Suunto sent me a dead watch. This is my 3rd defect in 2 months.

eurohiker

This is my 3rd Suunto 7, it is dead, won’t turn on. I plugged it in my computer to charge

I looked on online and this is what came up:
“The amperage of any charger is listed on the charger itself. Standard chargers that come with iPhones and older Android phones provide 1 ampere (1A) of current . There are also new fast chargers that can provide current up to 2 Amps (2 A) .”

“Note : If the watch overheats while it is connected to the charger, the internal thermal protection may turn it off automatically. Try removing the device from the charger, waiting for it to cool down, and placing it back on the charger.”
https://www.suunto.com/fr-fr/Assistance/faq-articles/Suunto-7/pourquoi-ma-suunto7-ne-se-rallume-t-elle-pas-meme-si-je-la-charge/

Steps I took
Unit’s battery was completely dead when it arrived. It could not turn on (no boot animation), vibrate, or anything. I tried holding the top left button for 5sec, 10sec, 12sec, 20sec, 60sec intervals multiple times throughout the last few days. No Reaction

Charge 1: Sent a power surge in my Surface Book laptop but watch did nothing (see photo above)
Charge 2: I immediately googled it and landed upon the site listed above. I found a 1A Charger and tried to charge it for 1 hour. No reaction
Charge 3: I used a regular 2A charger and within minutes the watch overheated. I unplugged it immediately and let it get to room temperature. I let it sit for 30ish minutes
Charge 4: I plugged it into a 1A charger for 2 hours, no reaction
Charge 5: 2A for 2 hours, no reaction
Charge 6: 1A for 12-18ish hours, no reaction
Charge 7: 2A for 6+ hours, no reaction
Gave up
Extra info

Note 1: Throughout these steps, i was changing usb outputs, using different power bricks, different spots of my house including an external battery. I only have 1 1A power brick but used multiple outlets. All outlets, not including external battery, were the euro 240V which shouldn’t matter since the power bricks convert it.
Note 2: The initial hook up was to my Surface Book Laptop which is plugged into a power surge power bar.
Note 3: All 3 of these Suunto 7’s are brand new units with the box and everything. 2 of them sent directly from Suunto’s repair department.
Note 4: I used 2 different Suunto 7 charging cables
Note 5: Regarding the picture above; the first 2 Suunto 7 units, which had altitude issues, I was able to plug them into the same USB port without getting those messages. This is the first time i have seen those 2 messages for any electronic plugged into the same port and both of these Suunto units are from the same Suunto repair facility in Praha. Suunto 7 watch 3 and 4 were both from that facility with the same issue I have never seen anywhere else online which makes me think it’s the refurbs they sent me or the 2nd cable I received. Even though, the cable charged the 2nd watch from Vaanta, Finland fine.

freeheeler

@eurohiker
I feel sorry for you!! This is embarrassing and frustrating!!

eurohiker

@freeheeler I know! luckily i’m in lockdown and the new update hasn’t came out yet. It’s just unnecessary.

The customer service has been really good but they definitely need to look into their quality assurance team.
I only made this post to really highlight that and i’m curious if anyone else has had this specific issue.

Bulkan

@eurohiker said in Suunto sent me a dead watch. This is my 3rd defect in 2 months.:

This is my 3rd Suunto 7, it is dead, won’t turn on. I plugged it in my computer to charge

I now have 3 charging cables so the charger isn’t the issue and 29 usb outputs throughout the house. I tried half of them. All 3 of these Suunto 7’s are brand new units with the box and everything. 2 of them sent directly from Suunto’s repair department.

I looked on online and this is what came up:
“The amperage of any charger is listed on the charger itself. Standard chargers that come with iPhones and older Android phones provide 1 ampere (1A) of current . There are also new fast chargers that can provide current up to 2 Amps (2 A) .”

“Note : If the watch overheats while it is connected to the charger, the internal thermal protection may turn it off automatically. Try removing the device from the charger, waiting for it to cool down, and placing it back on the charger.”
https://www.suunto.com/fr-fr/Assistance/faq-articles/Suunto-7/pourquoi-ma-suunto7-ne-se-rallume-t-elle-pas-meme-si-je-la-charge/

I managed to find a 1A output charger which was difficult but no luck in charging. It has been plugged in for a few hours and still no luck.

This is incredibly annoying how bad Suunto’s quality assurance is. I’ve never had to fight with a company this much.

If i get it charged somehow will it impact my battery capacity?

Have anyone else had the same issue and was able to fix it?

First time I read about this.

Looks like you’ve tried everything. The cable isn’t the issue. So the charger has to be or the output power delivered to the watch.

Do you charge only in one place or more? Like work, home… Just asking to help but I don’t really read about this before.

eurohiker

@bulkan I’ve only tried to charged it at home but i’ve tried multiple outlets.
I found a 1A charging brick from early 2000s plugged it in for an hour then tried with the standard 2A ones for another hour.
At the moment, i have it plugged into the 1a in another outlet.

Bulkan

@eurohiker I use the computer or a charger of 20w or the charger of the iPhone… everything works fine.

Could you try to charge in another place and with the charger of the phone?

Just to try another scenery., just in case.

Brad_Olwin

@eurohiker I have had many watches from Suunto and never encountered a defective watch. I have had button failures but that is it. Seems there is something else going on here too.

eurohiker

@bulkan i’ve tried multiple usb bricks 2A/1A on multiple outlets using 3 different suunto charging cables.

@brad_olwin Maybe, but reddit is crawling with defective Suunto 7 barometres so that’s not a new thing. It’s not how i wear it because they test it before sending me a replacement. I know this because on the invoice it says “Part number 11 Device reset”, “Part number 23 Suunto 7 Analysis/testing” “Dear customer, I have replaced your defective device”
I agree that this fried battery is probably a fluke though. For niche product that costs just as much as my cellphone I expect it to be better within that niche. Sorry if i’m being a bit harsh but I’m just incredibly annoyed. I just want this thing to work so bad, i love the concept, i love that they are supporting the device with updates. I would have accepted it even if it was 20% off elevation gain/loss.

stevena

Isn’t the charger max current irrelevant? The watch will draw a certain current, not more. The only thing that can happen is that the charger provides less current than at which the watch can charge? Now if you were to use a charger that gives a higher voltage… But all usb is 5V.

eurohiker

@stevena I thought all chargers were 2A but after reading that site i posted there are 1A charger bricks luckily i have a lot of tech items so i was able to find one from 10+ years ago. From what i gather, if the battery gets so dead a safety mechanism comes into play to protect the battery so its more safe to charge with a 1A charger brick from supplying less current like you said. I haven’t read into it I just followed what the site said and rotated 2A chargers with the 1A charger in 1h - 2h time chunks. It overheated once with the 2A, unplugged it right away, and let it cool down but this was the most i got from it so far.

freeheeler

@eurohiker
if the battery is that dead I assume it might have had a deep discharging and this damages the battery partly or completely.
I’ve had this issue with one of my bike lights recently. No chance for recovery

If I remember correct we’ve had to send in my wifes prior A3R twice for the same reason. I don’t remember what the first answer was but the initial battery percentage issue was the same after the first warranty service. With the second service they did a good job.

eurohiker

@freeheeler interesting, never heard of deep discharging before. Thanks i will send it back i guess.

Mods you can close this thread if you want.

Egika

To deep discharging should not generate an overcurrent message on the laptop…
Anyway, if too much discharged, it can help to let it sit on the charger just for longer time. Some lithium powered devices will come eventually back alive after very slowly charging the first bit…
Though I guess here something more is broken.

@eurohiker Maybe your battery is defective or some component involved in the charge process. I used 2A (2000mAh) charger without problems and without get my S7 hot, even in summer (+42°C). Also doing with a 850mAh charger it’s not a task that take so long even on the computer. For S7, using any cellphone charger of 5V should be OK.
In a question that I did to the Suunto Support they answered me:

"CAUTION: You may only charge you device using USB adapters that comply with the IEC 60950-1 standard for limited power supply. Using non-compliant adapters may damage your device."

Jamie BG

I assume that when you get your watch there is a charge on it, and the watch works fine until the initial charge on the watch is depleted - or are they not evening coming in with some level of charge?

If they are working and then it bricks while trying to charge, i too think there is something more going on. However if you have also tried from the USB port I think you would be good, as any power irregulatries from an outlet point shouldn’t be affecting it.

If you have a power bank with a usb port, you could try using that to charge the watch to see if it work - then you will know if watch/charging unit or power related issue.

Brad_Olwin

@eurohiker said in Suunto sent me a dead watch. This is my 3rd defect in 2 months.:

@brad_olwin Maybe, but reddit is crawling with defective Suunto 7 barometres so that’s not a new thing. It’s not how i wear it because they test it before sending me a replacement. I know this because on the invoice it says “Part number 11 Device reset”, “Part number 23 Suunto 7 Analysis/testing” “Dear customer, I have replaced your defective device”

There have been a few of those, especially with the first version of the device. That is a faulty barometer, not the battery/charging of the watch. Many of the altitude issues are not a faulty unit but incomplete or incorrect comparisons that are faulty. I know of a few that have had units replaced and the barometer was faulty. For your issue, this is the first, that is why it seems so unusual.

eurohiker

@brad_olwin ok sorry, i misinterpreted the response which is why it came off as rash and defensive. i’m just upset.
The battery was definitely an anomaly.
As a result, I have edited my OP to be less emotional and more descriptive.

@eurohiker send it back to Service for replacement, I believe that is the best that you can do.

Bulkan

@eurohiker We are trying to help… is a very rare case and we will like to know what happen, even if it is a watch, a switcher or whatever.

Thats why we left the topic open, is useful for the community and (let’s hope) for you.

Mff73

@flypg said in Suunto sent me a dead watch. This is my 3rd defect in 2 months.:

@eurohiker send it back to Service for replacement, I believe that is the best that you can do.

as others said, if it is already the 3rd watch replaced, it is almost unlikely due to Suunto (except very very bad luck), and before plugging the 4rth one it could be good to identify a part of the local root cause that could have make your watches faulty.
That said, it seems that every thing may have been considered (except magnetic gloves )