Charge 5 and hairy arms

[GöranE]

I have noticed that Charge 5 do not like my hairy arms. The sleep app precent only simple figures after synchronization. It works fine if I twist the Charge 5 180 degrees to place the sensor on the inside of my wrist.

Anyone else?

(Yea, yea, I know, use a razor)

[Odyssey13]

Hi @GöranE  the devices don't like tattoos either. Some of the people who had trouble with readings used a piece of white surgical type tape over the area that caused them trouble. Have you tried that? I know shaving is an option, but you might not always wear your Fitbit.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, welcome to the Fitbit Community forums, @GöranE. 

Thank you for all the details that you've shared about this inconvenience with your Charge 5. 

We use green LEDS because they maximize the signal detected from the capillaries near the surface of the skin. The optical heart-rate sensor also uses infrared light to determine when the device is on your wrist to improve the accuracy of your heart-rate data, but if the lights are being blocked by the hair, it could potentially prevent the device from recording your data. 

Please take into consideration that there are a few scenarios where you might see your sleep pattern (which shows your time asleep, restless, and awake) instead of sleep stages:

• If you slept in a position that prevented your device from getting a consistent heart-rate reading or wore it too loosely. For best results, wear your device higher on your wrist (about 2-3 finger widths above your wrist bone). The band should feel secure but not too tight.
• If you used the Begin Sleep Now option in the Fitbit app (instead of simply wearing your device to bed). For more information on automatic sleep tracking, see How do I track my sleep?
• If you slept for less than 3 hours.
• If your device’s battery is critically low.

In addition, if you continue to experience the same difficulty, try to perform a restart following the steps listed here, this has been useful for other users experiencing something similar. And since the sleep stages depend on the heart rate information, I would also recommend following all the instructions in this article to improve the accuracy of heart rate information: How to I improve the accuracy of my heart rate rate reading?

See you around. 

[Zorp]

My arms are on the hairier side and also get pretty inconsistent sleep data with my Charge 5. Gonna try this out

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the Community forums, @Zorp. 

Thank you for confirming that you're having the same problem with your Charge 5. 

Let me know if you continue to experience the same behavior after the troubleshooting steps mentioned earlier. 

I'll be around.  

[Zorp]

Thanks Davide. 

So far the last three nights have been successful in getting sleep data using this method. 

I’ll continue to do this and let you know if I run into issues again. 

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I suppose I spoke too soon and had the same issue last night. I use the app to log sleep but when I wake up I have no sleep stages/analysis or readiness score even though the smart wake alarm worked fine and I have no other issues with HR or anything. 

I don’t think I wear it too loosely, could it be anything else?

[GöranE]

I have had my Charge 5 on the inside of my wrist since my first post here, it works fine. When I twisted it during days everything worked fine but I noticed that the battery drained faster. Is it possible that the Charge 5 drains the battery faster if hair interferes with the censor?

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Seems my battery is bad, charged it on mid Friday and it was 10% early Sunday, that's 36 hours! My wife's charge 5 works fine one whole week, both has the same configuration and i bought them att the same time.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, thank you for your replies and for confirming that you already tried the steps suggested. 

@Zorp These are some general recommendations to improve the accuracy of sleep data. However, if you already tried all the steps suggested and you're continuously having trouble with track your sleep, I do recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team so they can let you know how to proceed or what options are available for you. Please click here to get connected. 

@GöranE Before considering other options, please make sure that you've followed the steps provided in this article. In addition, try to perform a restart following the steps listed here below:

1. Connect your device to the charging cable. For instructions, see How do I charge my Fitbit device?
2. Press the button located on the flat end of the charger 3 times (end if the USB cable), pausing for 1 second between presses. Then wait 10 seconds or until the Fitbit logo appears.

In addition, the team is aware of a battery drain issue affecting some Charge 5 devices in which the built-in GPS chip may remain active after ending a GPS-enabled exercise and they've working on an update to fix the issue. Please note the following:

• If you use GPS to track your exercise, use the Phone GPS setting on your tracker to preserve battery life. For more information, see How do I use GPS on my Fitbit device?
• We’ll work to resolve it and hope to have a fix soon. Be sure to keep your Fitbit device and app up-to-date to ensure you receive the quickest resolution.

See you around. 

[GöranE]

I have replaced my first Charge 5 with a new one. So far it works like a Rolex 😀. Something was not ok with the first, probably the battery. Charging and draining was just to fast.

Moderator edit: format

[DavideFitbit]

@GöranE That's great news, thank you for sharing this update! 

Have a great day. 😀

[Zorp]

Hey Davide, just wanted to give an update that I solved the issue. I was telling the app when I was sleeping/waking instead of letting the Charge 5 auto detect my sleep. Has worked for over a week straight so far. Thanks for your help. 

[DavideFitbit]

@Zorp Thank you for sharing this update, that's great news! 

Have a great day.