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

[denamo]

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@LoveMyAlta wrote:
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.

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I agree.  I'm more leaning toward a firmware update rather than just an app update even though we're being told that's not the case. 😞

[FerdinandFitbit]

Good to see you all around!

I'd just like to let you know that the last time that a firmware update was rolled out to Alta users was back on September 2017 and this issue started being reported on late Augusto of this year (2018), so, as I said before, I don't really think this is a firmware update issue but as soon as I have more news, I'll be sure to share it with you.

Thanks a lot for your patience with this.

[denamo]

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@FerdinandFitbit wrote:

Good to see you all around!

I'd just like to let you know that the last time that a firmware update was rolled out to Alta users was back on September 2017 and this issue started being reported on late Augusto of this year (2018), so, as I said before, I don't really think this is a firmware update issue but as soon as I have more news, I'll be sure to share it with you.

Thanks a lot for your patience with this.

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Ferdinand, OH! Sorry to buy into the firmware theory. Mine began with this current issue Sept. 15, 2018. I contacted Ftibit on Sept. 17. It's been almost a month dealing with this.  Hope they can discover the problem soon. 

[SunsetRunner]

I am having the exact same issue. It's driving me crazy to look down and randomly not be able to check the time or my step-count. I hit two years with this Fitbit Alta around the 1st of August, and started having issues about a month ago. Very frustrating! I hope a solution is found soon!

[G.Kristin]

Mine started after an update I did in August. In Sept, I called in and was told there was a new update, I did that one around Sept 10 but still have not seen results. The only way I can keep it from dying is to charge it as soon as it hits yellow. That is not always convenient. 

[Ellen07]

Mine will be 2 years at Christmas as i received it as a gift.  Charged it all night Wednesday, said "I'm ready" when I put t on in the morning only to have it die not even 12 hours later. Battery was full and solid.

[GJBA]

Sorry to hear that your ALTA is doing the same thing as mine, out of
frustration I stopped wearing mine because I could not depend on it.

I have been looking for another product to keep track of my training. I
hope that the company creates FIRMWARE to address and resolve the problem .
Purchasing a NEW one with a discount does not resolve the problem.

Congratulation if you fixed it.
What did you do the fix it? How old is it?

Moderator edit: Merged replies, removed ad

[nightdarkangel]

Support just says my Alta is broken when it went from 56% to 0% and a second time from 33% to 0% and gives a discount code for the older products. Why not just give me a code for the versa.....

[GraemeW92]

I'm no expert, but I'd suspect a firmware issue as it occurs even when not communicating with the app? ie. phone is completely turned off, bluetooth is turned off.

In the end mine was under warranty and Fitbit ended up doing the right thing and sent an Alta HR which is working fine. That one belongs to my partner. Still watching this thread though as what happens will influence whether we remain Fitbit customers when it or my Charge 2 stops working...

[Urbanna]

My problem started at 6:30 am 10-12-18. My Alta display will only work on the charger. If I tap through settings right after unplugging it on the charger, I can keep the display lit until I stop tapping. Once the display goes blank it is completely unresponsive. Every time I plug it into the charger I get the fitbit logo. My charge is at 100%. I know my Alta is out of warranty. That should not matter if this problem is happening to brand new devices. Like many others, I received a discount for a new fitbit. I was actually considering purchasing another Alta until scrolling through this 9 page thread of problems. I don't want a Charge or any other tracker. I have small wrists and the Alta is the only tracker that fits. I have the size small Alta and only have one hole until I cannot tighten the strap anymore. Any bigger tracker would not fit. I guess I'll have to find another tracker from another company. You keep saying it's not a firmware issue. Here is another list of problems it is not:

• It has nothing to do with age of the product (unless Fitbit is intentionally phasing this product out)
• It is not the battery
• It is not user error
• It is not corrected by resetting the device
• It is not corrected by removing and re-adding the device to the app
• It is not corrected by reinstalling the android app
• It is not corrected by accessing the dashboard through a computer
• It is not corrected by contacting customer support

Based on the above, why would you suggest this problem will be corrected by purchasing a new Alta?

[thelunarstar]

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@thelunarstar wrote:

• Alta Shutting off spontaneously. (3 years old age estimate. )
• When plugged in, it shows half the battery full or more.
• Occurrence (2018): Oct 14, Oct 10, Oct 02, Oct 01, Sept 29, Sept 28, Prior seems normal.
• Steps and Calories log seems to be kept in memory when it dies. Not the sleep log.
• On Oct 14 battery was fully charged and lasted about 8 hours.
• Often, when unplugged, the battery still displays as still charging.
• When dead and then plugged in, “Firmware 21.21.40.2” displays after logo.

+I’ve let it die and charged all the way.

+I’ve reset it using the button.

+I’ve reset-up the Alta on my account.

+I am charging it and trying it for the day with just one alarm and no "all-day sync."

(Thank you in advance for your help and time.)

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+Synced with both my phone and my laptop.

+Phone app is up to date.

[BelWeir]

My Fitbit has starting doing the same. It shuts down every couple of days but it has plenty of power. I have restarted it several times but it keeps happening. How do I fix it????

[Dilsher]

For my Alta, it simply turned off with no display. It is vibrating well while charging when trying to restart the device but no sign of any display on screen. It is just 20 months old and started facing this problem. Few days back with 100% charging it was shutting down all of sudden after dropping to 50%. I thought it to be common as it was reaching 2 years mark.

[nightdarkangel]

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@Dilsher wrote:

For my Alta, it simply turned off with no display. It is vibrating well while charging when trying to restart the device but no sign of any display on screen. It is just 20 months old and started facing this problem. Few days back with 100% charging it was shutting down all of sudden after dropping to 50%. I thought it to be common as it was reaching 2 years mark.

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If this was normal after the 2 year mark I put them on that self of apple then. They even stopped listening to me about the problem because they are like you have a link for a discount now go away. 

[thelunarstar]

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@thelunarstar wrote:

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@thelunarstar wrote:

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@thelunarstar wrote:

• Alta Shutting off spontaneously. (3 years old age estimate. )
• When plugged in, it shows half the battery full or more.
• Occurrence (2018): Oct 14, Oct 10, Oct 02, Oct 01, Sept 29, Sept 28, Prior seems normal.
• Steps and Calories log seems to be kept in memory when it dies. Not the sleep log.
• On Oct 14 battery was fully charged and lasted about 8 hours.
• Often, when unplugged, the battery still displays as still charging.
• When dead and then plugged in, “Firmware 21.21.40.2” displays after logo.

+I’ve let it die and charged all the way.

+I’ve reset it using the button.

+I’ve reset-up the Alta on my account.

+I am charging it and trying it for the day with just one alarm and no "all-day sync."

(Thank you in advance for your help and time.)

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+Synced with both my phone and my laptop.

+Phone app is up to date.

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• Oct 14 Charged until 7:22 pm, battery full.
• It was working when I tapped it on at 11:09 am, Oct 15, but when I tried to sync it with my phone, it would not tap on again.
• When I tapped it on, I don’t know the battery level.
• Plugged it into the computer and the logo displayed and “21.40.02"
• The battery is charging, but it says it is around 75% full.
• Synced using my laptop, Sleep log was recorded.

+ My charger button doesn't seem to work in testing the Alta vibration, yet I can reset my Alta using the button.

+ Note that I have "All-day sync" off; "Quick view" off; and only one alarm that occurs once.

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• The fitbit itself says the battery is charging and full about 75%
• But, the app says that the fitbit is fully charged.
• When unplugged, the battery still displays as still charging.

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hi there guys! Thanks a lot for your continued participation in this thread!

Thanks a lot for your reports on this matter and again, I'm very sorry about this but I don't have any update as of right now. I'll keep posting and once I have an update, I'll be sure to share it here.

Anything else, I'm always around and thanks a lot for your patience and comprehension.

[lessiehanamoray]

Just wanted to throw in that I just got my Alta yesterday, spent 5 hours getting it to actually set up and update, only to have it die on me within half an hour of wear. Recharged it and tried to wear it overnight. Dead by 2 am. 

Was really hopeful when it seemed to work today, but it just shut off again, claiming to have no battery life  

I went with Fitbit, because I had and greatly enjoyed one of the earlier versions, but given this has been happening for over a month a no one even seems to know what the problem is, I shall probably return it and look into other options. 

[Almo69]

If it says it has no battery life it sounds like a different problem. I would contact fitbit support, they'll organise a replacement for you.

If it is turning off despite having plenty of battery life then this is what we're all experiencing, and if it's happening to a brand new one then somebody ought to be listening and sorting this out for us!

Mine seems to have finally given up. It switched off overnight a couple of nights ago. I've basically had it in the charger ever since. The battery shows full on the charger, but as soon as it's removed from the charger it can't be tapped on, and it won't count steps.

Sometimes when i put it on the charger I get the fitbit symbol first, sometimes the battery logo first.

The other thing i have noted since this all started is that if the battery logo comes on first when i tap it, it isn't going to work from longer than a few minutes. If the time comes on first it's likely to be fine until around 75% charge. I had been managing by charging it almost daily, before it got anywhere near 75%. However, if I can't make it work this time I'm going to have to go elsewhere, which is a bit gutting as I've used fitbit for years now.

Moderator edit: Merged replies

[Eeyorerose]

This is exactly what’s happening to mine too! It’s a right pain! Put it on charge and the Fitbit logo comes up. Leave it to charge. Charges ok, wear it for anywhere between a few hours and a couple of days and it dies. Used to get a notification via email and the fitbit app to tell me the battery needed charging, but not had the notification for about a month now.

today it died this morning. Charged it. Wore it for 5 mins and it died. Did this several times, looked at forum, restarted it (lost count how many times now), and now it’s completely dead. 

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE sort it out an£ come up with a fix that works.

[Dilsher]

Finally got reply that it cannot be worked out after restarting. Better buy new one. This is not acceptable that the device stopped in less than 2 years.