dynamic Update Mode. See below for more information.
5. Select desired update rate¹

The tracking collar will now update its position less frequently, increasing the battery life.

¹The update rate options and battery life can differ between collars.  

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How Does Dynamic Update Mode Work?

Dynamic update mode utilizes several factors to help keep an accurate dog track while increasing battery life. 

• Dynamic update leverages the dog's motion to maximize battery life by only sending track information when needed. The structure of the dog's track line is not impacted by dynamic update, as the update rate changes to 2.5 seconds when the dog is moving.
• When the collar is not moving, the update rate is set to 30 seconds. When the collars start moving, the update changes to 2.5 seconds.
• If the last position is equal to current position, the collar does not send an update. If it has been more than 30 seconds, the collar will send an update.
• If last position isn't equal to current position, the collar will send an update every 2.5 seconds. 
• The dog's status (On Point/Treed/Sitting/Running) has changed from the last transmitted status.