Another wet Charge 5

[Mwisemiu]

Honestly, I just don't even know what to say. I've been wearing Fitbits for a decade, but I'm about ready to jump ship. 

Two weeks ago I set my Charge 5 to swimming mode and went to do water aerobics. Water resistant to 50 meters. Hmm, This was maybe .5 meter deep, as I was still standing on the bottom. 

It didn't turn on after I was finished and wondered what time it was. I got home and dried it thoroughly and tried charging (maybe I left the battery get used up, unlikely). No sign that it was charging, no vibration. I came back after showering and checked it. It was HOT! Still no sign of life. Black screen. 

I tried to reset. App couldn't find it, so no syncing. I turned bluetooth off and on again. Removed Charge 5 from my account and tried repairing, it was unfindable. 

I had a Charge 4 and last September the the little edge on the device broke off so the band wasn't attached anymore. I contacted customer service and they sent a replacement, but they sent Charge 5 since 4 was no longer available. I was thrilled! But, it got lost in the mail. No kidding. So, they sent another one. At the time, I was living in France, so it was sent from the Netherlands by GSL and I'm sure someone's kid is enjoying that device. I got the second one, after chasing it down all over town. I'll never ship anything through GSL. I was happy to receive it, finally, around the end of October. I bought a bunch of cool bands to wear with it. This was around the 1 year anniversary of when I bought the Charge 4, it was a birthday gift. So this Charge 5 is nine months old. I set it for swim tracking and went to do water aerobics. I was excited to use it for swimming, since I usually only run, hike and bike. Dead as a door nail. It's been stuck in a bag of rice for two weeks now. Still black screen. Dead. 

So, I'm back to keeping my account active by having my old broken Charge 4 stuck against my chest, in my bra. I can't do this forever. I'm not going to buy another. I'm at a loss. What to do? Will Fitbit replace a replacement? This time sending it to my US address? Complicated. I'm at my wit's end. 

[alirenn]

Exactly same issue. A piece snapped off my charge 4 in February making it unable to connect the strap. They sent me a charge 5 on 22/02/23 as a replacement as charge 4 no longer available. I was quite happy with new charge 5 until I went swimming on 2/08/23. I tapped the screen to find out the time as I was getting dry and no response. I thought the battery was dead so I tried charging it when I got home. It just got hot, no response no lights. Still dead four days later. Been in touch with Fitbit this is not covered under warranty. The best they can offer me is a discount off a new one which I’ve had to go with as I can’t be without a watch and I’ve already purchased other straps for my charge 5. Reading other posts many other people have had the same experience charge 5 is not waterproof despite what it’s advertised. Very disappointed that I now have to purchase a new one. Considering this was less than six months old. I should have been sent another replacement. Not sure If I’d go for Fitbit next time. 

[Mwisemiu]

Exactly. It's not like we did anything wrong. We didn't mistreat it. I mean, what is the sense of a swim tracking mode if you can't get it wet? Insanity.

[alirenn]

Exactly. It is meant to be used for swimming. If I didn’t think it would be waterproof. I wouldn’t have gone swimming in it. It certainly shouldn’t be advertised as waterproof up to 50metres. The water I was in was barely one.

Sent from Outlook for iOS<>

[Mwisemiu]

Yeah, I was doing water aerobics. The fitbit couldn't have been more than 12 to15 inches under water. I was excited to try the swimming mode. I thought, how cool to have that! Little did I know. I never would have worn it, if I'd known it would kill it. After all the trouble I went through to get it, I had hoped I'd have the Charge 5 for a long time. I don't know what to do now. I have no watch. I run around asking others what time it is. I'm not going to pull the Charge 4 out of my bra all day long.  I'm not a happy camper. 

[alirenn]

I got intouch with them again and they agreed to send another replacement. It seems a lot of other people are having similar issues. I had to send the faulty one back in order to process a replacement. They received it back 11days ago now still waiting to hear when the replacement is going to be sent. They are now promising to get back to me in 72 hours. So we'll see! Shocking that there are so many issues. 

[Mwisemiu]

I'm glad that you heard from them. I just heard from them myself, too! They
will send a shipping label so I can return the broken one and they'll
replace it after that.

Good luck! Let us know how long you wait.