Initial Charging and Setup of Fitbit Blaze

[wrae82]

I just got my 1st Fitbit tonight and it is a Blaze.  It has been on the charger for 2 1/2 hours now and still says battery low on the app.  I know that it won't show the battery icon yet since it hasn't even allowed me to update the software yet.  It still shows the fitbit.com/setup on the screen.  I was excited to get the Blaze but I am very quickly becoming discouraged with my purchase.  How long should it take to charge enough just to get the set up started? I've made sure that the prongs are lined up, my computer makes the noise signaling that something is connected...but it still shows the red battery with "Battery Low" notification on the app via my phone.  I even put the app on my computer and it shows the same thing.

[Makb34]

The only image that comes that comes up is the fitbit logo with fitbit.com/setup underneath. I left the fitbit to charge in the chargebox it comes with overnight and it still has the same image. When I go to set it up on the app, it states firmware update available. When I try to update it says the Blaze's battery is too low to continue.

It seems it will not charge until its updated and it will not update until its charged. I got it brand new out of the box yesterday. 

I'm relatively techy and electronics oriented. and normally problem solve myself It seems these devices might be faulty out of the box if their battery has been allowed to drain too low. This is disappointing for a $200 dollar device. 

Is there any option other than send the device back? I tried your recommendations, but as stated, the fitbit.com/setup screen is the only one that comes up.

[Makb34]

As an addendum, I've plugged the charger into multiple usb ports both in wall outlets and a computer to no avail. The battery charging screen will not come up until it sets up, which I am unable to do since I am unable to charge it sufficiently.

[Normanh]

I have had the same problem with the Blaze model and I took it back to the Dealer who, after asking many questions, replace it.

This one had exactly the same problem and would not charge properly.

My only recourse was to return it and purchase a Garmin.

[Normanh]

I have had the same problem with the Blaze model and I took it back to the Dealer who, after asking many questions, replaced it.

This one had exactly the same problem and would not charge properly.

My only recourse was to return it and purchase a Garmin

[Makb34]

Update: So I believe I may have found a solution. If you plug it into a home computer or wall charger it may not work. However a computer running Windows business or enterprise appears to do the trick and it will charge. When I did that, my work computer notified me that the device driver software installed and my fitbit began to charge and updated at the same time.

This shouldn't be the case since my understanding is the cable is just a charger and shouldn't require any software, however it worked for me.

I hope this helps everyone else.



Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[dragonfly02]

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@Makb34 wrote:
Update: So I believe I may have found a solution. If you plug it into a home computer or wall charger it may not work. However a computer running Windows business or enterprise appears to do the trick and it will charge. When I did that, my work computer notified me that the device driver software installed and my fitbit began to charge and updated at the same time.

This shouldn't be the case since my understanding is the cable is just a charger and shouldn't require any software, however it worked for me.

I hope this helps everyone else.



Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

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That's great.....if you have access to a computer running Windows business or enterprise. But what about the rest of us that don't have that option? I just purchased a Blaze after many years of being a satisfied Fitbit customer (I owned the original Fitbit at one point) and I'm beyond frustrated because I feel like I'm stuck in an endless loop. I can't do a Firmware update because my battery is too low, but I can't charge my battery until I do a Firmware update. Like many others have stated, I've tried different USB ports on my computer, my work computer (maybe I don't have Windows business???), and a wall charger and I've gotten nowhere. I hate when something that should be simple is being so incredibly difficult.

[Kannika]

I have been having the same problem as everyone else.  I have already done everything you suggested with no luck.  I've tried 2 different PCs and plugged it in to the wall.  This seems to be a real issue with the Blaze......

Do I return it and try another Blaze or not even bother.......I was so excited and now I'm thoroughly frustrated.

[Makb34]

Try leaving it plugged into several different computers. That's what finally worked for me. I'd given up and figured I might as well leave it plugged into my work laptop, while I worked on something else. After a bit I got the device driver notification on my pc. The fitbit screen stayed on the initial setup screen, but apparently had been charging since when I synced my phone to it, it finally updated. I was certainly ready to give up.

I read on several other forum pages that the usb outlet must be the exact correct amperage to begin with as well.

Call fitbit support if nothing else, they're good to work with in my experience.





Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[dragonfly02]

Oh my gosh. I tried something that I thought would be the last thing to work and I have not seen suggested anywhere. I charged mine with my car charger! After nothing else worked, I plugged it into my car charger and within 5 minutes it had enough of a charge to do the firmware update. That took about 30+ minutes. Once that was complete, I was able to easily charge it with the wall charger that previously wouldn't work. It's working great now. Try it, hopefully it works for others! 

[Kannika]

I plugged it into my personal pc all night, when I got up it seemed as though it was dead.  I then plugged it into the wall and the battery icon appeared, I got so excited because this was progress.  I then opened the app on my phone and it was pairing.  I left it plugged into the wall until it was fully charged, about 2 hours......so far so good!   

[Leemac]

You are a genius -  I had tried everything else and gave this a go. Left it in my car charger for 40 minutes and now I have enough charge to sync and everything seems to be working.I would never have thought of that. Thanks!

[dragonfly02]

Leemac, I'm glad it worked for you.

[MariamV]

Hello there guys, thanks for your reports!

I'm glad to see that this has worked for you guys and I'm happy to read may helpful users here in this thread sharing best practices and more. 

Now, I'd like to invite you guys to our Lifestyle Discussion Forums. There are lots of interesting topics; my favorite is "Eat Well". Who doesn't love food?  

[EnriqueAcosta]

Everything you just said is useless. Done it all and still nothing.

[spoonjay]

this is for Mariam fitbit,

I had two new Blaze fitbit and am unable to get either one to charge, I followed all the instructions, no luck, I tried plugging fitbit into car charger, no luck, I am at work trying to plug fitbit into work computer that has Windows business software, no luck, all I get is the icon that says fitbit.com/setup t the bottom, neither fitbit will connect and/or show the battery charge feature, I am unable to sync as my fitbit app on my phone will not recognize the fitbit,

getting kind of frustrated

yes, I do have the fitbit correctly positioned on the charge with the pins correctly matching the fitbit

there must be a minimal charge as the fitbit icon blinks left to right, but the battery icon does not appear and there is no syncing

send me your direct phone number to talk this through

the fitbits were a gift and I am unable to return, there are $200 per fitbit

I have a fitbit Charge HR that is having charging issues so this is supposed to be an upgrade

please advise

thanks

spoonjay

[spoonjay]

Mariam fitbit

my app can scan and locate the blaze, but when I try to pair it says pairing is rejected by blaze

what is the issue I need to have corrected?

I have the blaze plugged into wall outlet now, but still no battery icon

not having much luck

please advise

spoonjay

[Rich_Laue]

@spoonjay when the tracker shows the setup message, their will not be any indication on the screen that the unit is charging. It should however give a slight vibration while hooking up the charger. 

You say the app finds the Blaze. It then should then display a code on the Blaze, which would then be entered into the app.

Is this app on a phone or PC? If on the phone the setup must be done through the app. 

[spoonjay]

thanks rich

just fyi

the f.....ng thing does not charge

I cannot sync up until the blaze is charged

I have tried syncing up from phone (deleted and re-downloaded fitbit app)

I have tried syncing up from pc,

did get to a point where a code was transmitted, no f....ng luck

cannot get back to that point where a code is generated

I am competent computer guy and have had charge hr with virtually no problems, except that it stopped accepting a charge and does not sync up, thought I should upgrade, but it is not working

went through all the manuals, called tech support, all they did was read me the manual

no f.....ng success

short and sweet ....

how do I get the f.....ng blaze to charge up and turn on

this is ridiculous

I have $400 worth of hardware that is going to take me $500 of time to set up

thanks for your response

I am actually fairly patient guy, but running into brick walls

spoonjay

[spoonjay]

the blaze did sync up once, but the f....ng thing will not turn on

I cannot get it to be normal

[Rickhay]

I think I'm just going to return this piece of crud.  took 10 minutes to setup my charge.  This is ridiculous, advances in tech should make things easier...