When considering your GPS watch purchase, you may have at some point wondered: How long do GPS watches batteries last?

Unfortunately the answer is quite a lot. The typical unit sucks up a heck of a lot of juice compared with a traditional sports watches.

Most of the GPS watches on the market can operate with full GPS tracking switched on for about 8-10 hours, but fortunately almost all allow you toggle GPS on and off, letting you use the basic sports watch features without the power burden of GPS tracking.

Some watches even allow you to configure the interval at which the GPS updates – a longer update period, the longer the battery will last, but the less accurate real-time measurements will be.

External GPS devices of course have a separate battery from the watch unit, so if the GPS device goes flat, it will not affect your session data. These types of devices utilize AA or AAA batteries which have to be replaced every 12 hours or so, increasing the running costs of your watch.

The battery type and more importantly the amount of time you can keep the GPS running is something to factor in, especially if you are an ultra endurance athlete.

Here is a table of the battery life of the major GPS watches.

List of GPS Watches By Battery Type and GPS Endurance

Series	Model	Battery Type	GPS Endurance
Garmin Forerunner	101	2x AAA batteries	14-15 hrs typical	Product Link
	201	Li Rechargeable	14-15 hrs typical	Product Link
	301	Li Rechargeable	14-15 hrs typical	Product Link
	205	Li Rechargeable	10 hrs typical	Product Link
	305	Li Rechargeable	10 hrs typical	Product Link
	310XT	Li Rechargeable	20 hrs typical	Product Link
	405	Li Rechargeable	2 wks power save mode, 8 hrs GPS mode	Product Link
	405CX	Li Rechargeable	2 wks power save mode, 8 hrs GPS mode	Product Link
Suunto	X9/i	Li Rechargeable	4-5 hrs heavy power > 2 months sparse power	Product Link
	X10	Li Rechargeable	6 hours (with heavy usage of the GPS, backlight, compass and data storage functions) Over 2 months if you only use Time and/or Alti/Baro mode	Product Link
GlobalSat	GH-615B/615M	Li Rechargeable	GPS on; HRM & Backlight off 11 hours GPS, HRM & Backlight off 25 hours HRM on; GPS & Backlight off 25 hours GPS, HRM on; Backlight off 11 hours	Product Link
	GH-625M	Li Rechargeable	10 hours (3D fix, GPS on; HBM & Backlight off) 8 hours (3D fix, GPS, HBM & Backlight on) 21 hours (GPS, HBM off; Backlight off)	Product Link
Suunto	T3/c	2x AAA batteries	10 hours (advertised) 18-20 hours on alkaline AAA (reported) 30+ hours on lithium AAA (reported)	Product Link
	T4/c	2x AAA batteries	10 hours (advertised) 18-20 hours on alkaline AAA (reported) 30+ hours on lithium AAA (reported)	Product Link
	T6/c	2x AAA batteries	10 hours (advertised) 18-20 hours on alkaline AAA (reported) 30+ hours on lithium AAA (reported)	Product Link
Polar	RS200G1	2x AAA batteries	10 hrs full power, 15 hrs low power	Product Link
	RS400G1	2x AAA batteries	10 hrs full power, 15 hrs low power	Product Link
	RS800CX	2x AAA batteries	10 hrs full power, 15 hrs low power	Product Link
Timex	S & D T5E701	2x AA batteries	13-Hour battery life from 1 AA battery	Product Link
	Bodylink T5F011	2x AA batteries	13-Hour battery life from 1 AA battery	Product Link
	Bodylink Trailrunner T5J985	2x AA batteries	13-Hour battery life from 1 AA battery	Product Link
	Bodylink T5F011	2x AA batteries	13-Hour battery life from 1 AA battery	Product Link
	Bodylink T5G311	2x AA batteries	13-Hour battery life from 1 AA battery	Product Link

Visit our page on GPS watches for more information about buying a GPS watch.

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