Charge 5 Firmware Update 194.61

[LizzyFitbit]

7/13 Update: We’re continuing to roll out this firmware for the Charge 5 Firmware Update 194.61, and expect more customers are able to update their devices. This is a progressive rollout and all customers can expect to have it within a few weeks. We release updates in phases so that we can monitor performance closely and make adjustments if needed. If you don't see the option to update, don't worry - you'll have it soon!

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We’re excited to announce that a firmware update version 194.61 for Charge 5 will be available soon! Some of you might already have this update available. If you installed it, let us know what you think!

We release updates to customers in phases. If you don’t see it, check the Fitbit app in a few days, and you’ll see a message when you can install the update. We appreciate your patience while we get this update to all of our customers.

*Firmware releases are not distributed based on region or location and can reach anyone no matter where you reside. We do not recommend performing a factory reset to force the update to your device as your data will be lost and you may not get the update. Please be patient and wait until you see the update banner inside of the Fitbit app to begin the firmware download.

WHAT’S NEW AND FIXED

• All exercise modes are now available in the Exercise app, and your most recently used modes appear at the top. For more information, see How do I track my workouts with my Fitbit device?
• Find new clock faces in the Fitbit Gallery in the Fitbit app. For more information, see How do I change the clock face on my Fitbit device?
• View your daily readiness score on your tracker (Premium feature only). For more information, see What’s my daily readiness score in the Fitbit app?
• Support for global characters and right-to-left text notifications:
  Arabic
  Hebrew
  Thai
  Hindi
  Vietnamese
• This release includes bug fixes and improvements.

Full release notes can be found here. For more details, please see this Community Blog post.

HOW DO I UPDATE?
See How do I update my Fitbit device? for step by step instructions for updating your Charge 5. If you run into difficulty updating, review these Why can't I update my Fitbit device?

We’re interested in hearing your feedback on this update! Let us know what you like! If you encounter unexpected behavior during or after your update, please post the details below.

[SunsetRunner]

Isn’t that what they did when they acquired Pebble?

[neonbrett55]

Google ripped us off! It should be illegal to do what they did.

Brett Crawley

[SunsetRunner]

You have the power in your dollars and how you spend it going forward…

[neonbrett55]

Yes I do and Fitbit has lost a good customer.

Brett Crawley

[VivHJ]

I no longer seem to be receiving notifications of messages or phone calls on my watch. This has happened since downloading the new app. Very disappointed. 

[ian.pennington3]

They certainly did and they still won't own up to there mistakes, gutless
they are

[6TJS6]

I wish you luck with this. I wasn't even sure who James Park was, so of course I Googled his name. Seems he's busy promoting the Google watch 2, so he may be preoccupied.

[6TJS6]

I just had a couple taken down because I was supposedly multi-posting, and not typing in "@ whoever" when responding to someone. I had to point out that I shouldn't need to do that, and most people don't. Why? Because at the top right of the reply to a post, it clearly shows who you're replying to. I couldn't find anything in the community guidelines about it as well. I'm surprised many I've read have lasted this long as saying anything about what the mods do is NOT allowed. 🤐  This will probably disappear because I mentioned the word mod, and referred to something they did. I'll also be documenting everything I say and all messages from mods as well from now on.

[Aussiej1]

Who were these mysterious people and are they employed by fitbit or independent of the company ???

[TereseN]

+1 on this problem 🤬

[Sharon84]

You are lucky his 5 works in any capacity. I tried plugging mine in with the hopes the new update might fix things. The device immediately started to vibrate so hard I thought it might catch fire. It didn’t stop vibrating until what little battery it pulled it was drained.

Sent from my iPad

[Gran22]

Mine still isn’t charging and still a blank screen. Mine also drained what battery I had when I tried to charge it.

Sent from my iPhone

[Bluebella]

Has there been an update that freezes the Fitbit?? The screen has frozen for me once, and my mum’s twice within a week. That never used to happen. 

[Gran22]

Updated mine and now I have a blank screen and it won’t charge

Sent from my iPhone

[Loleo]

Be thankful you aren’t getting it!!

Sent from my iPhone

[Loleo]

I am not sure what people you are referring to, but I think this forum is filled with Fitbit users (or now ex users?) and many of them have spoken to customer service. My fear is that this is all run now by AI and if people don’t do the chat with customer service they won’t know that there are all so many more complaints than they are getting?? I chatted, got no acceptable answer/responses but at least I think it will be recorded. 🤷🏼‍:female_sign:

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

I was weighing my Fitbit options when I came across the forums and I’m thinking I need to look at ALL my options. This isn’t a good look for Fitbit. 

[ian.pennington3]

This update is **ahem**, completely xefuncts the watch

[neonbrett55]

Fitbit made a major mistake that will hurt their brand. Screwing your customers is never a smart option.

Brett Crawley

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Cannot trust Fitbit ever again.

Brett Crawley

[kerrieBBOZ]

@SunsetRunner its funny how I keep filing dozens of replies to this thread in my emails but the thread remains constantly at only 45 pages. Compare that to the 70 or 80 page thread of nearly all negative feedback for the new app, which is also now settled on a constant number even though I’m filing dozens of forum reply emails daily for that thread too. (My Fitbit Community email folder is pretty huge I have to say!! But I’m keeping them for future reference when and if my Charge 5 gets forcibly bricked and I need to persuade anyone to remedy with a refund. Australian consumer law protects Australian consumers from products that do not last a reasonable time regardless of warranty length and prohibits sellers from deceiving their customers about their consumer rights). But I’m sure glad I stopped auto updating my phone app! For the time being I’m frozen in time with a functional Charge5 and a functional phone app and only lost the onboard gps.