Fitbit Alta suddenly turning off

[G.Kristin]

Ever since I did the update  I've noticed my Alta all of a sudden shuts off with no warning. Every time the battery is on yellow but not dead. I get nothing on the screen and it stops syncing. I mainly use it for phone or text notifications so not having it working with no warning is a problem. I am able to restart it by plugging it in. But that option is not always available. It never did that before the update. Now I regret doing the update. 

Moderator edit: Updated title for clarity

[Ellen07]

So mine shut off earlier today and I charged it.  Then less than 6 hours later did it again. Syncing again for the 2nd time today.  Both times battery shows 75% when plugged in and app says the battery is full. No longer get battery notifications on my phone so no idea going to die.  Usually get a vibration like I hit my 10000 steps before it shuts off. It used to be every 4-5 days before I had to charge it but not even 8 hours is ridiculous,

[denamo]

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@Ellen07 wrote:
So mine shut off earlier today and I charged it.  Then less than 6 hours later did it again. Syncing again for the 2nd time today.  Both times battery shows 75% when plugged in and app says the battery is full. No longer get battery notifications on my phone so no idea going to die.  Usually get a vibration like I hit my 10000 steps before it shuts off. It used to be every 4-5 days before I had to charge it but not even 8 hours is ridiculous,

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When Fitbit shuts down, and I plug in, I get the same 75% battery icon showing on the Fitbit screen. 

[Lynnieflynnie]

I have had the same thing happened to my Fitbit Alta.  In last few weeks it has had trouble syncing with my iPhone. And then about 3 days ago it went dead even though I was sure it didn't need charging. I charged it all day - and it went dead the next day I charged it (all day/night) it went dead yesterday after about 3 hours on my arm!. It is 2 years and 2 months old. I presumed it was inbuilt obsolescence. 

To hear everyone having the same problem - even with a newly purchased Fitbit Alta makes me very wary of purchasing a new one. I am so reliant on my Fitbit Alta  - it becomes part of your life.

I don't want to change brands but I may have to - i don't have the patience that a lot of others have. I don't want to be charging the battery twice a day and praying it works - and missing steps the whole time!

[DeborahDarlene]

Hi, I reset my Fitbit 3xs and also refreshed my Fitbit App on my phone plus made sure I had my phone set to keep updates on the Fitbit....this may have been the issue for me..  Mine is working well now.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

[GJBA]

I am having the same issues and have not been able to get any help getting
this resolved for some time. I just stopped wearing it because I could not
keep track of my distance or anything else. I got so frustrated when I
called and was walked through the same steps that I had gone through before
calling. When I initially started to chat with FITBIT I recommended
escalating this to engineering because the issue appears to be FIRMWARE
related. I think I know something after working for an IT company for 15
years.!!! Keep us posted on any positive changes. Thanks







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[DeborahDarlene]

I thought I fixed my issue with the Alta....it worked one day! 🤔

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

[IrenaIvanova]

My stopped working too, exactly the same way after the update. It is now charging but stays at 75% and when it is off the charger it goes dead. It is absolutely  unuseful and I'm totally upset, because it was very important part of my living. Please, do something.

[Ellen07]

Charged all night but still showing the wavy lines like it's being charged

[denamo]

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@Ellen07 wrote:
Charged all night but still showing the wavy lines like it's being charged

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I've had the same experience. What I have to do is a reset at that point to get the full battery icon showing on the Alta.  Of course within 15 -20 hours when the Alta reaches a 75% level it will still shut down.  Be prepared.  

It's all very frustrating.

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hi everyone! Great to have you in the Community Forums! 🙂

For those who are new to the thread or for those who are not aware, I'd like to let you know that this is a problem that has been reported to our team and as soon as I have any update, I'll be sure to let you know.

Thanks a lot for your reports and for your patience with this and if you have any other concerns, let me know, I'll be happy to help!

[denamo]

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@FerdinandFitbit wrote:

Hi everyone! Great to have you in the Community Forums! 🙂

For those who are new to the thread or for those who are not aware, I'd like to let you know that this is a problem that has been reported to our team and as soon as I have any update, I'll be sure to let you know.

Thanks a lot for your reports and for your patience with this and if you have any other concerns, let me know, I'll be happy to help!

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Thanks, Ferdinand.  As you can tell, we are all very anxious for resolution.  Do appreciate you posting from time to time.

[PattyinVA]

I am still experiencing issues even after that last app update. I also agree this seems like a firmware issue and not an app issue. 

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[G.Kristin]

Ok, so I contacted support again as my alta shut off again. It was at 25% and not dead. This is the response i got. They still seem to think it is a battery depletion problem. It's not. It's a firmware issue. It should not be shutting off at 25% or 33% or even 75% 

We would like to recommend that you minimize the use of the following features:

• Frequently checking the Fitbit app, which syncs your tracker
• Receiving notifications
• Frequently checking your stats
• Using Quick View.

And for us to get the data of your battery drain, please do the battery drain test by following the steps below:

• Fully charge the Surge.
• Sync your tracker for 5-6 times a day.
• Wear your tracker until it fully depleted.

[denamo]

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@G.Kristin wrote:

Ok, so I contacted support again as my alta shut off again. It was at 25% and not dead. This is the response i got. They still seem to think it is a battery depletion problem. It's not. It's a firmware issue. It should not be shutting off at 25% or 33% or even 75% 

We would like to recommend that you minimize the use of the following features:

• Frequently checking the Fitbit app, which syncs your tracker
• Receiving notifications
• Frequently checking your stats
• Using Quick View.

And for us to get the data of your battery drain, please do the battery drain test by following the steps below:

• Fully charge the Surge.
• Sync your tracker for 5-6 times a day.
• Wear your tracker until it fully depleted.

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The problem with wearing the Fitbit until fully depleted, is mine never totally depletes.  It shuts off after about 15 hours,  and when plugged in shows it a 75% battery icon. 

[Ellen07]

Okay so then why when I do these things it still shuts off?  Tuesday I charged it as it shut off at 75% only to have it do it again like 6 hours later.  Then charged it all night only to have it just show wavy lines the next day.  Finally go it to charge completely last night .  App always shows medium to full battery when this happens.

[FerdinandFitbit]

You're very welcome @denamo, I am too eager to get this resolved and I truly appreciate your comprehension on the matter.

Thank you all for your reports, they're very valuable for our team while they investigate what is going on.

@PattyinVA, I don't really think it's a firmware update as there has not been an update for the Alta in a while, only app updates.

Thank you all for your patience while we investigate this. Anything else you may need, I'm always around!

[denamo]

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@Ellen07 wrote:
Okay so then why when I do these things it still shuts off?  Tuesday I charged it as it shut off at 75% only to have it do it again like 6 hours later.  Then charged it all night only to have it just show wavy lines the next day.  Finally go it to charge completely last night .  App always shows medium to full battery when this happens.

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I have to go through the reset procedure after charging since the battery icon on the Alta will only show wavy lines and a 75% charge.  The battery icon will then show a full charge.  However, it will still shut down approximately 15 hours later and shows a 75% battery icon when plugged in to charge. I'm currently not wearing mine since it does no good. 😞

[LoveMyAlta]

It was Firmware update from earlier in the year for me. It was a long time before I actually did the firmware update that my computer had been bugging me about.

[PattyinVA]

The last app update did not fix it, even though it was promised to fix it. How hard is this to test?  
I do not think it is an app issue be abuse if I turn off everything in the app, the charge still does not last on my fitbit. This tells me the problem lies with the Fitbit itself and not the app.  

Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[DaveS1973]

I've also had similar issues. It turned off at half charge as I got to work. I lost a days steps as my charger was at home. 

I charged it fully and did the reset but now I've got the battery symbol on permanently at 3/4 with the animation that it's still charging! 

It's counting steps but not the activity times. I've done 2 x 20 minutes walks at work and a 45 minutes walk with my dog. It's showing 37 minutes. 

I've just upgraded my phone to Huawei P20 pro and I'm considering a smart watch too. Is fitbit compatible with Huawei smart watch? 

Thanks in advance.