How to reset an Alta without the original charger

[Linville10]

I lost the original charger and bought one on Amazon and it doesn't have a button to restart it. Is there another way to restart my alta?

Moderator edit: Updated title for clarity

[ldavis1029]

Worked perfect

[Askham86]

I’m having the same issue my original fit bit charger to my fitbit Alta broke so I brought a new one from amazon which doesn’t have the reset button . My fit bit connects to my phone and turns on when on charge but when I remove my fitbit it doesn’t come on . Any help would be much appreciated . Thanks 

Also when I remove the fitbit the battery on the fit bit moves like it’s still charging when it’s not plugged in . Does it for about 10 seconds and then goes off and doesn’t come back on again 

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Margc2]

Plug in 3x really quick & it should work.

Sent from my iPhone

[Askham86]

Think it’s more then that as that’s not working , sometimes when I remove
the fitbit off the charger the battery still flashes that’s it’s charging
and it’s not even plugged in then it goes blank and doesn’t come on until
it’s plugged in again . Please can you help

[Juelzz]

@Margc2 Thankss for the tip! Do you have any idea if this simply reboots the device or does it also factory reset?

The Alta was my very first Fitbit device back in 2015 (I think). I've had the Charge, Charge2, Charge2 replacement, original Versa, and I recently treated myself to the Versa2 for my birthday. 

Anyway, I'm disabled and living off of disability income. I'm also in the process of moving, so by I am getting ready to sell old Fitbit devices, tablets, a laptop, and some other non-electronics. Point being, I want to factory reset my Alta before selling it to some stranger through an app like LetGo or OfferUp. 

I have the wireless dongle that came with the Alta and a brand new laptop that runs Windows10. At first the laptop wasn't even recognizing the Alta when I plugged it directly into the laptop. I had to go into the device manager and uninstall and reinstall the drivers for it. Even though it wasn't showing the device, you are able to go under Bluetooth settings and click hidden devices which will then allow you to update the drivers. Once I did all of that I was able to update the firmware for the Alta.

I'm not sure if any of this info matters or if you have any idea what I'm talking about lol. Since you seem to be the only one who has any advice that actually works, I was hoping that maybe you also knew a workaround to factory reset it 

Let me know if you can help with this.

Regardless, you've been a HUGE help to many users as far as rebooting the device without the OEM charger. So thank you - from me and the many, many people that you've helped with this.

Again, please let me know if you have any ideas regarding the factory reset. Even if you don't know for sure and you are just throwing some ideas or guesses at me.. I'm willing to try! 😉

[Margc2]

Glad it worked for you. I can’t take credit as someone from the site advised me how to reset. I have no idea if it resets it to factory or not. 
Have a great day. 

[BethieJ]

maaron not sure you will see this.. but THANK YOU ... it worked! I actually had to try it a couple times but I got it to reset with your advice!!! 

[Takito]

Hi, I've tried unplugging and replugging quickly, but it doesn't work... Anything else I could try? Thanks a lot!

[Margc2]

I have no words of wisdom for you. Make sure you clean the posts but I have no idea if that will make a difference. Good luck.

Sent from my iPhone

[seekay22]

My fitbit won't charge any more...I don't have the original cable, but Fitbit doesn't sell the cables any more. Is there another way to restart my device? 

[Juelzz]

I just requested you on Fitbit (there is no way to request you on here). But if you approve my request, I might just be able to help you out. 😉

[fluid13700]

You are my #%$@%#^ hero.

[Alleycat72]

Thank you!  This worked for my non factory charger.  Fixed my Fitbit which I thought was dead.