Blaze battery not lasting

[kad123]

My Blaze is only 15 months old but in the last few weeks has been flattening out within days of being fully recharged. Now I have to recharge every day as it is in the red zone within 24 hours.  Are replacement batteries available or it is it like a Kobo and destined for a landfill site over a used-up battery?  And isn’t 15 months pretty quick?  Am I doing something wrong?

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity

[WendyB]

How are you charging it?

Please clean the contacts
http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/My-tracker-s-battery-isn-t-charging/?q=not+chargi...

Then Do a Restart
http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1186/?q=restart&l=en_US&fs=Search&pn=1

Also See this thread for charging best practices. If you are not charging it correctly you could be damaging the battery
https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge/Fitbit-charge-battery-problems/m-p/1323307#M53291

http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1799

If that does not help contact support
http://help.fitbit.com/?cu=1

[KB9WNS]

I found a work around on battery life.  After you fully charge and sync the Blaze, turn off "always connected" and the Bluetooth on your phone. Something has gone goofy in the database causing errors during the sync process which results in heavy battery drain.  Hopefully the bug gets fixed.  My battery life suddenly dropped to 12 hours.  Disabling the Bluetooth communications except when syncing has restored battery life back to normal.  

btw.  I do digital embedded development as an electronic engineer in the Aerospace industry and also an EXTRA class HAM radio operator.

[AlejandraFitbit · Accepted solution]

A warm welcome to the Forums @kad123, @WendyB and @KB9WNS thanks for stopping by.

If you are having issues with your Blaze battery life, I recommend taking a look at this post and follow the instructions provided there. After these steps, please test your tracker.

Let me know the outcome. 

[KB9WNS]

Battery life was restored when I turned off the "always connected" setting and turned off the Bluetooth on my phone when it is not getting synced.  Not a long-term fix.  

When attempting to sync it appears to be draining the battery rather quickly as the syncing process is quite long at 10 to 12 minutes if it will even sync.  Many times it requires both the Blaze and my phone to be restarted.

[kad123]

Anther extremely helpful message - thank you so much.  I have had great success with all the replies and have restored the life of my battery to the way it was.  Great advice from everyone - thank you again.

[KB9WNS]

Also,  if you are connected via WiFi during the syncing process the WiFi can interfere with the Bluetooth.  Either turn off WiFi while syncing or change the channel settings on your WiFi router.  Usage of one of the edge channels such as 1,2 13, or 14 will help as Bluetooth is around channel 6 and 7.  Turn off any Bluetooth and WiFi devices such as speakers, etc when not in use.  By turning off unused devices you also help the range and performances of the devices your are using.  All of these devices operate on the same range of frequencies in the 2.4 GHz ISM band and will interfere with each other.  It is also good for general security to not have any unused devices turned on as it gives "drive by" hackers less opportunity to hack into your equipment. 

Now, if we could get FitBit to have a "turn off Bluetooth" or an "airplane mode" option on our trackers to help with security and battery life that would be great.  No need to have the Bluetooth in my tracker advertising my presence.  

[AlejandraFitbit]

Those are great news @kad123, I am glad to hear that your Blaze battery is now better. If you need anything else, do not hesitate in posting it. @KB9WNS I appreciate the advises!

Keep the stepping up! 

[kad123]

Thank you so much for all your help. I am still fiddling with the options you provided — looking for the best fit — but already the battery is lasting almost like it did when new. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for your excellent advice and the time you took to give it.
Kathryn

[KB9WNS]

---

@KB9WNS wrote:

Also,  if you are connected via WiFi during the syncing process the WiFi can interfere with the Bluetooth.  Either turn off WiFi while syncing or change the channel settings on your WiFi router.  Usage of one of the edge channels such as 1,2 13, or 14 will help as Bluetooth is around channel 6 and 7.  Turn off any Bluetooth and WiFi devices such as speakers, etc when not in use.  By turning off unused devices you also help the range and performances of the devices your are using.  All of these devices operate on the same range of frequencies in the 2.4 GHz ISM band and will interfere with each other.  It is also good for general security to not have any unused devices turned on as it gives "drive by" hackers less opportunity to hack into your equipment. 

Now, if we could get FitBit to have a "turn off Bluetooth" or an "airplane mode" option on our trackers to help with security and battery life that would be great.  No need to have the Bluetooth in my tracker advertising my presence.  

---

Update:  Firmware has been updated to 17.8.402.1 which seems to have resolved the battery life issues.

[SueKay]

Same as a lot of others my Fitbit blaze is lasting 4hrs. It's only 12 months old bought for Christmas present 2016. 

[SillyHerbert]

I had the same problem with my Blaze, customer services were no help whatsoever. I got so fed up with charging my watch nearly every day I have stopped using it and bought myself a new watch, a good old fashioned one that goes for three years before it needs a new battery!!

[Kaylee1234]

I just got my Fitbit blaze for Christmas and mine started out like that but then now the battery on mine lasts for more that 4 days at a time.

[Debamitra]

Hi,

My Blaze (Purchased in March 2018 thru Amazon) has developed immense problem as far Battery and its charging issue is concerned since last week, battery draining fast, not charging, the watch is getting heated up in the charging cable, and i am unable to contact any fitbit service centre in India. God know whether they have a support centre in India where so many consumers exist. i feel myself at a loss if you purchase a product for $300 and within months it malfunctions and no where to go. Would highly appreciate if anyone can throw some light 

[KB9WNS]

---

@Debamitra wrote:

Hi,

My Blaze (Purchased in March 2018 thru Amazon) has developed immense problem as far Battery and its charging issue is concerned since last week, battery draining fast, not charging, the watch is getting heated up in the charging cable, and i am unable to contact any fitbit service centre in India. God know whether they have a support centre in India where so many consumers exist. i feel myself at a loss if you purchase a product for $300 and within months it malfunctions and no where to go. Would highly appreciate if anyone can throw some light 

---

Update the firmware to the latest version along with the app to the latest version.  There had been issues with the Blaze attempting to sync to a non-existent location causing very short battery life.  As to contacting a service center contact the US customer support dept.

[SunsetRunner]

I had the same problem after about 18 months... Customer Service told me "Yep! Your battery is failing... but we can't help you because you're out of warranty. But here's a 25% off coupon!"

Nah... there's no way I'm ever again sinking $250 into a step counter that only lasts 18 months.

[Shaker03]

This is the second Fitbit I've had and same issue. Their support says to purchase a new one as resolution because I've exhausted troubleshooting steps. I'm tired of purchasing a new one all because their battery quality is poor. I have friends with other trackers who don't have a problem even after 5 years of use and having the same features. I might have to give up on Fitbit because my loyalty is no big deal and why buy a product that has lasted me during their sad 1 yr warranty but goes out right after it ends. I find the failure time vs warranty very interesting.

[SpoonS1]

My FitBit Blaze battery suddenly began draining within 5 minutes of being charged.  Less than 2 years old. I tried all the resets etc suggested by FitBit - and read with dismay various posts about how useless FitBiT  support were, simply offering a discount on a new device.  However contacted them anyway  - and they were unbelievable.    Immediate offer of a new Fitbit and charger.  Within a week I am in possession of a new device.    So my advice is to pursue them.  You have evidence here that they do replace them. As they should. So not be fobbed off !

[EWhite7]

Are you in Australia? They have a 2 year warranty....