Charge 5 acting erratic, not recording data, loosing charge fast

[GardenGal73]

For some months I have had issues with my CH5 draining battery rapidly and dying  in the middle of the day from full charge then being resistant to recharging. Eventually after many hours or days on the charger, it finally responds to the 3 press restart and behaves normally for a while.

The problem has progressed further. When this happened a few days ago I got the red circle with white X. It eventually started to charge and I did the restart again but it doesn't want to operate.  While attached to charger,  it displays erratic numbers of battery levels jumping from 22% to single digits then back to 33%. Battery drains rapidly when removed from charger.

While wearing on my wrist the screen is black or displays the diamond logo or after repeating tapping displays the regular clock face. It doesn't record data, no steps, no sleep, no heartbeat.

I've already done the multiple restarts and changed the clock face but nothing is making it return to normal operations. 

I think a factory reset the only thing left to try. I want to know if that is going wipe out the data already in my Fitbit account or just the device?

I am so frustrated and disgusted that I am ready to junk this device and look for something else. It's really a shame that this company has let the quality and customer service fall this low.

[RiekoC · Accepted solution]

Hello @GardenGal73 

Doing a factory data reset will delete only your data on the Charge 5. It won't wipe out your Fitbit data that has already been uploaded to the Fitbit servers when the device syncs with the app. We recommend that you do a sync before doing the factory data reset to ensure your data will be uploaded to the Fitbit servers.

I understand that you said that you've already done multiple restarts & tried changing the clock face. When my Charge 5 started having rapid battery loss, I restarted and recharged my device multiple times over several days. As soon as I saw a rapid drop in battery, I restarted my Charge 5 and put it on the charger until it was back to 100%, often doing this multiple times in a day. Eventually, this process got my device "unstuck" and the battery went back to lasting 6-7 days. Although there's no guarantee that this will work for you, it might be worth a try.

Another option that you might want to try is exposing your device to freezer temps. A user tried this when their device was flashing the Fitbit logo and was able to get their device back to working properly. If you want to try this before doing a factory data reset, here's the link to the thread (<-- click link) where the user described what they did. Once again, there's no guarantee that this will fix the issues that you're seeing, but it's worth a try before going the route of factory data reset.

My main concern is that you are already having issues with the display going black or stuck on the Fitbit logo. If you can't see the display after the factory data reset, you won't be able to pair your device with your Fitbit app when you have to input the code during setup.

[GardenGal73]

Thank you for the reply. I will try it but I don't have high hopes. The battery has drained to 7% from in the 60s where it was when I made my post 3 hrs ago. I wiil put it back on the charger for a bit before putting it in the freezer. I'm not sure if it will be able to keep a charge while in the freezer for very long. The user who did that originally didn't mention what the status of his battery was before freezing. 

I'm not sure there's any point in contacting the actual support team about this as my device is 2 yrs old so no longer under warranty. I thought perhaps there were support techs that monitored this forum who might have advice. I've read through quite a few recent post on charge 5 issues and mine seems to be exhibiting all the symptoms others had mentioned,  everything all at once!

[RiekoC]

Hello @GardenGal73 

Thanks for your update.

The only "support techs" are the Moderators. They tend to stick to scripts, as that is probably what they're limited to using.

I'm part of the Product Experts (PE) group. We're users like you who try to help other users with their issues.

FWIW, from what I've read, typically Support will offer a discount on a new Fitbit, if you purchase it from the Fitbit/Google store, when your Fitbit is out of warranty. I've seen users report they were offered 35% discount.

[GardenGal73]

Well, just wanted to report the freezer trick did not fix my problems.  My device still is not recording data and the battery still drains within a couple hours of charging.  It has also now stopped displaying the correct time periodically, very erratic behavior all around.  I don't think factory reset will do anything about all these issues.  I guess I will reach out to support and try to get a discount.  I was wondering if I should switch away from the charge line and try the inspire 3. Do you have any information about the reliability of that device or how much different it is than the charge 6?

[DeeFitT]

I am also encountering the same issue, this has reverted to this forum. Over the years this has happened to my charge 5 multiple times and the customer service team simple send out a new one! It will be worth contacting them as the options suggested on this thread - which are useful - haven’t worked for me either. 

[MAND-E]

hello,

I am having all the same problems, I think we need to be sent new devices, I am a premium client and it is extremely frustrating to complete workouts and steps and lose data also the constant charging is infuriating 

Moderator edit - Formatting

[GardenGal73]

I was reading an article online that seemed to suggest these problems we are experiencing coincidentally happened after the latest firmware update. I have sent an email to support so I will see what they offer.

[MAND-E]

Hello
Thank you for coming back to me, when was the update as I have been having
the problems for quite a few months
Regards
Mandy