Garmin Forerunner 610 Charging Cradle Fix

The Garmin Forerunner 610 is my fourth Garmin GPS watch. Each upgrade has brought new features in a smaller package. But the one thing they haven’t been able to fix is the charger. Luckily, there’s a minor adjustment you can make to the 610 charging cradle that will help.

At one time or another, every Garmin GPS owner has gone to take their watch out of the charging cradle for a run, only to find it sitting there, screen blank, battery dead. It’s not an uncommon occurrence with a new watch. Then, as time passes, Dead Watch Syndrome occurs more frequently.  

It’s important to keep the contacts clean, of course.  Those tiny contacts get sweaty and dirty, so cotton swabs and a little rubbing alcohol can help. But soon enough, even rubber bands and clothespins aren’t enough to ensure a reliable connection between the watch and its cradle.

I found that I could improve the contact between the Garmin 610 and it’s charger by shaving a little bit from the top of the plastic lugs that surround the charging pins on the cradle.  I used my Dremel and a grinder bit, but you could try a file or a sharp knife.  Just a little bit off the top is enough. Don’t take off too much, as the lugs are necessary to keep the charging pins lined up with the contacts on the watch. (Don’t worry, if you screw up, you can buy a replacement cradle).

It’s not a perfect solution, but it helps.