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My Instinct Solar Watch is Not Solar Charging
Garmin® Instinct solar watches will disable solar charging when the battery is full, or if the internal temperature exceeds the solar charging temperature threshold. When the battery is full, there will be a gap in the graph displayed on the Solar widget. See below for information on how to read the Solar widget, and troubleshooting solar charging.
IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that solar charging is designed to extend periods between charges for your watch, and is not intended to replace normal charging.
Understanding the Solar Widget
| Instinct® Solar - Standard Edition | Instinct® 2X Solar | |
|---|---|---|
| Solar Widget |  |  |
The checkmark or slash indicates that the watch is fully charged and no solar charging is taking place. When solar charging is taking place, the checkmark or slash will be replaced by a graphic indicating solar intensity.
Solar intensity is displayed on the graph. The areas in white and gray indicate that solar charging took place.
Vertical dashed lines show where solar charging started and stopped.
Checkered lines at the bottom of the graph show times where the watch was not accepting a solar charge.
Lines on the side of the graph indicate levels of solar intensity.
Solar Widget Shows Checkmark or Slash
Instinct Solar watches after software version 10.00 or later will show a checkmark in the Solar widget when the battery is full.
Instinct 2 Solar watches after software version 14.12 or later will show a slash through the solar intensity symbol when the battery is full or solar charging is disabled.
Troubleshooting Solar Charging
If the battery is full, the watch will disable solar charging.
Follow best practices for charging. See - How to Get the Most Out of Solar Charging with a Solar Capable Watch.
Anything that blocks direct sunlight from reaching the display of the watch can impact the ability of the watch to take a solar charge.
Features of the watch, such as recording activities, pairing Bluetooth or sensors, actively scrolling through screens and menus will use additional battery. It may seem as if the watch is not taking a solar charge when doing these things.
Excessive heat or cold can stop solar charging. See - Specifications in your owner's manual.
Ensure software is up to date. See - How to Install Software Updates to My Instinct Watch.
Restart the watch.