Alta battery charge icon always showing

[umfoofanoo]

Hello!  This is a new problem I had last night with my Alta.  I put it on the charger to charge, and when it was fully charged, I took it off.  At that time, it still showed as charging.  All day today it was tracking, but when I went to look at the time, it would first show me the battery with the lightning bolt icon first.  I have tried to restart the Alta, but it seems to not be detecting on the charger now, thus pressing the button three times in eight seconds does not give a response from the Alta.  Is there a way to fix this?  Thanks!

[Julia_G · Accepted solution]

Hi, @umfoofanoo , when your Alta shows the battery first that indicates that the charge is very low.  Even though you charged it fully yesterday, I would suggest trying one more time.  Put it on to charge in a charger you know to be working -- a cell phone charger should be fine.  Remember that if you use a computer to charge, the computer will not deliver charge while it is in sleep mode -- it needs to be awake and active.

When you are certain it has had two hours charge (even if it seems to be unresponsive) try the restart procedure again.  If nothing happens, repeat this 2 or 3 times.  Hopefully that will get you going again.

If that doesn't work, or if you get the problem again, I would get in touch with Customer Support and they can advise you further: contact.fitbit.com

Good luck and keep us posted!

[SunsetRunner]

Did charging it in a new location work for you @umfoofanoo I just encountered this problem last night and I'm still trying to figure it out!

[enecehache]

Hello community!! I've solved it! After swiming, my FitBit Alta got some water inside. First you have to open it very carefully, it is not hard to do it but be very delicate taking off the plastic that covers the display. You can search some videos on Youtube. Dry everything you can and leave it open half a day. You can help with a hair dryer but not apply too much heat. After that, close it the inverse way you did to open it. Have in mind your Alta won't be waterproof anymore as long as you don't use some kind of sealin glue. Clean the contacts in the back of the FitBit and do it with the plug also. Do it with a soft cloth and alcohol. Plug it to the charger and let it charge at least 1 hour. Do a reset if it is needed. I didn't have to. Good luck!!

[Julia_G]

@enecehache and others, just to clarify, the Fitbit Alta and Fitbit Alta HR are not designed for swimming and are not waterproof.  

I am very glad that you managed to get yours going again!  An alternative to taking it apart can be to leave it in a bag of rice for several days.  The rice will absorb the water gradually, even without dismantling, and many people have found that this method can revive a Fitbit exposed to water.

The good news is that all current Fitbits on sale ARE waterproof, so you can safely swim with the Ionic, Versa family watches, Charge 3, Inspire family, and Ace 2.

I hope this helps!  Welcome to the forums.

[enecehache]

@Julia_GI've used my Alta for swimming in the sea, rivers, pools, hot tubs etc all around the world... and finally the laundry :(=). . I didn't take it off even to take a shower. I have it for 3 years and counting. I will never do it again. Thank you!