Charge 5 Firmware Update 194.91

[LizzyFitbit]

We’re excited to announce that a firmware update version 194.91 for Charge 5 is now available! If you installed it, let us know what you think!

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.

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.

[JohnTheBrave]

I was confused a month ago when my C5 was spotted doing an update without being asked. It had already been updated to 194.91 and was still on 194.91 afterwards.

I think I now know why. They updated the ECG app (and possibly part of the 194.91 FW??) which now shows a date of 14 March 2024. All other apps are 16 November 2023

Since then after a previous period of stabilty it is back into the unresponsive random black screen and the battery discharging at a normal rate and then suddenly dropping rapidly to zero for no apparent reason.

I was again able to recover from this by changing to different clocks via the app and resetting using the 3 presses on the charge cradle. Not just once but multiple times over a period of about 30 minutes!!!!!!!!

However, unlike previous success with this method, this now only works for a few minutes and again a black screen.

The C5 was still connecting to the app so I synced the device and then while I still had a display quickly did a 'clear user data' on the C5 - something I hadn't tried before. This idea was based on the possibility of some corrupt/incompatible user data in the device clashing with the newer version of firmware i.e. when the F/W tried to deal with the unexpected data it got stuck in a loop of death, causing the screen display 'app' to fail and some background process running 'hard' and rapidly discharging the battery.

I had to reconnect the C5 to the app afterwards - fortunately the screen was working so I was able to see the 4 digit code for connecting to bluetooth.

After this the C5 was working OK and achieved a 100% battery charge and a working display.

Fast forward 10 hours and it is still working OK and at 95% charge.

It is too early to say this has permanently fixed it but it is a promising start. I will keep my fingers crossed.

I wonder how the Fitbit testers check new versions of firmware before rolling it out? (assuming they do) Probably on a completely clean reset device?? so would never encounter issues with user data. Also variance in user data could explain why some people have issues with the FW update and others do not.

We will see ................................

 

[pearcese]

Hello, charge 5 is updated, it’s tracking exercise, but the screen is now black even after several attempts to change the clock face. The battery is also draining quickly within 1 day when it typically lasts days.

[KarahP]

Fitbit Charge 5 completely non-functional at this point.  I’ve followed the steps to reconnect my Fitbit including force closing and removing my charge 5, shutting down Bluetooth etc.  Now it won’t connect at all!  I

[Gilo-UK]

This must be the worst update in the history of updates.  It totally killed my battery life from 6 days to around 12 hours.  Also the ECG now crashes.  Whoever approved the update clearly did not test it properly.  Charge 5 is now pretty much useless 

[GWB67]

I had the same with an update they issued last summer for the Charge 4 - overnight it went from holding charge for 7 days, to 3 hours.

Hence I ended up having to get a Charge 5, now it's happened again. My original Charge 5 will not respond at all and the replacement I've been sent, I'm trying not to update.

[jojoriii]

Update:  I charged my Charge 5 last evening while I was having dinner, with a 20% charge left on the battery, and last night was the 5th day.  This morning battery charge shows 96%.  So far there are still no issues.  Not sure if the previous owner did anything different, like maybe skip the 194.61 firmware update which seemed to create the first issues and may have caused a bug the .91 wasn't able to correct.  As of now I still have a functioning Charge 5.  Still keeping my hopes high.

[jojoriii]

Thanks for the update!  Hopefully things continue to work, and this may give hope to others who still have their Charge 5.  I appear to have gotten lucky, so far, with a used Charge 5 I got off of ebay.

[Ddselden]

I meant to say minus typos - “Change for the sake of change is ridiculous.”

[RichardMusic]

TERRIBLE UPDATE:

This morning, when I woke up, my Fitbit app had been updated overnight. The new update, especially in the area sleep coverage is messy and difficult to read and seems to not have as many features available. This is a very large disappointment for me. The Charge 5 is my third Fitbit device and I’ve been using them since they were introduced. I was just about ready to update my Device do a Charge 6, BUT now will delay that decision. 

Hopefully, Fitbit will work on an update to return things to a much better interface, in the app. If not, I will find an alternative solution. Too bad, because I have been a loyal Fitbit user, and I bought many for my friends and family as gifts in the past.

[Markfm]

I'm running into HR measuring erratic behavior again, though I believe it's a simple case of the sensor failing rather than anything to do with the firmware.  The  symptoms during active exercise are under-reporting (e.g.,100 when  other sensors show > 120, consistent with what I can feel without a monitor - I have a very consistent evening workout pattern), gradually decreasing HR reported (drifting downward while active, even when I purposely increase exertion level when I see it happen), some periods where it simply stops monitoring (blanks/freezes in the HR), and sometimes throwing a random spike in reported HR (e.g., when I'm transitioning from rowing at 110 BPM to an exercycle, with a two minute break in-between, the exercycle has a soft-start setup, yet the HR monitor indicates I've somehow gone to 170BPM at the start of using the exercycle, which is wrong - my pulse is actually well under 100).

I repeated the full clear data/reset cycle, but it looks like the sensor is simply toasty.

It's not a positioning, band tightness, dirty device,... thing.  The device may be accurately working, then suddenly any of the symptoms may occur without my having changed the device position or tightness.

I've reached out to support, provided graphs of HR showing the errata, describing the troubleshooting I've done, will see what they come back with.

(I ran into this a some time ago with an Inspire 2, similar issue/symptoms.  It was a successful evolution, I received a replacement that worked.  We'll see what happens this time 🙂 )

[FB4TP]

Interesting to see this update was released December 2023 but the app does not "see" the update. I'm still on 57.20001.188.58

I understand these updates are rolled out over time but, nearly five months?

[GWB67]

My replacement device I received last week is still on that version too although the app is up to date - I did try to avoid the update but the app updated anyway!

[JavaJedi]

The new sleep graphs are awful. They’re hard to read, blocky, run into other data. Please restore OLD sleep graphs. 

[GilchristJ]

Everything is so much uglier and worse with the new update. This will be my last FitBit. 

[nearthound]

Have similar problems re erratic HR monitoring. Readings that are unlike ave readings I'd get from Jan 2023 to @ Mar 2024.

Kind of like the apparently erratic Sleep Data and Health Metrics.

[nearthound]

I also was looking to update from Charge 5 (which I had previously LOVED) to a Charge 6. Unless things change, not gonna happen.

[jjones3]

Stay on that unless you want to brick your device.  And Google/ Fitbit won’t help you.

[dan3458585]

Was the Sleep GUI updated without a version number change?  If so, who designed the change?  It’s horrible compared to the previous one.  Fitbit just gets worse and worse.  Must be Wokism.  

[tcat007]

Same here.  I get Google updates within 2 or 3 weeks, but 4-5 months for Fitbit?  There should be a manual way to update rather than waiting for "update available" message.

[Daveleeander2]

We fully agree. Not only has google destroyed their customer base, they
have now shown what terrible code writers they have. whoever decided this
new sleep data is better than the old needs fired