Polar M400 GPS HRM Charging / USB Issues and replacement ideas?

[SpoonZA]

Hi Guys,

 

So my Polar M400 didnt want to charge anymore no matter where I plugged it into (PC, cellphone charger, wall socket etc). Sent it in to the Polar service centre and they advised me that I used an incorrect charger. They said that I most likely plugged it into a fast charger which damaged the unit. The M400 doesnt come with a charger, so I used any USB port/charger available at home, including a Samsung S8 charger which supports adaptive fast charging, which I suppose is what killed it.

 

It would have been nice if there was a notice on the app, website, flow, social media etc about this but till today still nothing. Internet is also full of stories about people complaining about the USB port at the back and syncing issues etc.

 

With that in mind, and based on their email response below, I decided against getting it repaired and will rather use the money towards getting something better.

 

So first, whats your thoughts on above and below? And second, which brand would you recommend?

 

Thanks

Carl

 

 

Hi Carl

Herewith the response from the R&D department regarding our rechargeable units via a fast charger :

Feb 5, 16:52 EET            

Hi There

The manuals indicates that the devices can be plugged into a wall adapter
that supplies 5v and a minimum of 500mAh.
However we have found that the fastchargers on the new cellphones are
charging at 5V but at 2A or 2.2A, which is not good for the circuitry of
the units? Is there a fix coming for this or will the on-line manuals be
re-worded?

Regards
NameRemoved



Feb 14, 12:41 EET            
Hi NameRemoved
Thank you for your email and I am sorry about the delay in responding to you.  I have forwarded your message to R&D for further action.  Just quick remark at this point, it is voltage  which matters. When fastchargers thinks  that it is OK to use fastcharger option, it will use 9 or even 12 V for charging. This may break components of the unit.  We have made changes  along the way  to our products to prevent this to happen. However since this may occur due to bad connection e.g. due to broken cable, it might be challenging to avoid this problem completely.
We will check the content and update  it.

Best Regards,

NameRemoved

Polar Service Centre
IHF Products cc - Polar SA
Block 6, The Willows Office Park
George Road
Erand Gardens
Midrand
1686
South Africa
Tel: +27 11 805 1028
Fax: +27 11 805 5498
E-Mail: Service_Centre.IHF_PRODUCTS_CC@polar.com
Web Site: www.polar.com/za
Twitter: www.twitter.com/polar_sa

[Dogs]

I had exactly the same problem over the holidays, but as mine was just short of 2 years old, it was repaired (charging unit replaced) under warranty. That I cannot complain about as I would not have paid some R1.5k repair charge for a watch that is worth that amount.

Have now replaced the battery as well, but it (battery life) is not as good as before. I now only use it for steps and heart rate measurement when spinning. For the rides I use Garmin.

O, and it does tell the time.

[SpoonZA]

Yip, I also thought R1000+ for the repairs aint worth it. Polar even admits that they cannot protect the unit against wrong charger/ bad cables (my phone is till charging with it 100% though). Wonder if anyone has had an issue like this with the other brands? Why dont they just design a dedicated charger and port for it? Or include a charger in the box at least that wont damage the unit. Minimum at least a warning on Flow that their devices doesn't have protection against this.

 

What Garmin are you using for the rides? From what I read online it seems Garmin is the best at the moment. But any comment on the Suunto range?

 

 

I had exactly the same problem over the holidays, but as mine was just short of 2 years old, it was repaired (charging unit replaced) under warranty. That I cannot complain about as I would not have paid some R1.5k repair charge for a watch that is worth that amount.
Have now replaced the battery as well, but it (battery life) is not as good as before. I now only use it for steps and heart rate measurement when spinning. For the rides I use Garmin.
O, and it does tell the time.

[nathrix]

Had the Polar m400 since it came out, never had any issues.

Using my discovery miles I bought the Polar m430 last week so that I don't have to use the HR strap and I'm very happy with it.

[slickjay007]

I had the exact same issue but mine was repaired under warranty. I was advised to rather charge the unit via my laptop USB port and since then i have had no issues.

[Raf]

Hi Guys,

 

So my Polar M400 didnt want to charge anymore no matter where I plugged it into (PC, cellphone charger, wall socket etc). Sent it in to the Polar service centre and they advised me that I used an incorrect charger. They said that I most likely plugged it into a fast charger which damaged the unit. The M400 doesnt come with a charger, so I used any USB port/charger available at home, including a Samsung S8 charger which supports adaptive fast charging, which I suppose is what killed it.

 

It would have been nice if there was a notice on the app, website, flow, social media etc about this but till today still nothing. Internet is also full of stories about people complaining about the USB port at the back and syncing issues etc.

 

With that in mind, and based on their email response below, I decided against getting it repaired and will rather use the money towards getting something better.

 

So first, whats your thoughts on above and below? And second, which brand would you recommend?

 

Thanks

Carl

 

 

Hi Carl

 

Herewith the response from the R&D department regarding our rechargeable units via a fast charger :

 

Feb 5, 16:52 EET            

 

Hi There

 

The manuals indicates that the devices can be plugged into a wall adapter

that supplies 5v and a minimum of 500mAh.

However we have found that the fastchargers on the new cellphones are

charging at 5V but at 2A or 2.2A, which is not good for the circuitry of

the units? Is there a fix coming for this or will the on-line manuals be

re-worded?

 

Regards

NameRemoved

 

 

 

Feb 14, 12:41 EET            

Hi NameRemoved

Thank you for your email and I am sorry about the delay in responding to you.  I have forwarded your message to R&D for further action.  Just quick remark at this point, it is voltage  which matters. When fastchargers thinks  that it is OK to use fastcharger option, it will use 9 or even 12 V for charging. This may break components of the unit.  We have made changes  along the way  to our products to prevent this to happen. However since this may occur due to bad connection e.g. due to broken cable, it might be challenging to avoid this problem completely.

We will check the content and update  it.

 

Best Regards,

 

NameRemoved

 

Polar Service Centre

IHF Products cc - Polar SA

Block 6, The Willows Office Park

George Road

Erand Gardens

Midrand

1686

South Africa

Tel: +27 11 805 1028

Fax: +27 11 805 5498

E-Mail: Service_Centre.IHF_PRODUCTS_CC@polar.com

Web Site: www.polar.com/za

Twitter: www.twitter.com/polar_sa

i have a few of the Polar products and have had good backup support from them

 

if out of warranty, book it in via a Sportmans Warehouse, and it will be sent to Polar. you will only pay the courier cost... prob R100. Ive had 48 to 72hr turnaround time service from them.

 

When the have the device, its easier for them to find/test for the problem

[SpoonZA]

i have a few of the Polar products and have had good backup support from them

 

if out of warranty, book it in via a Sportmans Warehouse, and it will be sent to Polar. you will only pay the courier cost... prob R100. Ive had 48 to 72hr turnaround time service from them.

 

When the have the device, its easier for them to find/test for the problem

 

Hi Raf,

 

I couriered the unit to Polar in JHB already. My device is out of warranty and they said I damaged the unit because I plugged it into the wrong charger. Thus, repairs will be for my own account...

[Headshot]

Polar are let down by their attitude towards the customer. Dropped my V650 trying to sync the thing with my phone and cracked the screen. If it had synced when it should have this would not have happened of course. No interest in keeping a customer  happy, as garmin would have with a discounted replacement... Buy a new one they said. I decided to keep on using it and it still works.

 

It gives endless grief however. Will not sync on my home PC, only my work one. Bluetooth is useless. It hasn't synced with BT for months. That said it hasn't suffered any ill effects from using fast chargers. Small mercies.

[skyfreak]

Maybe they are not telling the truth, there are some issues with the USB connector on the M400. If I am correct, the connector is leaking.

 

Read below, differences between M400 and M430:

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/04/hands-on-polars-m430-gps-watch-with-optical-hr.html

 

I had a M400, no problem; now have the M430 - they changed the connector.

[skyfreak]

Here is another post on the issue:

https://forums.runnersworld.co.uk/discussion/346091/polar-m400-use-port-corrosion

 

I need to add to this, I used my cellphone charger all the time for charging.

 

Cellphone chargers work on 5V and amp depends on the charger; the devices would have an intelligent charging circuit which manages the current flow to the battery.

[SwissVan]

Yip, I also thought R1000+ for the repairs aint worth it. Polar even admits that they cannot protect the unit against wrong charger/ bad cables (my phone is till charging with it 100% though). Wonder if anyone has had an issue like this with the other brands? Why dont they just design a dedicated charger and port for it? Or include a charger in the box at least that wont damage the unit. Minimum at least a warning on Flow that their devices doesn't have protection against this.

 

 

To be brutally honest on this here Friday:

 

You cocked it up by not following the charging instructions in the user manual.

 

Quote from the user manual available on polar.com:

 

“The M400 has an internal, rechargeable battery. Use the USB cable included in the product set to charge it via the USB port on your computer. You can also charge the battery via a wall outlet. When charging via a wall outlet use a USB power adapter (not included in the product set). If you use an AC adapter, make sure that the adapter is marked with "output 5Vdc" and that it provides a minimum of 500mA”

[SpoonZA]

Please explain?

 

My charger is marked with 5Vdc 2A, so matches their minimum criteria. But it can also provide 9V if both the charger and device agrees that it is capable of accepting it. Why would the Polar accept fast charging if it wasn't designed for it or protected against it?

 

 

To be brutally honest on this here Friday:

You cocked it up by not following the charging instructions in the user manual.

Quote from the user manual available on polar.com:

“The M400 has an internal, rechargeable battery. Use the USB cable included in the product set to charge it via the USB port on your computer. You can also charge the battery via a wall outlet. When charging via a wall outlet use a USB power adapter (not included in the product set). If you use an AC adapter, make sure that the adapter is marked with "output 5Vdc" and that it provides a minimum of 500mA”

[SwissVan]

Please explain?

 

My charger is marked with 5Vdc 2A, so matches their minimum criteria. But it can also provide 9V if both the charger and device agrees that it is capable of accepting it. Why would the Polar accept fast charging if it wasn't designed for it or protected against it?

How do you know the polar accepted it, maybe your charger does not know what 5 is in Finnish or does not take no for an answer.

 

It’s really better to keep like with like when playing around with electronics and the moral is.. don’t be lazy plug it into your computer with the usb connector.

????

 

Ja i had a **** week at the office and felt like venting the truth to someone

 

Thanks, good luck with your next purchase

????????

[Honkdonk]

Damn it.

I have had my M400 for about 4 years with no issues. This eve it decides to not charge and give me indications to the like of 'charge before training' - while plugged in and 'not fully charged'

 

Been working 100's up until this evening, Buggerfuck

[thebob]

Had mine for 3 years now and it has been through hell. Had the charging issue, got it fixed and after a couple months the “not fully charged” message is back. Doesn’t seem to be too much of an issue as I’ve used it for 4 hour plus rides with the GPS on with some battery life to spare at the end of the ride. Will get a 430 when my 400 eventually dies