Short Battery Life
IBIS trackers should run 50+ hours per charge. If you’re seeing 5-10 hours, something is off. Walk through this.
1. Was it actually fully charged?
Charge for at least 3-4 hours on a wall charger, not a PC port. A “full” charge from a low-current source may not actually be full.
2. Is it auto-sleeping when you’re not moving?
Trackers should power down after about 15 minutes of stillness. If a tracker stays awake all the time, something’s wrong — possibly stuck in pairing mode or DFU mode.
Hold the button until LED stops. Single-press to boot normally. Re-check battery life.
3. How old is the tracker?
Lithium batteries lose capacity over time. After 3-5 years of typical use, expect 70-80% of original capacity. A tracker that’s been heavily used for a few years legitimately won’t go 50 hours anymore — though it should still go 30+.
A brand-new tracker showing very short life is a different issue — see step 5.
4. Storage / temperature damage
Batteries left flat (0% charge) for weeks can permanently lose capacity. Batteries left in hot cars can too. See Battery Care.
If this happened, capacity may be permanently reduced. There’s no software fix.
5. Hardware fault
If a single brand-new tracker dies in hours and the rest of your kit lasts normally, the suspect is the individual tracker — possibly a defective cell.
Reach out via support with:
- Approximate session length before flat
- Whether it’s been like this since unboxing or started recently
- Whether other trackers in the same kit are normal
We can usually diagnose and replace if it’s a manufacturing defect.
Things that are not short battery life
- A tracker dies in your bag while traveling — likely auto-woke from motion. Power off (hold button) before packing.
- A tracker dies overnight on a shelf — actually impossible if powered off. If this is happening, the tracker isn’t being powered off; press-and-hold the button until LED is fully off.