Hi, the battery on my Polar RS300X is reaching its end of life. Polar recommends it to be sent back to their service center to change the battery. I was wondering if this is really necessary. Can I just take this to my local watch repair shop to get it done? Is there anything special about this particular watch that it needs to be serviced by Polar only? I just don’t want to go through the hassle of having to mail it. Has anyone changed the battery of your polar by a local watch man before? Thanks.
Just did mine myself a few weeks ago. Exact model. Only took a few minutes. If you’re going to do it yourself just be careful with the sealing gasket. Has to be clean, perfectly seated, no debris etc. just common sense stuff. There was a small amount of crud in mine on and around the seal. (crazy that stuff can work it’s way in there). I cleaned it carefully with rubbing alcohol and replaced the seal into the groove. Popped new battery in. The back went back on easily, perfectly square and tight, and everything looked to seal up fine. Torqued the screws down alternatively a bit at a time and it was all back together in under 5 mins.
Can’t speak to your model, but, I used to send in my old S710i (which I still use/love; it’s sitting next to me now) for the battery to be replaced. Then I decided to try replacing it myself and no problem. I know I’ll have to send it in someday because the gasket will deteriate.
Time-Tec in LA has been great - I order replacement chest straps and they’ve been awesome.
A tip if you do it yourself. Do it on a table with a white cloth so you can see those tiny screws. Make notes of what it looks like (maybe a photo???) and use good light. A magnifing glass might not hurt either (I have to remember that for myself :-)).
I sent my 305 to an eBay auction and they replaced it. Half the cost and the battery is even upgraded with more power.
Turnaround time was less than a week from post office mailing it out to my home mailbox.
Took my RS300 to my local watch store and got the battery replaced last week. It costed me $15. I thought it wasn’t bad. I asked the guy if this is still going to be water proof. He said if this was water proof before, then it should still be water proof. So I took his word for it. I took it to the pool this morning. When I looked at my watch after about 10 minutes of swimming, all I got was a blank screen. When I got out of the water, I actually saw a puddle of water trapped inside the screen. So, the question is, am I Sh*t out of luck? Is this watch now damaged beyond repair?
Just did mine myself a few weeks ago. Exact model. Only took a few minutes. If you’re going to do it yourself just be careful with the sealing gasket. Has to be clean, perfectly seated, no debris etc. just common sense stuff. There was a small amount of crud in mine on and around the seal. (crazy that stuff can work it’s way in there). I cleaned it carefully with rubbing alcohol and replaced the seal into the groove. Popped new battery in. The back went back on easily, perfectly square and tight, and everything looked to seal up fine. Torqued the screws down alternatively a bit at a time and it was all back together in under 5 mins.