Fitbit Alta doesn't work unless plugged in to charger although battery shows at full

[AngieBrown]

My Fitbit is nearly 3 years old and working fine then suddenly the display was lost, activity tracking and synching and although on checking the battery is full. Display and synching only possible when the Fitbit is plugged in through charger

[AndreaFitbit]

Welcome to the forums @AngieBrown. It´s nice to see new faces around. I´ll be glad to assist you with your Fitbit Alta display inquiry. Thank you for letting us know that battery is full.

I went ahead and created a case on your behalf and a customer support representative will contact you soon. Please check your email.

Let me know how it goes and if you have more questions. 

[taymelia]

I am experiencing the exact same issue.

I have tried resetting it but it only displays when plugged in and I tap it.

it doesn’t sync, display or hold the battery charge.

thank you

[AndreaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @taymelia! I´ll be glad to assist you with your Fitbit display not turning on inquiry. 

I also created a case for you and you´ll be contacted soon. 

Please let me know if you need further assistance. 

[kiwigirlsa]

I am having the exact same issue with my Alta. Suddenly nothing would appear on the screen. When I plugged it in to check charge it was fully charged and could tap through display and sync to app but as soon as I unplugged it, the screen went dead again

[AngieBrown]

It seems that nothing can be done unless it’s within its 2 year warranty which is a shame. Mine was only between 2-3 years old. I wonder how often this happens.

Angela

Sent from my iPhone

[taymelia]

I think it happens often. The same thing happened to my husband’s.
His was another style. Mine was an Alta.

Sent from my iPhone

[AngieBrown]

Thanks - not very satisfactory! If it’s common it ought to be recognised as a fault even though it shows up outwith the 2 year warranty. May be I’ll try and pursue. A

[taymelia]

I agree.

[AndreaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @kiwigirlsa. I'll be glad to assist you with your Fitbit Alta display inquiry. Thank you for explaining what is happening with your device. 

Could you please confirm that you have already restarted your device?

@taymelia, thank you for your comments. Please let us know how did it go with support. 

@AngieBrown, I appreciate your feedback. We don't want to create frustration in our customers. Fitbit has been designed to provide motivation and help you to reach your daily goals to success. Please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on what you share here.

Keep on visiting the forums. 

[AngieBrown]

Yes I have done that. It’s frustrating that it works when plugged in but for only a few seconds when the charger is unplugged.

A

[theredhare]

I too am having this issue.  My Alta is 18 months old.  For some time I had to practically hit the screen to get it to show.  Then it started shutting off when I wouldn't wear it at night and I couldn't get it to restart unless I plugged it in.  It would show full or nearly full battery.  Then it would shut off when I was wearing it and if I plugged it in, it would reset to the last time I was able to sync it (usually a day or two before).  I had this issue once before and I was told it was the charging cable, so I purchased a new one from FitBit.  Now I can't restarted my Alta as the new cable HAS NO BUTTON.  Nothing seems to work.  

[AngieBrown]

It’s interesting that quite a few people are reporting this problem having listed my message. I’ll continue to speak to the Fitbit team - thanks.

Sent from my iPhone

[kiwigirlsa]

Hi,

Yes I have tried to restart my Alta but nothing happens

Sent from Julie’s iPhone

[AngieBrown]

Dear Andrea,

It seems that quite a few people are having this same issue - some even before the two year warranty is up. It thus sounds like a fault to me and if my Fitbit is faulty, surely it should be replaced. I look forward to hearing from you.

[AndreaFitbit]

Thanks for getting back to us @AngieBrown. I´m sorry to hear about your frustration.

You were offered a discount because your tracker was out of warranty, you can read the Returns and Warranty policy so you can have a better understanding of the response offered by our Support Team. 

Our discount is an option that can be considered if our customers want to stay within the Fitbit family, I'd like to encourage you to check all the new trackers we have in the store in case that you're interested.

@theredhare, I got in touch with our support team and they informed me that they already assisted you. 

@kiwigirlsa, thank you for troubleshooting this issue with us. I went ahead and created a case on your behalf. A customer support representative will contact you soon. Please check your email. 

Keep on visiting the forums.

[MMP-21]

Hello

My Alta Fitbit has also stopped working, being completely blank and not synching. 

I managed to get it working very briefly while connected to my laptop via the charger.  It is fully charged and synced only for a short while.  

I removed the device and added it again to my phone, but still I can only get it to work briefly when initially attached to the charger that is plugged into my laptop.

Interesting to see quite so many Altas with the same fault!  My Alta is over two years old (Christmas 2016), so outwith the guarantee too...

[theredhare]

Yes, I have been in touch with customer service. They sent me a new charger to see if I could reset my Alta. I’ll let you all know what that does

Sent from my iPad

[Percelle]

My Alta has been having the exact same issue.  The only difference is when I try to charge mine (even leaving it on the charger overnight), it never reaches full battery - only about 4/5 charged.  The screen only lights up when it is plugged in, but the screen goes black as soon as I remove it from the charger.  I'm so upset.. I really loved my Fitbit. 

[hutchsa]

I am having the same problem with my Alta. My alarm went off this morning then nothing. I could not get the screen to come on. When I plugged it into my computer the screen would light but no steps had recorded for the day. Battery full, reset was done and as soon as unplugged it goes black.