Charge 5 battery draining quickly after the update

[Ash995]

After the most recent update, my battery life has gone from lasting 6 days to lasting maybe 2 days at best. This is extremely frustrating. Any ideas or tips other than just buying a new one? It's only 18 months old. 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[DramaQueenDiva]

Do you use any apps on it that could drain the battery, such as GPS?

[Ash995]

No, just notifications from maybe 4 apps on my phone and then the basic tracking steps. 

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there, @Ash995. It's nice to see you around the Fitbit Community Forums. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I'm sorry to hear that the battery of your Charge 5 started draining after the update. I understand your concern, I will do my best to help you with this!

Since you mentioned that this started happening after the update, please try to logout of the Fitbit app and swipe off the active face on your phone and turn off the phone's Bluetooth, then hold the watch button for 10 seconds till it vibrates and the logo appears and wait for it to start. In this disassociated state the battery should last as before.

Nevertheless, please bear in mind that as all rechargeable batteries age, they deteriorate to some extent and an older device will need to be charged more often than a new one. The best way of minimizing this effect is to avoid deep discharges of the battery. To maximize the overall life of your Fitbit device's battery, ideally keep it between 20-80%.  Many people find that a daily battery boost works best ( e.g. giving it a 15 minutes charge while you are showering in the morning).

If you haven't done so yet, please see Can I extend my Fitbit device's battery life?

[Ash995]

Hi! I did the steps listed above and it did not solve the issue. I haven't changed any settings or usage on the device, the only thing that changed was the device update. I understand having to charge it more frequently as it ages but it's only 18 months old and I was definitely not having this issue prior to the recent update. A gradual decline in battery life is to be expected but an immediate drop of lasting 5-6 days to now lasting 2-3 days is not normal battery aging. 

[to_arch]

I have the same issue here. Mine was only 18 months as well. My first fitbit last 4 years. I contacted the customer service and waiting for their email response.

[RiekoC]

Hello @Ash995 & @to_arch 

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.

[to_arch]

Thanks for the advice. I have been follow your instruction over the weekend to try but still not working...