How to replace the battery in a Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitor (HRM)

14Sep/08222

How to replace the battery in a Polar F11 Heart Rate Monitor (HRM)

Disclaimer: The user manual for the Polar F11 clearly states to take the HRM to a Polar dealer and have them replace the battery - taking the back off could void your warranty. If you wish to be 100% sure that you maintain the water-resistant seal and do not want to void your warranty - or risk breaking your HRM (certainly a possibility when you take it apart...), take the unit to an authorized Polar dealer and have them replace the battery.

Step 1: Remove the back cover (4 little screws - make sure you have the right size screwdriver or you'll strip them out). Also note that the back has a water-resistant seal - keep this clean and remember that there is always a chance that the seal may be damaged if you do this yourself.
Step 2: Remove the internal unit from the watch casing (it just pulls out).
Step 3: Get something to pry the battery latch tab with (I used another small screwdriver)
Step 4: Take whatever you used to pry the latch tab out with and use it to pry the battery up by placing the device (screwdriver in my case) in the notch above the latch (see picture).
Step 5: Go to Wal-Mart and purchase a new CR2032 watch battery (you may want to do this before hand... I didn't know what battery it used so I had to take it out first) - runs about $3.50.
Step 6: Put the battery back in and put everything back together.

Tagged as: f11, heart rate monitor, hrm, polar, polar f11 Leave a comment

Comments (222) Trackbacks (1) ( subscribe to comments on this post )

Dave
September 15th, 2008 - 18:26

Exactly what i’ve been looking for… Thanks!

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Jane Harrow
September 30th, 2008 - 18:41

Thank you very much! This was so helpful.

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Chris Pay
October 15th, 2008 - 16:26

Thank you! I would have pulled it apart if I hadn’t seen this first.

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David
November 12th, 2008 - 09:21

So it took me a while but I found this. I have the wrist unit open, and that part of the battery cover looked like a latch but I couldn’t get it to release. That and there is no hinge on the opposite end of that battery cover. Do you just have to bend it a little? Thank you.

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Tim
November 12th, 2008 - 10:05

Yup. There is no hinge. If you click on the pictures here, the detail should be high enough to see what’s going on. You have to use a small screwdriver or something to pry the latch out, then you do have to bend the latch up just enough to get the battery out.

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Mark Hicks
November 15th, 2008 - 21:46

Thanks Tim, my F11 now has a new battery and is working fine.

The latch part is a bit tricky. In step 3 you need to look at picture # 2 and insert the small screwdriver as shown. Then turn the screwdriver gently 30 maybe 45 degrees. This pushes the end of the latch outward away from a small plastic tab that is below the latch. Once it is pushed out past the tab, the latch springs up so you can replace the battery.

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Lee
December 1st, 2008 - 21:32

This is nice, did you test your watch in water to see if it was still water resistant after you replaced the battery?

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Tim
December 1st, 2008 - 22:01

Naa, we’re not swimmers We do primarily P90X and dry cardio. We haven’t had any issues with moisture in the unit, but it’s never been under pressure – only exposed to moisture from sweat, hand washing, and water spills.

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jewel
December 10th, 2008 - 17:14

Thanks. The photos are most helpful.

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Brian
December 20th, 2008 - 01:40

Thanks so much for your excellent advice, I would have been suckered by the Polar charge had I not found this site. Have just followed your instructions and it works perfectly. Cheers from China.

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Dominic
December 23rd, 2008 - 07:14

Cheers. Great instructions, worked like a dream. Thanks.

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Tom
January 3rd, 2009 - 14:09

Thanks Tim. I almost send it back to Polar then I found your site. Great instructions.

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nubiennze
January 8th, 2009 - 23:28

Tim,

Would you happen to know if your stored files will be deleted when the battery is removed? I’ve been trying–unsuccessfully–to upload them using the WebLink software but am about to give up and change the battery before the thing gives out altogether.

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Tim
January 9th, 2009 - 08:46

I would assume that they are lost, as the entire thing was reset when I replaced my Wife’s battery. Then again, ours was dead for a week or two before I knew about it. So all I can say for sure is that if you let it go dead, ya – everything resets. It would make sense that the same would happen when you remove the battery.

-tl

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Mary
January 24th, 2009 - 20:29

Great instructions. Saved me time, money and frustration. Many thanks!

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Bernetta
January 25th, 2009 - 09:07

When you have replaced the battery and push the latch back down does the latch pop back in place. Mine won’t. And does it matter?

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Pescatore
January 26th, 2009 - 22:40

Thanks for the pictures. The Polar F6 is built the same way and takes a CR2032 battery.
I did not take the metal box out to avoid touching the LCD.

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Shane
February 8th, 2009 - 17:21

Great pictures, perfect instructions.

As to the question about losing data, I was surprised to learn that all of your setting (other than the time/date) are saved during the battery change. I suppose if the battery is dead long enough you might lose data, but in the short time it takes to swap out a low battery for a new one, you won’t lose a thing.

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nubiennze
February 9th, 2009 - 00:22

Just replaced the battery (after putting it off for weeks), and it was super simple. Took all of five minutes! And as an added bonus–none of my data was lost! Thanks Tim!

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Lee
February 13th, 2009 - 17:41

TIm,
I have replaced batteries on older models.
Used the photo’s and instructions to do the F11.
Replaced with a new battery.
Comes up dead, nothing.
Checked the battery and it has good charge.
Could the board be shorted from tatic?
I’ve repeated the process about 6 times now with other new batteries and get the same results.

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Tom M
February 15th, 2009 - 11:47

Great pictures. I just took mine apart and headed out to get a battery. Seems like a lot of watch manufacturers also are advising to send back product for battery replacement. What a pain. So thanks for helping out us DIYers

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beverley d
February 19th, 2009 - 11:20

Fantastic! I am so happy I found this Thanks so much for sharing…

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John
February 22nd, 2009 - 03:52

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_battery_sizes

I had 2 spare CR2025 batteries; they work fine in both watch and transmitter, just have less milliamp hours capacity.

Hints for others, click on pictures to see the detail better – the locking tab is pry to the outside, negative side of battery goes up, good luck with it, and to TIM, big thanks for posting, John

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Vince
March 12th, 2009 - 23:58

Thank you SO much for posting this. Saved me $$ and time. Much appreciated.

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Roger
March 22nd, 2009 - 13:57

Hi – See below – I get the same – comes up dead – my Polar conspiracy theorist thinks theres a secret trigger that once you crack it open the unit won’t fubction. I’ve had this happen once (friends also) om other models. Any ideas?

thanks,

Roger

From: Lee

“TIm,
I have replaced batteries on older models.
Used the photo’s and instructions to do the F11.
Replaced with a new battery.
Comes up dead, nothing.
Checked the battery and it has good charge.
Could the board be shorted from tatic?
I’ve repeated the process about 6 times now with other new batteries and get the same results.”

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Tim
March 23rd, 2009 - 06:08

Any time you work with electronics, there is certainly a risk of static discharge. There is no secret trigger that renders the device unusable once opened, that would be a complete waste of money from the design perspective and there’s no way polar could justify such a trivial feature.

It certainly is odd that both you and your friend experienced the same problem – I don’t have any ideas on how to get it working, it’s a pretty complicated little doodad. If replacing the battery doesn’t fix it, then it’s broken

Lots of people have replaced their F11 batteries without issue – I suspect the two you are working on are either really broken, or per chance, you could have zapped both of them with static electricity (the usual advice is to always discharge any static build up prior to handling electronic components).

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brian
March 29th, 2009 - 17:08

Thanks a million for taking the time to make your post. Without your instructions/photos, I surely would have broken the watch trying to get the battery out. You rock!

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Bob Chaput
April 3rd, 2009 - 14:58

I just finished installing a new battery in an F6. Your instructions and pictures were great. I was just about to send the unit to the factory. With shipping it would have cost me approx. $ 25.00 and a couple of weeks.

Thanks.

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andy
April 9th, 2009 - 12:17

I went through this process, and here’s the issue that I’m having: http://www.fixya.com/support/t1692714-polar_f6_battery_replaced_display

The display won’t come back on fully – many pixels are missing.

Anyone have any ideas?

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Tim
April 10th, 2009 - 06:27

That’s really odd, you’d think if everything lights up during self test, you’d be good to go. If it has anything to do with the battery, then i’d assume it would be something with the state of the unit when the battery originally died (which doesn’t make all that much sense for a HRM, but whatever). You could try pulling the battery after a hard reset and then putting the battery back in. After pulling it, wait 5-10 minutes before putting it back in to let any residual charge drain.

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Diana
April 10th, 2009 - 14:26

Thanks..worked perfect. I was going to send my watch to Polar so you saved me money and time. Now, I get to wear my HRM when I run tomorrow!!

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Bent
April 10th, 2009 - 18:03

Aften having the battery changed in a jewellers shop by a sixteenyear-old my F11 was still dead and I was told that something was wrong other than the battery. I never saw the warning for “low battery” because I didn’t use it for a while, so my imidiate reaction was “shit happens”… then after a few weeks I decided to open it. The more I thought about it the more suspcious I got, and I was right. The cute girl in the shop installed it the wrong way. I just didn’t figure out on my own how to get to the battery and turn it. This web-site showed my how. Tnx!

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Pat
April 15th, 2009 - 08:05

Fantastic instructions and photos. I had to enlarge photo #2 to see how to unhook the battery latch tab, but it worked like a charm. Thanks!!

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Ron
April 20th, 2009 - 11:53

Except for my too-gentle approach to releasing the battery latch, this worked perfectly. I was pleasantly surprised to find my personal setting to still be intact. Thanks.

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Tony
April 20th, 2009 - 22:45

What a lifesaver!!! What technical moron in Finland came up with this obvious attempt to get more of your money. Thanx to guys like you who refuse to buy into it. Again many thanks!!:=)

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Brent
May 18th, 2009 - 10:37

Changed the battry in my F6, the little catch on the battry was a little tricky, but otherwise quite simple to change. Ametla part fell out of the watch case I wasn’t expecting, and consequenntly had to figure out the orientation on when re-assembling. Best to leave the unit in the case rather than remove it. went together fine, but now I have no displsy. Tried reseting the unit as per instruction, the dispaly fills but then I can’t seem to be able to set it. Will tinker some more, but will never buy polar again if I am forced to buy another HRM!

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Tim P.
May 28th, 2009 - 21:27

I have replaced my Polar battery following the instructions above, and initially the HRM worked great. I retained all my saved data, was able to reset the current date/time, and it functioned as a HRM. However, the new 2032 battery didn’t last longer than 24 hours. I performed another replacement with a 2025 and had the same issue. Is there something that is shorting out that would cause battery life to be drained so quickly?

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Regina
May 31st, 2009 - 21:26

I have the same problem as Andy. Everything works but the display. If I turn on the light I can see that the unit is working normally, but the display is not visible.

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goot776
June 1st, 2009 - 19:25

Hey guys, I know I’m resurrecting a bad thread, but this is good news for the people that have a blank screen when they replace the dead battery.

Reset it.

Hold all five buttons together for 10 seconds. You’ll hear a beep, and then press the OK button to set up the watch.

I had the same blank screen problem, and this technique fixed it for me. Hope it helps.

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Felltop
June 8th, 2009 - 04:48

FANTASTIC! Found this when I was looking to see where I should send my watch to get a new battery fitted. 15 minutes later I have done it myself. I had a spare battery of the correct type already. Saved some money, and will not lose the use of my HRM by sending it away.

Many thanks.

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Michele
June 10th, 2009 - 15:30

For those above with dead display, make sure the battery is installed correctly. The battery needs to be negative side up.
Thanks

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Rachel
June 25th, 2009 - 18:00

Thanks so much! I didn’t want to send it in and pay the money and was just going to buy a new one. 5 minutes later, I changed the battery in two watches and they work perfectly (F6). Can’t believe how easy it was, thanks to your instructions!

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Bill
June 27th, 2009 - 09:44

Just replaced the battery in an old HRM that had been sitting dead for a year or two, and it works like new. Piece of cake! Thanks.

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Kurt
June 28th, 2009 - 23:05

Just what I needed! Piece of cake since I already had the screw driver and battery. Thanks!

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tom
June 30th, 2009 - 13:35

I have an M32 and it’s the locking tab is completley different. Any help?

Thanks

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Fred
July 2nd, 2009 - 08:29

Tim, thanks for posting this. The battery replacement was quicker and simpler than dealing with Polar’s UK service centre!

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Joe Yee
July 8th, 2009 - 16:28

Thank you for the great pictures and guide to replacing the battery on the HRM. Is it possible to self replace the battery on the transmitter?

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- Tim
  July 9th, 2009 - 07:12
  
  If you have a T31 strap, you can’t replace the battery (or I should say I haven’t figured out how yet – i’ve been through three of them in the last year – despite a few attempts at cutting the molded unit open with a utility knife). If you have a WearLink style strap, there’s just a twist lock battery cover in the back. Since you asked, I assume you have a T31 because the WearLink battery replacement is pretty straightforward.
  
  If you end up buying a new strap, upgrade to the WearLink so you don’t have to buy a new strap next time. Also, if you’re draining batteries, make sure to dry off the strap (or disconnect it if it’s a WearLink) when you’re done. If the straps have moisture on them, they transmit and drain the battery.
  
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Emma
July 25th, 2009 - 05:53

Thanks to your very clear instructions and pictures, I have found it extremely easy to change the battery of my F11 watch, thank you.

The only frustration I have now is with the transmitter; I’ve got a wearlink with an apparantely easy to open tab on the back. It is impossible to open, I’ve tried everything, including taking it to bits, the battery is sealed in despite the fact that it is supposed to be easily opened with a coin.

But at least I was able to change the battery in the watch no problem!

Thanks

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- Tim
  October 14th, 2009 - 06:05
  
  Yeah, my wife has one of those transmitters. every time I end up getting the biggest screw driver I can find, putting the transmitter on the table, leaning on the screwdriver in the “coin” slot and slowly turning while holding the transmitter in place. This often results in a giant dent in the battery once I get the cover off, but the cover does eventually come off. Also note with these, you don’t have to rotate very much to get to the unlocked position. I spendt like 10 minutes once trying to get it to turn and it was already in the unlocked position (at which point I usually hit it against something to get the cover to come off).
  
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Erwin
August 4th, 2009 - 12:38

Thanks so much for the clear info. Without it, I would never could have done it! (And spend 30 bucks to get in replaced. Is it that expensive? Yes, here in NL it is )

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Ram
August 4th, 2009 - 13:13

Saved me $29.95 here in MA.

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