Inspire 3 battery usage with Auto Detect Exercise

[Hobatron]

I've used my Fitbit Inspire 3 for well over a year now and have really enjoyed the long lasting battery. I'd often go nearly a week without charging it.

I started running again and there was a message that prompted me if I'd like to turn on Auto Detect Exercise, and I clicked yes. Ever since, I have to charge it every couple of days.

I'm not sure if the Auto Detect Exercise feature is what's draining the battery so much, or if I turned something else on by accident. I've gone in and deactivated each activity under Auto Detect Exercise, but it's still labeled as "on" in the settings. Is there a way to switch it to "off"? Also, is there a way to view the battery usage for the device, So I can see what's changed?

[JohnnyRow · Accepted solution]

It sounds like you just turned on GPS for your runs, which is a battery eater.
This is confusing.  Besides 'Auto-recognized Activities', there is a separate 'Run Detect' which is what I suspect you turned on.  Here's what that does: as soon as it detects that you are running, it treats it as if you had started it as a 'Run' from the 'Exercise App', which can turn on a bunch of user-selected settings, one of which is GPS.  BTW, I suspect you were also getting a map of your runs using GPS.
This 'Run-Detect' is a totally different animal from the auto-recognition, which would just call it a run but not turn on all the options that were preset by using the Exercise App.
On the Sense 2 that I am more familiar with, in the Exercise App, you select Run, then swipe up to see the options associated with Run, and see Run Detect as one of those options, and turn 'Run Detect' On or Off there.  From looking at the Inspire 3 manual, it seems to say that you can turn Run Detect On or Off either In the phone app or on the device itself on the exercise app.  You might have to look around to find where to do that, but look for 'Run Detect'.

I hope that wasn't completely confusing.

[Hobatron]

I was able to find Run Detect on the watch by scrolling to exercise, clicking run, scrolling down to Run Detect and toggling it off. I'll report back if I notice the battery is better. Thank you!

[JohnnyRow]

Since you found it there, you might also turn off GPS there, just in case, assuming you are not wanting that, and you know where to find it if you do want it.