Battery drain/Notifications - Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+

[AlessFitbit]

Fitbit Update: 09/3/2017

Our team is still actively investigating the root cause of this battery drain with Blaze and the Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+. I'm sorry that many of you are still having issues with a shorter battery life, but rest assured this is being looked at as high-priority for our team. My apologies for the inconvenience, and thank you all for your patience! I will provide an update as soon as there is more information available. In the meantime, please continue manually syncing your Blaze trackers only when needed. This will help preserve the battery-life.

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Fitbit Update: 08/14/2017

Hi everybody!

Thanks for reporting your experiences with a rapid battery drain on Blaze trackers and your Android device - Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+. Our team is aware this is affecting Blaze users and they are investigating the root cause. I will update this thread when there is more information available. 

As a temporary workaround, turn OFF "Always Connected" and the "All-Day sync" features. Make sure to manually sync your devices at least once a day.

Thanks for your patience! 

[mbs_SE]

I changed phone, from Samsung Galaxy S6 to Samsung Galaxy S8 the other day, and after that Blaze "eats" battery like crazy. 

Is there any setting I have missed, or can do? 

Before I loaded the Blaze every 6-7th day, and now 1-2 day. 

[Kalii2003]

I'm having the same issue. Glad I'm not the only one but is there a fix for this problem?

I just got my S8 a few days ago and got it to sync, notifications aren't working but that isn't a big deal for me the issue of just charging my Fitbit Blaze around 5pm yesterday and within 24 hours the battery level is about half gone is a big issue.

[PAULG4095]

I am having the same problem with my Blaze since I got my galaxy S8 plus.  My Blaze has to be charged daily.

[churst88]

Glad to know I'm not the only one. I thought my blaze was crapping out. 

[jeanadoll]

My battery is barley lasting 24 hours now.... I am glad I am not the only person having this issue! I am also glad that I looked at the forums because I thought I did something to my blaze!

[Airrunb]

Same here - lasts about 36 hours since I switched to S8.  Thought I needed a new one until I read this.

[Andi0137]

I'm having the same issue 

[joecagle77]

Is there no response yet from FITBIT??? This is a real issue

[TheWepnX]

I'm glad I'm not the only one I was ready to return my Blaze... 

[MinkCote]

Same problem here.  I got the new 7.8.401.3 firmware update at around the same time as I upgraded to the S8, so I am not sure which of the two is causing the 5ish day battery life to plummet to barely 2.

[dlboop]

I just got my S8 the other day.  I still can't get it to sync, and my Blaze started eating battery life as well.  I heard there was an issue with compatibility, but some people have at least gotten their Blaze to sync. Maybe it's still a compatibility issue?

[ThatsaFactjack]

I'm having the same issue I called and they are sending me a new Blaze because they didn't understand the problem is that the Samsung S8 and S8+ have Bluetooth 5.0, I believe that is the problem. I'm 100% sure that a new Blaze is not gonna fix the problem. I started having issues since switching to the S8+. I also contacted fitbit on twitter to let them know of the problem, instead they sent me tips of how to save battery.????????

I recommend to keep telling them about this issue. I believe it can be fix with a software update.Bluetooth 5.0 is a new technology, The S8 is the only device that have it right now. keep a eye on it, if you use headphones or other Bluetooth devices chances are that the batteries will drain fast on them too, then Bluetooth 5.0 is the problem. if so then we will have to let Samsung know. if this is happening to fitbits there is a  huge chance its happening to other devices

[mbs_SE]

I emailed the support yesterday, and get this answer:

We appreciate the information you've provided and we are happy to help you with your Blaze's battery that is draining faster than expected 
Upon checking, battery in your Surge can last up to 7 days and its affected by various factors and settings.

We provide tips for preventing battery drain:

• Make sure you're charging Blaze fully each time. When you think Blaze is done charging, take it out of the charging cradle and then put it back in briefly. If you see a large, blue battery icon you'll know the battery is full. For best practices, see How do I charge my tracker?
• If you use the Fitbit app, make sure All-Day Sync is turned off. All-Day Sync increases battery drain on both your tracker and mobile device. To find the setting, open the app and tap or click the Account icon (). At the top of the screen tap or click Blaze to see your settings, then scroll down. 
• (Android only) Turn off the Always Connected setting. Similar to All-Day Sync, it can reduce battery life.
• If you don't need heart rate data, change the Heart Rate setting to Off. When you turn it back on, use Auto. 
• Turn call, text, or calendar notifications off if you know you're going to receive many hundreds of notifications. A large volume reduces battery life.
• Charge your tracker more often if you use music control frequently.
• Charge your tracker more often if you do FitStar workouts frequently.
• Turn off Quick View. Since it causes the screen to light up when you turn your wrist towards you, turning this setting off may prolong battery life. To find the setting, open the app and tap or click the Account icon (). At the top of the screen tap or click Blaze and then scroll down.
• Don't receive reminders to move every hour. To get fewer reminders, make sure you walk 250 steps each hour, change the number of hours you want your stationary time monitored, or turn off the feature on days you don't need it.
• Don't use the maximum Brightness setting.
• If you have many silent alarms set, consider deleting some. Each alarm you add up to the maximum of 8 reduces battery life by a small percentage. 
• Don't charge your tracker in extreme heat or cold. For best practices, see How do I charge my tracker?
• Shut down Blaze when it's not in use. If you shut down Blaze, make sure it syncs as soon as you turn it back on. The time shown on the clock will be incorrect until you sync.

If the charging instructions and battery preservation tips don't help -- meaning you're still seeing a rapid and unexplained battery drain -- please let us know and we'll investigate further.

We look forward to your response. Let u know if you have any additional questions.

So the only setting I "need" to change is the All-Day Sync. But if I turn it off, well I don't need the Blaze, I can buy a "android" smartwatch instead. 

But yes, I also thinks is the Bluetooth that's it's the problem. But non other bluetooth device I have hasn't any problem. So I hope Fitbit can update the firmware and resolve this with just software update.

Moderator edit: format & removed agent info

[ThatsaFactjack]

That's not accurate.They copy and  paste that.lol 

That's is a generic answer to issues they have encounter so far. this is something completely new. Like I said  before Bluetooth 5.0 is a new technology. Knowing as much as I know about technology my suspicions are:

1. Bluetooth 5.0 is not using enough power to send and receive the signal making the blaze work harder to communicate.  5.0 is suppose to use less more power than Bluetooth 4.1.

2. Hardware incompatibly, even though 5.0 is suppose to be backward compatible for some reason is not working the way it should. The solution will be getting a new Blaze with Bluetooth 5.0.

3.Firmware update to the S8 or Blaze to allow them to communicate which I believe  is the more efficient and real way to fix the problem.

Well let hope they fix it soon, meanwhile what you can do is stop blaze from syncing to your phone all day. Turn off Always syncing and Always connected, you will have to sync them manually by pressing the refresh option on your fitbit app.

[kristimitch]

I got the Samsung S8+ on Friday and since then I have had to charge it 3 times.  Before that it would last 3-4 days easily.  This is definitely a issue!  I also believe it is because of the Bluetooth 5.0 and I'm not sure if it is a Fitbit or Samsung issue.  I just want it fixed.  I'm so glad to hear I'm not going crazy thinking this is just me.

[SunsetRunner]

Yeah not good enough I'm afraid.

I went from an S6 Edge to the S8 with the EXACT same settings and I've had nothing but problems. It's draining the battery, GPS tracking either doesn't work at all or will only get 1 bar and then cuts out half way through a ride. Sometimes it won't re-sync unless I do a complete clear of the cache and re-install the app.

It also saturates the bluetooth bandwidth so much that it makes streaming media impossible, making the music cut out every 5 seconds or less. I thought it was an issue with Spotify until I narrowed it down to Fitbit.

Re-installed the app about 6 times, tried all sorts of different settings and nothing's worked.

I'm just going to use my work iPhone until the S8 issues are resolved, but I'm sure not everyone is lucky enough to have the option of a second phone to use.

Fix it Fitbit, nothing a customer can do will fix this issue!

[TurquoiseTurtle]

Same here.  Got the S8+ on Sunday, and I've had to charge every day since.  This is getting very very frustrating, and I hope they fix it soon.  I'm glad I came here so I know I'm not the only one.  

[kijanskit]

I am glad to see that I'm not the only one having an issue. I purchase the S8+ on Tuesday. Fully charged my FitBit Wednesday afternoon (4/26) and It completely died today around 11:30 a.m. this morning (Friday, 4/28). No settings were changed, I haven't had any issues until I bought my new phone.

[08jgarcia]

I'm having the same problem. Hopefully fitbit is listening and working on a fix. Got the phone Monday, everything started syncing Tuesday, and I've charged it twice between then and today, Friday.