PokeWalker Battery died...but still good?

[3rd Gen Expert]

I've been getting the low battery notification on my Pokewalker on and off for the last few weeks. I thought it was odd because I recalled changing it last year but figured I was just using it a lot (and I was, relatively). It abruptly died this week, and I went to swap the battery.

When I opened it up and replaced the battery, it worked again. Out of curiosity I got out a multimeter and tested the 'bad' one, and it read '2.94V'...isn't that still great for a 3V battery? Why wasn't this working? I didn't try to put it back in, but I guess I could try.

To be clear, last year I replaced the original battery with a new Duracell 2032 battery rated for like 10 years (so until like 2032 lmao). 

Also really bothers me that inside the battery cavity it shows the '+' sign as if you are supposed to put in the battery upside down (coin battery text not readable when installed) but it clearly does not work like that.

Edited August 8, 2022 by 3rd Gen Expert