Alta randomly turns off

[ski_n_surf]

Lately my Alta has been randomly turning off during the day. It is fully charged. Today around noon I checked it with no issues, and then again 5 mins later and it would not turn on. This has happened a few times lately, its just over a yr old. When I get home to plug it in, it shows the Fitbit logo and starts up, still showing a full battery. It does not track steps while it is turned off. How can I prevent this from happening, as it defeats the purpose of the device!!

Thanks 🙂

[Pjpell]

In that nearly all of the shut down issues happen to Altas out of warranty, I find your posts a little patronizing.  You are giving people the hope that Fitbit will offer more than just to 25 percent discount on a new tracker.  We jump through hoops proving the trackers have a defect, and Fitbit gets what? Data to use to (hopefully) improve future trackers?   And if we decide to stay with Fitbit, we get to spend more money, what?, every 2 yrs or so?  Hmmm, hardly seems equal...
Sent from my Boost phone.

Moderator edit: Removed ad

[Crick13Furr]

I think you misunderstood me.   I am not pleased with the fact that my Fitbit Alta died after only 2 years.  I did everything I could to get it to work normally but it just wouldn't hold a charge.   I don't find other trackers to be right for me because they are just too large and I have extremely small wrists.   Fitbit offered me 25% to replace my Alta.   I didn't want to have to buy a new one since I feel like everybody else that the batteries should be replaceable or last longer.  I never stated that they would offer any more than that after the warranty expired,  and I wasn't even sure that I would be able to get even that.  But I have been a Fitbit user since their tracker and liked them and have a medical situation that requires that I track certain aspects of my body's performance to provide to my doctor.  I believe you read someone else's response that stated their positive experience.   But, it was not mine.  I had to buy another tracker and didn't want to. So, don't direct your anger at me.

[MaginB]

Hi there @Pjpell @Crick13Furr! 

I totally understand your frustration to this matter. Thanks for all the feedback,  Fitbit continuously works to improve the quality of products and services, and all this information is useful to our team of developers.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience. 

[dragonbreath505]

I agree with PjPell that the Fitbit moderators on this community board are patronizing and are not considering how frustrating it is to have invested in a product that only lasts about 2 years.  I noticed that the postings for this thread started in 2016.  Now it is 2 years later and the Fitbit users are still having the same problem.  If Fitbit (the company) was really concerned and paying attention to the complaints the postings would be minimal, not increasing.

I, too, have the same problem with my Fitbit Alta turning off without warning.  I did my research and tried:

1.  Charging and resetting my Fitbit several times

2.  Made sure I had the latest firmware installed

3.  Contacted Fitbit Support and followed their instructions for their "test"

4.  Provided Fitbit Support with my "test" results

Unfortunately for me, my Fitbit is over the 2 year mark so I did not "qualify" for either a replacement battery or device.  What did I get back from Fitbit Support?  An offer of 25% discount (that others apparently also received) for the purchase of another, more expensive (and unreliable) Fitbit device!

From all the similar problems reported by other users on this and other Fitbit Boards, you would think that Fitbit would get the picture that there is an issue with their device.  Since they are so clueless and are NOT doing anything to improve on their product, I will do what PjPell plans to do -- look for another device to help me track my activity.  My suggestion to those who are "stuck", I recommend that you save your money and invest in a non-Fitbit device that is RELIABLE.

In the meantime, my Fitbit Dashboard has all kinds of blank spots and are also missing steps.  I went back to using apps on my iPhone X until I find another wearable device to track my activity.  If I had bought another Fitbit that would fail again in two years, I could have spent that money on a reliable iWatch.  I think that that will be my next device.  It is too bad because I had purchased three other as gifts to family (daughter and her husband) and a friend.  Now I will be embarrassed when their Fitbit fails, too.

[danicake]

This is the exact problem I'm facing as well and it's ironic how it's starting to happen to everyone as well.  My alta would randomly shut off whenever I reached my step goal or got any alert, but now it's just randomly throughout the day. It really sucks because it doesn't track when it's off and the only way to turn it back on is plugging it in. I can't do that when I'm out of the house! Ughhh.

[FerdinandFitbit]

@dragonbreath505, Thanks a lot for taking the time to share your feedback with us!

I'm very sorry about this situation and thanks a lot for the understanding! If you'd like to take advantage of the discount, feel free to let me know and I'll be happy to help you out with the process!

@danicakeI'm sorry you're having problems with your tracker not working as it should too 😕

I noticed that the Support Team is already helping you out with this, so if you need any more help, let me know and I'll be happy to check and help you out!

[Pjpell]

I don't understand how you can reply that the Alta battery shut down issue is surprising.  I have been posting about this for a couple months (although I have been experiencing it for a lot longer!).  And since posting, my inbox is flooded with other Alta owners experiencing the exact same problem.  You make is sound like Fitbit has never heard of this until now and frankly, I find that insulting. We all paid good money for our Alta trackers.  We all bought them believing they would last longer than the 2 yrs we are barely getting out of them.  And for Fitbit to dismiss us (after making us run through the paces of "testing" to prove the problem) by hiding behind our expired warranty periods is unconscionable.  Some of the poorest customer service I have ever experienced.  Their product is defective (although they claim they are not responsible for defects).  The batteries are failing at a rapid rate. The batteries ARE NOT replaceable.  We, the consumer, are SOL, UNLESS, we'd like to take advantage of their ever so generous 25% discount on a new Alta that will most likely fail just as this one did.  I realized that the general public might not think to check out the Community to see what reviews might be out there about the Alta, so I decided to post my review over on Amazon's site.  And I will look for other posting options as well to warn potential buyers of what they can expect should they invest.  I would encourage those having problems to consider doing the same thing.

[Crick13Furr]

I am not a moderator for the group.   I am a user like yourself who got slammed by a product that I expected to last longer than 2 years.  I need a tracker to monitor certain matters for my medical care.  The large trackers are meant for people with large bone structures and are not comfortable on me.  So, the size of the tracker matters to me and Fitbit fits my needs for now until I find a suitable replacement.   I hope that all manufacturers realize that for the price, 2 years is not acceptable. 

[dragonbreath505]

FerdinandFitbit,

I don't see how you can say that "the Support Team is already helping you out with this" when they did nothing other follow the same basic steps (recharge, reset, reset, reset) that I already TOLD them that I had done BEFORE I contacted them.  After I explained AGAIN what steps I had followed, they sent me a "test".  I was under the mistaken impression that it would be some technical or software tool.  No!  It was just an email with a list of the SAME BASIC STEPS that I had ALREADY DONE BEFORE I contacted Support!  Then, they had the gall to say, "sorry" and couldn't do anything for me (not even offer to change the battery), but offer a measly 25% discount on the purchase of another UNRELIABLE Fitbit.  Oh, AND I had to take advantage of the discount within the next few days!  Why in the world would I spend more money on something that lasts 2 years?!?  I would rather spend my money on a reliable device like the iWatch.  What a **ahem**ic way to run a company by ignoring and not caring about their customers.  Please READ and TAKE NOTICE of what all your customers are posting on this Community Post.  It is insulting to use your canned message in reply to frustrated customers.

Great idea!  I will also post to Amazon about my experience with my Fitbit Alta.

Moderator edit: Merged replies

[danicake]

You're taking my post out of context. I meant it as it's ironic how everyone's alta is defective. It makes me wonder if fitbit purposely makes a defective product to grip customers into buying products routinely. I didn't mean it disrespectfully to any other fitbit owners out there.

I've contacted customer support as well but it's come to no solution, and the random copy pasted moderater messages on these forums do absolute nothing other than patronize the customers. 

Your suggestion to warn others on amazon is a good idea and i'll be doing that as well.

[psmp98]

Ok, so now I know...I have only been using my Alta for 2 weeks. The first week was "ok". One of the things that I was very interested in was my sleep patterns. After the first night, I have not gotten a good reading. My tracker shuts down sometime during the night. Now, the last few days it has started doing it several times during the day. The only way I can get it going again is to plug it in and reset it. Battery is showing as full or near full at a times, as I have been charging it daily, thinking that was the problem. I wish I had seen some of these negative reports on Amazon, it would probably have changed my mind and saved me some money!

[christib]

It shouldn't start until year 2...not week 2. They will replace it outright for that if they can't resolve it/find a cause.


ChristiSent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S7.

[psmp98]

  It did it again last night, or rather early this morning. What steps do I need to take to get a replacement?

[dragonbreath505]

psmp98,

Contact Fitbit's Customer Support and give them specific information.  A replacement Fitbit will depend upon whether the 1-year warranty is in place.  Good luck.

[FerdinandFitbit]

Thank you all for taking the time to share your feedback and thoughts with us! I totally understand your frustration.

At the moment, if any user is already out of the warranty, as much as I would like to offer something else, I can't offer other than what the Support Team has already offered.

@Crick13Furr, thanks a lot for your feedback! 

@psmp98, I'm sorry to hear you're having problems with this. I've escalated your case to the Support Team for them to check it out and see what would be your options right now. Please, keep an eye on your inbox for more instructions!

[GJBA]

Who do  I have to speak with to get this issues addressed? I have chatted with tech but NO SOLUTION I have had days where it stops working SIX times a  day on a full charge..

[christib]

If it's out of warranty, there is nothing you can do but get a new one. If in, they should send a new one.
After getting my new one(paid for it), I think it's less about being broken and more about the battery life/number of charges/etc. They last about 2 years. I think some of the battery life icons were false and it was really lower as it was going. Just wish they said that so we knew what to expect. Probably have less grumpy customers when they die!


ChristiSent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S7.

[GJBA]

If they are supposed to last only two years with limited charges the company needs to disclose this information. If I have to replace my second FITIBIT  it will not be with a third FITBIT as the company does not appear to be very responsive. All they seem to want to do is give you a discount on the purchase of another unit.  The sad thing is that I know that I am not the only one that is having this issue. It could be fixed with creating NEW/UPDATED FIRMWARE that could be downloaded onto all the FITBIT to address this issue and they would keep happy customers. Now they have BAD PR and customers that will not return if they replace the units with other product. 

[AdrianeT]

My alta is 2 yrs old and started to shut down in the past 2 weeks, randomly and when the battery was fully charged - like today, I left it charging for the night and I check in the morning, and it was fully charged, but by the time I got to work, Alta was off, and i did not have my charger with me ... I came into the forum to see if anyone else was having the same issue and very disappointed I am to see that issue has been around since 2017 and Alta has not done anything ... I am done with fitbit ... not the first time I have issue and already had a replacement sent to me before ... going to look for other options as clearly fitbit is not reliable anymore.

[GJBA]

 I agree that I am having the same issue, maybe this needs to be escalated in Fitbit   to give them an opportunity to address and resolve the issue.

Please, escalate this ongoing issue to your highest level of technical support to address issue as it appears it is a "known issue"

Moderator edit: Merged replies, format