Charge 5 battery draining quickly after the update

[bttrswt36]

Updated the firmware on my Charge 5 and immediately the battery, which had no issues previously, started draining within 24 hours. Three days later it is now completely dead and won't charge. Fitbit is taking zero responsibility for this even though it is their update that caused the issue. I'm assuming other people are experiencing this as well? I find it completely unacceptable...

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[LL_]

I wish I never got this broken brick update. If so many people had issues then why was I able to update to break my device??? This response is shameful. I'm sorry you have tp work for this company and post this nonsense on their behalf. 

[Becbuz]

Couldn't agree more with you...If they took the time to read all the
comments it the community forum they would see every one is having the same
issues..After all they told me to go to the community forum & see if anyone
else was having the same problem..I tried everything that anyone in the
forum recommended & the best recommendations was to trash the charge 5 &
get another brand..Sorry for your problem. Good luck..

[Barnalib]

I have the same problem and fitbit just washed their hands off it...

[Becbuz]

That seems to be the their response to every one. What ever that last
update was from Google really seems to be the problem but being as our
warranty's are up they are more or less saying tough ! deal with & or buy
a new one...Right now I wear mine while at gym get my readings & putting it
on back charge til I go back gym...As soon as I figure out which new device
to get ,I will get a new one but you can bet it won't be a fitbit or the
Google brand...
Fitbit has gotten to be to dang independent to suit me...

[7Ray]

Same issues with my watch

[trongvnau]

I think we all should start to warn potential buyers of fitbit 6 to steer clear. Maybe starting to go on every single review videos on YouTube about fitbit 6 and warn people to stay away and buy something else if they don't want to have a fitbrick 6 just like ours. Cheers

[tciraj]

Dollars to donuts its due to the release of the Charge 6. Pulling an Apple product update to force sales increase. 

[Becbuz]

Normally I would take bet ,but I never bet
when the odds are against me...You most likely nailed it on your
theory....I'm sure they have & will be losing a lot of customers...

[Jfeen82]

Why are there only 7 pages here? I feel like there were far more many complaints than this. Are Fitbit mods deleting more posts and trying to hide the issue?? @MarreFitbit 

[tciraj]

I was told to basically remove any superfluous apps from the charge 5 that are a constant drain. I charged it to 100% about an hour ago and it is down to 63%. I guess this is just a fitness watch I wear while literally working out now. I did buy a replacement battery and am looking for a cell phone fix shop to replace it to do some scientific theory re: the old battery vs. a brand new battery.

[T2theB]

Overnight, my Charge 5 went from going a full week on one charge to not even lasting 24 hours. This is ridiculous. 

[GirishKamath]

My premium subscription ended on 17th April and I did not renew it as I did not use all its features and then within 24 hours my Fitbit Charge 5 was draining within hours... 

Even when I wear it to sleep after charging it for the full day, it loses it charge with 4 hours.

Tried resetting it using the reset technique but doesn't help.

Fitbit has lost another loyal customer... Looking for an alternate tracker now...

If people can recommend what they have purchased, it will be much appreciated 👍🏼 

[TimN90]

Reposting this in this thread as it's at least good to see I'm not alone on this as I am also having this issue. The recent update completely ruined my Fitbit Charge 5 which now has the excessive battery drain like everyone else and only lasts 3 hours after a full charge. This is extremely frustrating as this has happened during one of the previous updates as well but was corrected later on with a later update. Absolutely disappointed and couldn't agree more with others on how much a coincidence this was with the release of the Charge 6. This will be my last Fitbit device is it doesn't get resolved.

[Tgillies]

My Fitbit came back to life today. Has anyone else experienced that? It’s been working properly for about 24 hours now. 

[TimN90]

Nope, unfortunately mine's stilll draining really fast. Definitely not fixed on my end.

[trongvnau]

Yes, omg, after 1 month of not touching it at all, I bought a huawei band 9 already and today after your post, i charged the fitbit 5 and now the battery is holding strong, HOW WEIRD!! Didn't see any firmware update?? Maybe the key is to let the battery rest for few weeks before getting back to use the fitbit? 

[ddavidnason]

My Charge 5 suddenly started draining in 2-4 hours after it started a firmware update. The fitbit app reports it is on v188.58 and cannot be updated.  I've reset it, hard rebooted, disconnected from my phone, forgotten the connection, reinstalled, ..., every possible solution from every forum.

I am extremely disappointed in fitbit's (and google's) customer (lack of) care ethic! 
My wife had complete failure of a Charge 4 some years ago. I bought her an Ionic, which needed to be hard reset and reconnected just about every month. The fitbit recalled the Ionic and replaced it with a Sense. We went through new charging cords for that almost monthly (poor pin design). Then that device wnet into a reboot-loop overnight and finally bricked. The best fitbit could do was to offer a 35% discount.

I replaced my wife's bricked Sense with a Garmin 265 about 2 years ago and have been incredibly pleased with that device. My Charge 5 was a Christmas gift from my daughters in Dec 2023. Now it appears that I have to replace my Charge 5. I am already looking at the Garmin page for the replacement. I guarantee that I will *never* purchase another fitbit device.

[DarthWoo]

I'm not certain if this was due to an update as it only started last Saturday to my knowledge, but after having had comfortable six day charge times for as long as I'd had my current Charge 5, it suddenly dropped to three days. It seemed to be a bit better on the subsequent charge, but then it seems to have bricked itself during a swim today.

[Becbuz]

I only got the seven pages also, Lots of comments , Thinking you may be
right Leave to them to do as they please .🤬

[akcoe]

Mty Charge5 was fine and at 46% battery when it went to displaying only the logo then went dark.  I reset via the charger and eventually got the update in the app to apply.  Applied and battery lasts almost 2 hours.  Called customer support and reset multiple times and turned off apps but nothing helped.  The red light on the bottom stays on now.  The customer service rep said he would escalate to see what FitBit would do and I would get an email. It has been a week and no email or response from them.  The watch was 14 months old. My previous watch was a charge for and it lasted about 18 months. I will never buy Fitbit again. I am moving to Garmin.