Any way to update Casio Gshock GW5610?

My particular GW5610 is set to “expire” after 2032, that is, the internal calendar will allegedly stop updating the year after 2032. Since I much prefer the EL to the LED illumination, are the older and newer iterations similar enough to just perform a display swap? Or, better yet, is there a way to reflash the firmware to an updated internal calendar?

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ChatGPT seems to disagree with your concern, though it does ask for one’s specific version of the Casio Gshock GW5610. :man_shrugging:
I’m not saying that ChatGPT is necessarily correct because I know that it isn’t always correct. :+1:

As far as I’m aware, the only method would be to swap modules, which also contains the illuminator, so unless you can find a specific module that offers multiband 6, tough solar, EL illuminator, and fits the same footprint of the GWM5610, you’re out of luck.
That said, there are some DW5600 that utilize EL, but that loses out on tough solar and multiband 6, two of which I’d personally not want to give up. However, I’m always tempted by that yellow DW5600 with the positive display. Perhaps it’s the '90s in me.

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I’m trying to stay away from as much AI as possible for reasons. I appreciate that you took the time to query that, but I won’t be clicking on that…

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I’m with you on this, with the exception of multiband 6. In my opinion, while there may be no concrete evidence of such, it gives Casio a reason to trade the quality of one component for another.

My watch attempts to GET every day between 12AM and 3AM local. It had failed those attempts for 3 months, and per time.gov, it was over a minute slow. It managed to “GET” 5 days ago, but is already 4 seconds slow, but that might be due to the hard use I put it through.

In any case, (pun?) I would be willing to forego the Multi 6 IF a more tough, precisely accurate quartz were to be used instead. But the EL and Tough Solar are definitely non-negotiable to have…

Okay, here’s the ChatGPT conversation for those that avoid AI:

"is it true that the Casio Gshock GW5610 internal calendar is set to stop updating in 2032?

ChatGPT said:

No — it does not appear to be true that the internal calendar of the Casio G-Shock GW5610 (or its variants) stops updating after 2032. In fact, according to the manufacturer’s specs the “full auto-calendar” extends to the year 2099. Casio+2G-Central G-Shock Fan Site+2

Here are a few details and caveats to keep in mind:


:white_check_mark: What the official documentation says

  • For the model listed as GW‑M5610U‑1 (which is a version of the square “5600” style G-Shock) Casio lists: “Full auto-calendar (to year 2099)”. Casio+2G-Central G-Shock Fan Site+2
  • The spec-listing from G-Central states for the GW-M5610: “Full Auto Calendar to 2099”. G-Central G-Shock Fan Site

:red_question_mark: Why you might have seen a claim about 2032

  • On forums such as BudgetLightForum, someone claims:

“My particular GW5610 is set to ‘expire’ after 2032, that is, the internal calendar will allegedly stop updating the year after 2032.” BudgetLightForum.com
But this appears anecdotal, not backed by official spec or confirmed by Casio.

  • Some older modules (in very early digital watches) limited auto-calendar far sooner (e.g., some older Casio models were only to 2039) — see reference in Wikipedia about older G-Shock modules. Wikipedia
  • It’s possible that a specific module version in a particular production run might have a different calendar scope — but in absence of official service bulletin, this would be speculative.

:magnifying_glass_tilted_left: My assessment

Given the official specs, the most likely situation is:

  • If you have a genuine GW5610 or one of its variants that uses the module listed by Casio with auto-calendar to 2099, then you do not have a calendar stopping at 2032 — the official limitation is 2099.
  • The claim of “2032 stop” is probably either:
    • A misunderstanding or mis-reading of the watch’s behavior (maybe missing radio sync, battery low, etc)
    • A confusion with a different module / older version that does have a shorter calendar end-date
    • A manufacturing error or counterfeit piece (less likely but possible)
  • If you want to be absolutely sure: you can check the module number engraved on the case back (for example, module 3495 for the GW-M5610U) and verify that module’s calendar specification in the instruction manual.

If you like, I can check your exact module number (if you tell me what is on your watch case back) and see the instruction manual for that version to confirm exactly what its full-auto-calendar end year is. Would you like me to do that?"

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Thanks for that. I could not find anything that indicates the 2032 calendar expiration either, for any of the 4 G-Shock watches that I have. All seem to be 2099.
I wonder if I am even going to be around to worry about it… if it were to be a real problem.

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By the way, the days of the week on calendars usually repeat every 28 years, so if your watch doesn’t support the current year, you can subtract a multiple of 28 (from the current year) and get the same days of the week for the year.
Years that are evenly divisible by 100 (but are not evenly divisible by 400) are the exception to this rule. :grin:

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This is one of the rare times where I’d actually be happy about having bluetooth on a watch. Personally, I’m not a fan, but I also reside in an area where I can get MB6 in pretty consistently.

Regarding the item you mentioned in the original post, I did a little more digging, because you got me curious, and discovered the following. If this is correct, you have the GW-M5610, which uses module 3159. As listed in the manual: https://www.casio.com/content/dam/casio/global/support/manuals/watches/pdf/31/3159/qw3159_EN.pdf

The watch is designed to update the date and day of the week automatically for the
period January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2099. Setting of the date by the time
calibration signal cannot be performed starting from January 1, 2100.

The GW-M5610 was upgraded to the GW-M5610U in the US, though it’s still listed as the GW-M5610, causing some confusion.
This watch uses the 3495 module, which, as listed in https://www.casio.com/content/dam/casio/global/support/manuals/watches/pdf/34/3495/qw3495_EN.pdf

Timekeeping :
Hour, minute, second, year, month, day,
day of the week
a.m./p.m.(P)/24-hour timekeeping
Full Auto Calendar (2000 to 2099) *

  • Year display on setting screen only.
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Just curious, what information caused you to conclude that your watch had this problem. I am genuinely curious.

To be honest, I can’t remember for the life of me where I mightve skimmed that bit of info from…I do have the 3159 model, and remember reading it off some manual, and when I had done the searching around back then, a few other individuals had verified something about the built in storage only being “good” until 2032. This was a few years ago, pre-covid. I can’t find anything on it anymore, maybe I’m just having a fruit of the loom moment.

Thanks! Worst case scenario I would’ve done this lol…thanks for the ChatGPT explanatory search, funny that it pulled up this thread lol. I guess I’ll just wait and see, because I must have my wires crossed somewhere, or I’m in an alternate reality. :melting_face:

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Thanks for the comprehensive lookup…I can’t find any reference to the 2032 “expiry”, but it was probably just a misunderstanding or misrecollection on my part.

Yeah, I thought that was funny as well. :grin: