Alta only working when on charger

[Laur6734]

My Fitbit Alta only seems to work while it is charging . I have tried to reset it several times using the button on the charger. It syncs with my phone while it charges and shows full charge. Once I remove it from the charger, it does not work at all. It won't light up when not charging and my phone can't find it at all.

Any suggestions, besides the reset?!  

[SunsetRunner]

Oh well, looks like I'm not the only one.

Was given this by our club as an incentive. Straight out of the box and it will only work when plugged in.

As soon as it is unplugged it dies.

And yes, I've tried it all.

Never mind, no such thing as a free lunch but It does not inspire me to buy any other Fitbit products, nor recommend them.

[cjgbl]

Same thing here. Brand new Alta, the 2. in 5 weeks that doesn't work when disconnected from charger. I've had it and will change to another brand.

[rpkhanna]

Fitbit DID it INTENTIONALLY so that they can make you buy a new product!! Isn't it surprising that so many people are facing this issue? Once off the charger, the display works as long as you keep playing with it (i tried doing it for continuous 10 mins and it seemed to work fine) but as soon as you stop and the display goes off, it never turns on again! From what I can tell, it is a simple software bug and probably brought in INTENTIONALLY to force users to buy a new one by offering them a 25% discount. DO NOT BUY FITBIT again.

[Jackiebb]

I’m having the same issue 

[Kriker]

Same issue with my alta and judging by the responses here, fb customer service is crap.  I won't buy another, even with 25% off

[kaeperry80]

Same thing as my Fitbit, what’s the solution

[cjgbl]

There is no solution. Throw it away and never buy Fitbit again.

[a_presutto]

There isn't a solution next time buy a Samsung watch

Sent from my iPhone

[cjgbl]

👍

[kaeperry80]

Ok I will never buy it again if there’s no solution to this one

[cjgbl]

👍

[Lydiamonk]

Got a brand new Apple Watch series 6 for £37! Shame for Fitbit as the discount they offer does not apply to the only similar Alta HR watch (luxe)

[cjgbl]

I wouldn’t buy the Alta HR anyhow because the ALTAs seem to be at the end of their life span.

[JSimmons33]

My husband and I each got a fitbit; one died completely after less than a year for no obvious reason (Support Team couldn’t help) and the other after 1.5 years only works on charger (again, Support Team couldn’t help). Then we got an Apple Watch and also a similar watch from Fossil, and both have already outlived the fitbits.

[cjgbl]

Well, I think, that the Fitbit Alta has reached the end of its lifecycle. The batteries are just too old now. And as you can’t change them you can throw away the whole device.

[catherine2828]

Same!! Mine only worked for a year and a half and now only works on the charger!! So frustrating!!

[JoB13]

I wonder if something happened in the last week. My Alta HR suddenly will not work when off the charger. I've reset it multiple times, cleaned the contacts, removed the device from the app and added it again, tried different USB ports and power sources and even tried putting the device in the freezer (as one forum suggested). Nothing has worked and I don't see any evidence that Fitbit is working to resolve this apparently common and known issue. I love my fitbit and am very disappointed that I need to now shop for a different brand of fitness tracker. I'm hesitant to buy another fitbit if I'm going to have the same problem. Fitbit: what is being done to solve this problem?

[cjgbl]

They are not going to solve the problem. They want you to buy a new device. Seems to be policy. So I’d probably changed to another brand.

[howardc64]

Got an Alta thats doing this. Opened it up and found a couple of things. Posting an update here in case someone has more info.

- Swapped the battery with another 3.7v LiON, same behavior so I figure its not the battery

- Open it up and took some voltage readings when not charing. The 1.8v rail is not present so internal computer isn't running. Thats why it doesn't work and boots up on charger

- Can trace the battery voltage to the MAXIM PMIC (Power Management IC) labeled Cap A on the linked diagram below

- Either the PMIC has internal failure, or 1 of 4 near battery components has failure (Cap A, Cap B, resister or thermistor). Cap A has no short on my Alta.

Thermistor is part of the circuit that monitor's battery temperature. This probably explains why some people have had success with freezers.

PMIC supplier don't provide detailed data sheet without corporate NDA so can't make any further informed effort. Perhaps I'll remove the resistor and thermistor (or short the path) and see what happens 🙂

Tear down showing MAXIM PMIC Fitbit Alta Teardown (techinsights.com)

PMIC overview MAX14676/MAX14676A-Wearable Charge Management Solution (maximintegrated.com)

Measured Values link

[howardc64]

Removed the resistor and thermistor on the CAP/TRM line on PMIC. Resistor measured 0 OHM, thermistor is open. None NDA summary data sheet for the actual PMIC on Alta provides no spec for the values for these. Both seems wrong but neither shows any damage. Following generic MAXIM note on NTC thermistors (not for this product but perhaps similar) suggest these 2 components are part of the linearizing network. 

Using Thermistors in Temperature Tracking Power Supplies (maximintegrated.com)

Alta will not boot in charger with the 0 OHM resistor removed. And same behavior (only boot /run on charger) with it installed. Removing thermistor doesn't change anything and don't have a replacement to try. There are also different specs for NTC thermistors (diff resistance value depending on temperature) so don't know which one to try. Perhaps a mid range part if had one on hand

But the Alta runs indefinitely even off charger if display is kept on by repeatedly tapping it. This suggest PMIC is fully functional on battery power and fault is in the display sleep portion of the software. Some commented this occurred after a firmware update. Perhaps fitbit changed the firmware to shutdown if detecting something irregular (say problems with battery monitoring but forgot the case when its on the charger) We don't really have a way of knowing. Since there are no design documents from fitbit, no way to downgrade firmware, and low disposable price... perhaps this mystery will just remain that and unfortunately end up as landfill.