Blaze battery problems

[SunsetRunner]

Hi all.

I've had a Fitbit Blaze for nearly 2 years. Recently it's been very temperamental while charging.

This morning, for example, I was topping it up, it was at approximately 75-80% charged.

I checked it again 10-15 minutes later and it was at one red bar, pretty much empty.

This is unfortunately a regular occurrence.

I have cleaned the contacts, I have also reset it, but still have this issue.

Any ideas of how to resolve this issue?

Thanks in advance,

Simon.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi @celindarn @daranj, welcome to the forums. 

@celindarn, Thank you for confirming the steps that you already tried to find a solution for this. I've sent your information to the Customer Support team for further assistance with this, but was informed that you already have a case created or that you already got in touch with them. Keep an eye on your inbox. 

Thank you for your reply @daranj, I've proceeded to send your information to the Customer Support team for further assistance, so you should be getting a reply soon. 

Thank you for your feedback about the product as well @JustSandy, @KReinhard. 

Let me know if you have further questions.  

[RoxanneMalette]

Hi, I see that it seems to be a problem. I bought a Fitbit Blaze for my dad for Christmas 2017 and for the past few weeks, it won’t hold the charge for more than 2 hours. We tried cleaning it, resetting it.. nothing😞 Is there a solution for this problem? I have the alta hr, my mom the charge 3 and my sister the very first one that came out and we are not having this problem at all. 

[IsItCoffeeYet]

I'm not sure about the rules for this forum, but I'm going to tell a story without all the details, but I think you'll get my point. I was given a Blaze last weekend that worked fine in the dock but didn't work outside of it.

I used to work on cell phones, so I was pretty sure I could replace this battery. I didn't have much to lose. IFixIt.com is your friend. Amazon is also your friend. $20 for the battery + tool kit and about 1 hour of my time. It was tedious, but not much worse than cell phone work. I now have a very nice, cheap Blaze with which I'm very happy

If you can solder and are good with electronics, you can probably replace the battery. If not, perhaps you have a friend that can help.

If the moderator is ok with it, I'll be glad to post the links to the resources. If not, a quick search should yield the info you need.

*moderator* Apologies if I have violated any rules with this post. Feel free to delete it if necessary.

Good luck.

[DavideFitbit]

Hello @RoxanneMalette, welcome to the Community forums. 

Thank you for sharing all this information and the steps that you already tried to find a solution for this. 

I've also sent your information to the Customer Support team for further assistance, so you should be getting a reply soon. Keep an eye on your inbox. 

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with this @IsItCoffeeYet, it's good to know this worked out for you. We as Fitbit don't recommend to try replacing the battery in this way, since this could affect the warranty status of the device. You can find all the information and official warranty policy here. 

Let me know if you have further questions. 

[daranj]

HI DavideFitbit - I think that is the point.  Warranty is only for one year so people are going to naturally want to extend the use of the product after warranty.  People will want to come back to your product if there is a way to extend life post warranty.  @IsItCoffeeYet was providing a solution that frankly Fitbit should provide to retain customers.

[IsItCoffeeYet]

I understand about the warranty information and so on. This Blaze was given
to me and I'm pretty sure it was no longer under warranty. But that's why I
hesitated talking about my experience.

Thanks,

Moderator edit: format

[DavideFitbit]

Thank you for your feedback about this @daranj @IsItCoffeeYet. I recognize it's an alternative in case someone is already out of warranty and there are no other options, it's just not recommended by Fitbit since other users have permanently damaged the device when trying to change the battery. This is just a general recommendation. 

Let me know if you have further questions. 

[omfg]

@DavideFitbit , so Fitbit's recommendation, when my device is out of
warranty by 1 day, or 6 months, in my case, is to throw it away and buy a
new device? What is Fitbit's recommendation for those of us whose battery
wears out while the device is still fairly new, in my case about 18 months.

[omfg]

@daranj - where did you learn about a discount for a new tracker?  What is the discount?  I would like to know what is Fitbit's official policy or recommendation?  I appreciate that @DavideFitbit can only pass our information on to someone else, but are they responding?  I haven't heard anything personally.

Like many others here I assume, I wore my Fitbit all the time.  And it was always fun to compare with others how many steps we had.  It was becoming sort of a sub-cultural thing, if not cultural in some crowds.  But now I am negatively tainted.  Instead of smiling and talking positively with others who may have theirs on, I am now more inclined to say "oh, you have one of those, eh?  They're neat, but ...".

Also, I can't solder for the life of me.  Back when circuit boards were larger I fixed a stereo receiver that I dropped and the board cracked.  But I have tried replacing soldered LEDs recently with no success.  The circuits now are just too small for my skills.

[RoxanneMalette]

Hi, customer service contacted me to my personal email and since the warranty on my fitbit blaze was over, they offered me a discount price that is good for 30 days if I buy through their website.

Good luck!

[AmyGMP]

Hi customer service.

I am having that same lack of battery life issues.  I have gone through all the reset steps listed in this thread.  This is my 4th fitbit and 7th between me and my husband and all of them have been fairly unusable due to battery life after 1.5 years.  Please have customer service contact me.  Thank you

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[DavideFitbit]

Thank you for your reply @AmyGMP, I wouldn't recommend it particularly if the device is still under warranty, as it could affect the warranty status, but if the device is out of warranty, you're free to device the best course of action. Just keep in mind that some users have reported damage after trying to replace the battery in this way. 

Thank you for your reply and for sharing that you already got in touch with the Support team @RoxanneMalette. 

Welcome to the forums @AmyGMP, it's good to know that you already tried the troubleshooting steps suggested. I've proceeded to send your information to the Support team for further assistance, so you should be getting a reply soon. Keep an eye on your inbox.

Let me know if you have further questions.  

[cruzmiranda]

Same problem with my Blaze and Fitbit only offerd a new one with a discount of 25 %. Ridiculous!

Now i have bought in the internet a new battery for 14 euro and have replaced the old battery. I should be a service from Fitbit..  

[DavideFitbit]

Thank you for sharing this information @cruzmiranda, I'm sorry to see that it wasn't possible to receive a replacement, but it's good to know that you were able to replace the battery without any problem.  

[KReinhard]

I replaced my battery with no good results. Same problem. Won’t stay charged.

Funny thing is about a year ago someone hacked into my Fitbit account, changed my profile info and put a warranty claim in and had a new device shipped to them in Europe. (I live in Arizona) I caught the activity and alerted Fitbit, gave them the address and verified all the information of the hack prior to a new device being shipped. BTW the replacement device was not the same device as my blaze. Fitbit didn’t want to do anything about it except to let me know my warranty was not affected. They didn’t pursue the crime. I got verification the device was delivered to the scammer in Europe. Funny thing now I had a battery issue 6 months out of warranty and to bad so sad for the actual paying customer.

Keith

Moderator edit: Removed personal information.

[GraceGFitbit]

Hi @KReinhard, thank you for getting back and for taking the time to share your comments with us.  

I'm very sorry to see that you've experienced this situation with your Blaze. It is particularly difficult when the device is no longer covered by the period of one (1) year warranty, but even tough Support is eager to help with any problem you may experience with the product, they do need to adhere to the official warranty policy, this would start counting from the original date of purchase.

Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any other questions, comments, or concerns. 😺

[daranj]

Totally agree.  Or provide post warranty service provider listing.

[omfg]

I fixed my fitbit out of warranty dead battery with no way to fix or replace....I bought a Samsung Galaxy Watch.

[Michelle41]

I am currently going through the same issue with my Blaze. I have only had it for a year and a half. My battery depletes within an hour or two. 

I contacted customer support and we did a battery test to see what was going on with it. Basically they told me that my battery was bad. They sent me a link for 25% off my new Fitbit BUT it’s for only certain ones. Basically I would have to downgrade from my blaze to receive their discount. Which I find VERY VERY unethical to do to your customers! I called back and spoke with “Pablo” the supervisor and he said that’s all they can offer me. I asked him if there was any way that they could give me something off the Versa 2 he said they don’t give discounts for that. 

This really bothers me the fact that their product was defective then except you to downgrade with a discount or pay full price for their new product. I’m not going to spend $200 on another device that is going to go bad in less than 2 years! 

Very bad business tactics Fitbit!! Two thumbs down! 

[icepower]

Yes yours is doing the same as mine in 5 years I have had 3 yes 3 fitbits, the first 2 was the Surge both of them was the battery life and strap. So I bought the blaze and now this is doing the same so this is the last one I will own I'm now looking at other watches.

My take on it is a watch should last a lifetime not 2 years and for the cost of a fitbit very disappointed with them

Regards

Ian