Charge 5 battery drain

[ayaashpaw]

Having used the Charge 5 Fitbit for around 13 months I am experiencing severe battery drain issues despite having battery advantageous settings, from minimal apps, screen off until double tapped and having the gps off. The warranty got over at 12 months & not sure what to do. This is happening past 1 week & the device was perfectly fine before this.

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[DaleHF]

That seems odd. I’ve had a few problems over the years and they’ve always quickly replaced. Maybe it’s country specific

[DaleHF]

Identical to my issue and just after the last software update.  A quick chat online and a replacement was on the way within 20 minutes. Regardless of warranty, I’d expect if a software update caused the issue, there should be some liability on Fitbit’s part.  

Must be different country to country. Australia’s consumer protection laws are pretty good 

[ayaashpaw]

Yes, it is country to country. I am based in Dubai, UAE. The charge 5 we got from US. It is now out of warranty & useless.

[Huahuacharge4]

I am having the same issue. It started since Sunday. It drained from 100% to 4 % within 30 mins! 

[krisykrisy12]

i chatted with support and they refused to give me a replacement even though its under warranty. 

[ayaashpaw]

That's weird. Have they provided a reason ? or a solution that works ?

Really disheartening..! Next time, I am only buying fitbit devices locally in Dubai rather than ordering from US. Just for the warranty.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for taking the time to share all your feedback and comments about this and for confirming that you already tried the steps suggested. 

It seems that some of you already contacted the Support team for further assistance with this. Since you already tried all the basic steps shared in the forums to improve battery life in general, I do recommend that you continue the communication with the Support team so they can let you know if there are any options available for you. You can click here to get connected and chat with them or to call them directly. 

It is particularly difficult when the device is no longer covered by the warranty, but even tough Support is eager to help with any problem you may experience with the product, they do need to adhere to the official warranty policy, this would start counting from the original date of purchase.

[Fartsalot]

I’ve had 5 different versions of over the past 10 years and it seems to me like they all crap out at about 1.2 to 1.5 years. I love the product but they can’t seem to make one that can sustain prolonged battery life . Super disappointing 

[MEHoffman]

Exactly!  Between my wife and I we have had a few and yes, max life 1.5 to 2 years!  Sad.

[Orc3y3z]

Does not resolve the problem, battery continues to drain and now the charger won’t even charge the phone.  I have set the phone to default settings, removed it, restarted it several times, left it on the charger all night and still consistent issues, charge does not last more than 8 to 12 hours.  

[DaleHF]

No.  I did every kind of reset possible and made no difference. Very strange it started happening to a lot of users just after an app upgrade, but Fitbit seem silent on that.  Not sure if you also got the recurring “ add card” notification that many got (me included).  Unfortunately, while I hope for more than 10 weeks for a new device, I’m totally unsurprised.

For me, the only positive is that the support chat team were (again) fantastic and I had a replacement delivered within 3 working days. 

[CWStylist]

Mine to! Started with add a card kept coming up and drained battery quickly. Charged to full yesterday late afternoon and will have to charge tonight. No problems until yesterday 

[MEHoffman]

We got a "check out the new versa 4" email....maybe you will too.

[DaleHF]

Mine went from that to totally dead in 48 hours. 

[ny-arubagal]

Mine started draining within 24 hours last week and I have only had it since December 2022. This was a replacement for a Charge 5 that had a bad screen. Two problems in a row. Not terribly impressed with quality control. 

[MEHoffman]

Yes I know your pain.  My wife's Charge 5 went through this and it was a "replacement" which was only a small discounted price.  Got her a Versa 4 (supposed upgrade) only to find out that thee is no way to know how many steps you need for the hourly activity.  You can get the10 minute warning but you have no idea whether you need 30 steps of 230 steps! 

[ny-arubagal]

Thanks for the info. That doesn’t sound like much of an upgrade

[DaleHF]

I was offered a replacement (mind you, the 5 that stopped was a replacement for a 4 that broke!) or a 50% discount of another model.  Maybe Australian consumer protections are better. It is frustrating though as they are brilliant when going and the app is the best fitness app I’ve seen. 

[Rose1975]

Same problem here. Advice below did not work.

[Rose1975]

This is what happened to me! It kept buzzing/flashing to "add a card" and then all of sudden the battery is dead and can't hold a charge. So frustrating!