Garmin users are heading to the company support forums to report a common grievance involving the recently introduced OK Garmin hands-free voice feature. The feature arrived through Garmin software updates, bringing hands-free voice activation to the Fenix 8, Forerunner 570, 970, Venu 4, and several other models. Here is what you need to know to ensure the new update does not drain your watch prematurely.
Garmin Feature Updates for Select Smartwatches
The recent updates for select watches also introduced all-day fall detection, new Quick Workouts, Garmin Run Coach plans, and the OK Garmin hands-free voice command option. Users can simply speak the phrase instead of pressing a button to activate voice controls. However, user complaints indicate that this specific capability causes projected runtimes to drop drastically, by roughly 35% to 50% in some situations.
Garmin acknowledges that enabling these settings reduces battery life, though it does not specify the exact percentage. This trade-off occurs because the wearable device must constantly listen for its wake phrase. Giving up several days of runtime is a steep cost for a convenience feature. Fortunately, turning off the setting restores estimated battery performance immediately.
How to Stop the Battery Drain
If your device is depleting power faster following the update, navigate to Settings, select System, choose Voice, and disable the OK Garmin option. You can also turn off the Phone Assistant wake word from the same menu. Disabling this function does not eliminate voice commands entirely, as you can still trigger them manually using the physical buttons.
Keep in mind that these metrics are manufacturer estimates rather than independently verified real-world runtimes. Some battery issues reported after the update could stem from separate factors. Even so, losing a significant portion of battery longevity just to avoid manual button presses is a notable drawback.
