Fully charged Alta. Will not turn on unless charging after new update.

[mandynicole]

The last time I fully charged my Alta, I synced it and realized there was a new update. I updated it and hours later when I tapped it to check my steps, the display wouldn't turn on at all. I tried syncing it and it couldn't find it. I plugged it back into the charger and it restarted, but was fully charged. I've tried restarting it, multiple times. As soon as it's disconnected from the charger and the display turns off I am not able to get the display to turn back on. Which also means it doesn't track any of my steps. I really think the update has made my fitbit completely unusable. 😞

[Ember3324]

Worked 3 hours then crashed

[Dew98]

Mine is still dead. Tried deleting and doing a hard reset and still dead. I got an Apple Watch. I like it, but I miss my small Fitbit. 😢

Sent from my iPhone

[Cowgirlchic]

No, it has went back to what it was doing before after it got chewed up by a puppy. I don't know what the deal is. I am trying to get it to 0% battery by putting it on the charger till it turns on and then when I take it off, it stays on for a few minutes. It's a long process..... 😠

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hi everyone! Good to see you in the Fitbit Community Forums! 🙂

I'm sorry to hear you're having problems with your trackers not working properly and thanks a lot for all the troubleshooting steps you've already tried!

For those who haven't tried it yet, for this specific issue of the tracker not turning on, I'd recommend giving your Alta a quick restart. You can easily do this by clipping your tracker to the charger and plugging the charger to a USB port on your computer or a wall charger. Then, Press the button on your charging cable three times within four seconds and your tracker should vibrate and show the Fitbit logo. This will make your tracker to reboot.

@RSMitch, since you've already tried several things to no avail, I'd recommend getting in touch with our Support Team. Since this is your daughter's tracker, have her email them from her email account  that was used to register the Fitbit account to make it easier for your Support Team to get you back on track.

@Cowgirlchic, I'm sorry about that. However, if your tracker was chewed by your puppy, I don't think that will be covered under the warranty. Now, if you'd like me to escalate your case to the Support Team, let me know. They can tell you what your options are at this point.

@Birdsam, I've gone ahead and escalated your case to the Support Team for them to take a deeper look and help you out with this. Please, keep an eye on your inbox for more instructions and if you need anything else, I'm here to help!

@Ember3324, I checked with the Support Team and it seems they've already helped you out with this. Let me know if you need anything else!

I anyone need more help with this, let me know!

[Snowpuf22]

Mine does the same thing recently I updated my Fitbit and it does the same thing 

[Cowgirlchic]

Well, FerdinandFitbit, I guess you could try it! I haven't contacted them yet, but I wasn't sure that they could help me since I've tried just about everything. But, yes. Please send my case to the support team.

Yeah, I totally understand Snowpuf22! Mine did the same thing and I thought I had gotten it to work right but a few days later it was back to how it was b4. No one knows what the issue is except for the fact that it happened after the update.

Moderator edit: Merged replies

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[FerdinandFitbit]

@Snowpuf22 welcome to the Forums and I'm sorry you're having problems with this. Have you tried my suggestion of restarting your tracker? How did it go?

@Cowgirlchic, I've gone ahead and escalated your case to the Support Team for them to help you out with this. Please, keep an eye on your inbox for more instructions and if you need anything else, I'm always around!

[sriraja]

I have Fitbit Alta. It is not syncing with phone app. No matter how much I try to reboot the device, immediately after plugging it out from charging cable it shows no activity. Dead like a piece of metal. 

I am not at all happy with the updated version. Before updating it to V21.21.40.0 it was working absolutely fine. 

I wish I would not have updated the software version. I will regret it forever.

Kindly change the current version back to the previous one.

[William23]

I am having the same problem where it only works when on charger. Once removed it's dead and my phone can't find it. I have reset the band numerous time and have even deleted app and reinstalled. So far, nil joyjoy.. 

Model: fitbit alta

Firmware: 21.21.40.2

[JPathome]

My husband fitbit alta stopped working as well, battery would drain suddenly and not turn back on.  We disconnected it from the phone and my son is using it only connected to a PC(using the dongle that came with it) and it works somewhat better, still dies unexpectedly, but at least it turns on when not plugged in. I bought 2 new altas and they were both dead in the box, fitbit sent me 1 new one and it was also a dead battery (wont work unless plugged in). I wish fitbit would offer us something more than 25% off another fitbit.  

[Paramkour]

Totally disapponted with Fitbit. The response from support is totally useless. The only troubleshooting they do is - restart the device!!!

Do not understand how can a company like Fitbin release an update that makes tons of devices unusable???? Is there no QC team testing upgrades before release??? And after so many users have reported it - what stops them to release an upgrade specifically for such devices?

unless this is part of some sales gimmick - to push sales?

i have been loyal customer of Fitbit for years and eas never before without one. But this experience is pushing me out . Will be exploring other bands as has lost trust on fitbit.

[sriraja]

@Paramkour Sir I do feel this update was some sort of sale gimmick. To make fitbit Alta unusable so that people end up buying new versions. I hope fitbit community acknowledge this part of there plan and revert the older version which was more stable than the current one. 

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hi there guys, good to see you in the Forums! 🙂

@sriraja @William23, I've gone ahead and escalated your cases to our Support Team. Please, keep an eye on your inbox for more instructions. Let me know if you need more help!

[Iviviv]

I have the same problem too. 

Please advice next action. 

[Jules999]

My Alta will only turn on when charging, once the screen turns off after taking off charge it won't turn on again. 

[freeaf]

Same issue for me. Happened this morning. 

[Coachsdaughter]

Yep, same here. The Alta will only work on the charger, and you can reset/restart it as many times as you want, but once it comes off the charger and times out, it's dead. This is obviously a fatal flaw with the software/firmware update. Very disappointed in FitBit only offering  25% discounts on new ones, instead of offering an actual fix to everyone's Altas.

[Patty77]

I’m fully charged Alta. Will turn off and not turn back on unless placed back on it the charger for 15 minutes. I read online where you can press a reset button on your charger. I do not see a reset button. Where would I find it?

[Jules999]

Some chargers don't have a reset button on, I had to buy one, but still didn't work after resetting.. Waste of money! 

[freeaf]

The chargers that don't have reset button can still perform a reset. It's something like connect the contact points three times in succession and then you get the reset image. (I have a different device now, but that's what I recall.)