Fitbit Alta battery draining in a few hours

[LouiseR72]

In last couple of days my Alta battery is draining within a couple of hours where previously lasted several days.  Have tried resetting but still same problem.

Moderator edit: Updated title for clarity

[Cowgirlchic]

You know? Mine has been doing this since the last update! I think it has to do with the update, not with how old the device is. Mine is about three years old now and this is the first time anything anywhere close to this has happened! I removed the Alta from my account and completely re-set it up a few minutes ago. I will update later on whether it solved my problem or not.

[CindyLouWho22]

@Cowgirlchic 

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I'm not sure that it's related to updates. I made a decision way back not to update my device because so many people had problems with one of the updates. So I figured mine was working and I wasn't going to apply updates. I'm glad to know yours is still working after 3 years though. That gives me hope 🙂

[Cowgirlchic]

Just keep your hope alive, girl!

That has completely solved my problem! My Fitbit works just fine now! Maybe y'all should try it and tell me how your experience was! (previous post above)

Moderator edit: Merged replies

[elsien]

Mine does the exact same thing. I called support and they wanted me to clean the charge site.  Still the same problem so they are offering a 40% discount to buy a new one.   No thanks

[Cowgirlchic]

Maybe the problem with yours is that it needs an update. Maybe it quit working because it needs updated.

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hi there everyone! Good to see you around!

@Lisariv76, thanks for doing that. I've gone ahead and escalated your case to the Support Team for them to help you out. Please, keep an eye on your inbox for more instructions. Let me know if you need more help!

@CindyLouWho22, please, even if the battery drains really fast, please try it out. This is mostly to be able to see how the battery behaves and for our team to be able to see the logs and continue from there.

@Cowgirlchic that sounds great! Thanks for sharing this with us. While this could not be the same problem affecting everyone, it could work for some, so hopefully they will find it helpful.

If you guys need more help, please, let me know!

[MGosho]

So my alta hr has done the same thing, now a full charge doesn't get me 8 hours.  I've reset it, tried to remove and re-add it to the app, but no luck. Any other fixes that people have found to work? 

[the3amigos]

@CindyLouWho22 wrote:.

@MaginB  I've read all of these tips and articles. The issue is not that the Alta is not charging. It charges fine and shows a full charge but does not hold a charge. I'm still at 2 days on a charge, so it hasn't declined any more since I last posted. Maybe it will make it to two years before I have to consider a replacement 🙂

Mine does the same but drains in 20 minutes from a full charge. I've done all the steps to try to fix it but no help. I can't seem to get an answer as to how long the Alta HR is "supposed" to last. I honestly think 18 months is a very short lifespan

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[Lisariv76]

As an update, I jumped through all the hoops to troubleshoot this problem. Customer service asked me to jump through more hoops when my “case” was opened and provided no help or answers. I was offered a small discount on the purchase of another one. But, honestly, who wants to spend more money on Fitbits when they just keep breaking?

[SeaHero]

I am having same issue with my Fitbit Alta from past couple of months. I contacted customer support, and did reset and cleaned it, updated settings but nothing helped.

Also I see lot of issues, like it displays different timezone, not syncing steps to current day and so on.

After charging it completely, it died after few hours, then when I connected to charger it was showing 6.4k steps, when I synced it the steps got erased and it shows zero steps for today, also yesterday's steps got modified to 6.4k instead of 9k.

[elsien]

I had similar problems and it seems to be very common. I considered mine dead and vowed to never get fitbit again. Then I saw the newest charge 3 and succumbed. So far its good but I wonder if this one will have similar issues. I think all the devices have a lifetime of 2 -3 years max.

Good luck. I did removed the device then added it back and that seems to work but only for so long...

[CindyLouWho22]

Oddly enough after originally posting, my Alta started holding a charge for 4 to 5 days again. I don’t know how long this will last! Someone suggested applying an update, but I’ve read of too many people whose Fitbit was bricked by an update, so I have never applied one in 2 years. I do, however, update the app.

[the3amigos]

I've applied updates each time I received notifications to do so. Not sure if that's a problem or not. I did see a post on the app Community (on my phone) where someone has had her Alta for 4 years without a problem. Others have stated that they've had theirs for 2 or 3 years and counting.

I did what you suggested when I first had problems with the battery drain. Didn't help, unfortunately.

Moderator edit: Merged replies

[Mrsmui]

Experiencing the same issue - I’m down to a few hours now- I have had my Alta for about 18 months. What is the expected battery life?  My Alta has slowed down step counting - not recording accurately and I’ve stopped receiving emails  for  low battery levels. 

I have  just checked my Alta and it is not charging at all ! Any solutions please TIA Steph. 

[SeaHero]

Even I am not getting battery related emails.

I have auto update settings for app and fitbit alta.

Everything worked fine for about 15 months. Then having many issues with Alta.

There are other Fitbits at my home.... Flex and Alta HR. 

Flex is almost 3 years old, it still works perfect.

Alta HR is 1 year old, works perfect.

But Alta which is about 18 months old and many issues. I lost few challenges because of Battery and sync issues with Alta.

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hi there guys @the3amigos @SeaHero @Mrsmui, great to have you in the Forums! 🙂

I'm sorry to hear that you're still having problems with the battery on your Alta draining faster than it should. I can recommend putting your tracker to charge and once it's fully charged, take it off the charger and put it on. Sync it and use it as you would normally do. Make sure to sync it frequently after this (every one or two hours at least) so that the battery levels are recorded on the app logs and once the battery dies, let me know so that I can take a closer look and then we can move forward with other options to get you back on track.

[Dhiam]

I am having the same issue with my Fitbit Alta. I started using it new out of the box in June of 2018. It started having issues In early January of 2019. It vibrates and dies halfway through the day and I exercise at night, so there is no way to track it. I have tried cleaning the charging contacts, resetting, charging, etc.

[Mrsmui]

Thanks for getting back to me. I installed my fitbit app and reinstalled it . My fotbigveorked really well for 6 days and noscitvhad died again . When charging it get wavey lines instead if a block charge indicator. Anyway appreciate any help. Kind regards 

[the3amigos]

The battery was draining in 20 minutes, so I wouldn't have been able to do this. The battery no longer charges at all.

[Jeff80534]

I'm having the same problem. Just started today.