Charge 5 battery draining too fast

[SharleneH]

I have had the new Charge 5 for 2 days. The battery discharges within a day. GPS is off, the phone is not set to always on. In looking over the troubleshooting instructions from Fitbit, it seems that you essentially have to disable all of the features that were selling points of this device in order to get decent battery life. Even my ancient Charge 3 got 6 days on one charge! Has anyone with this battery problem found a solution other than disabling everything?

[Bunchadogs]

No need to switch brands, it's under control!

Thanks for letting us know about this issue. We always aim to deliver a positive experience with your Charge 5, and we’re working on a firmware update to fix the issue.

Or you may keep an eye from our latest update of Fitbit app and its firmware as the battery draining fixes may be rolled out soon.

🙄

[JKOFFOTH]

What is the canned response you are referring to?

John

[Bike-man]

Last response on page 38.

So far 39 pages, 700+ responses, 97,000+ views.

Statistics speak for themselves.

[Bunchadogs]

Page 38 has a canned response from DavideFitbit.

The two quotes in my post were from Customer Service chat - also very much "canned" and the exact same responses they have been giving for months.

I was trying to see if they had any additional information - my problem seems to be directly connected to a Bluetooth problem. 

I could actually believe a software / firmware update might solve the problem - it seems to "random" and reversible to be a simple hardware failure. 

I can absolutely believe a hardware / os update on the phone and/or an incompatibility in the Fitbit os / firmware / app could have created an issue like this.

However, Customer Service just goes over the same "try this..." (even AFTER I explained I had already done multiple resets with the charger!) and "we're already working on a firmware update" excuses.  

Bottom line is that they are not providing any "real" or detailed responses - this has been enough for me to start shopping elsewhere!

[Dstoneman60]

My Charge 5 randomly started holding the charge for a normal length of time, but enough people on this forum convinced me that it's fool's gold - will likely start being problematic again when it is no longer returnable. I ordered a new Charge 4 from Amazon, and have already arranged a return of my Charge 5 to the retailer I purchased from once the new Charge 4 arrives. I never had a single issue with the Charge 4, but I banged the face against a wall and messed it up. Getting a screen protector designed for it this time to protect from scratches. 

It's really a shame...I liked the Charge 5 features, but when you have to turn all those features off to MAYBE get it to work, not really a practical solution...

[Wildcatguy]

Here is a screenshot of my chat with Fitbit Customer Support just moments ago:

[JKOFFOTH]

Was there a reply to your statement that it has not been fixed.

[Bike-man]

I’d be interested in hearing from the moderators re:the comment made above by the support tech. 

We all just want transparency on this issue.   
appreciate a reply.  
thanks

[Wildcatguy]

>>>>  Was there a reply to your statement that it has not been fixed.

Sort of, if you want to call it that.  I was sent a link to a list of the same suggested temporary work-arounds they have already posted here over and over.

[weishein]

Unfortunately, I've done all the so-call suggestions. No improvement. Why are you asking us to off all the features? What's the point then? Just admit that you guys screwed up big time. I was one of the pre-order customer. First of all, the shipment got lost, you guys had to send another one to me. Then when this battery problem didn't go away, you insist on us to restart the tracker every time we recharge. Then, if that doesn't work, you are asking us, the user, to switch off majority of the features. What the **ahem**?!@ When I contacted you guys thru live chat, I was told the warranty has expired. Wait for new software update? I don't see how a new software update will help much when the problem is clearly a hardware problem. I just recharge/restart my Charge 5 2 nights ago. Yesterday I went for an hour running session. The next morning, 9 am, I checked, my tracker already ran out of battery. Mind you, I stopped using the built-in GPS, which sucks big time. 

If you think I'm lying, you have all the data on my tracker, refer back!!

You guys should just admit the mistake made. Send all a brand new replacement tracker to those who pre-ordered. Obviously, the first batch has problem.

I've been a loyal fitbit user for more than 5 years now. Truthfully, with this current tracker, I'm beginning to think about another brand. Google buying over you guys did nothing but made your after sales customer service going down the drain!

[shimsim]

@Fitbit I think at this point the community deserves some transparency on this issue, the 'buy some time and sweep it under the carpet' approach just isn't fair on customers.

1. is it limited to a specific batch or can any/all charge 5 trackers have this problem?

2. if its just a firmware issue, why is it taking so long to resolve?

[JAR821]

I got this device because I just got a notification that my ionic was recalled. I loved my ionic and had for 3 three years. Have had this for several days and so far not impressed. I will do all the steps they say and see if it improves my experience. So you won't be able to get an ionic as the stopped making them

[Bunchadogs]

Wow!  "The issue on short battery life for Charge 5 has been resolved already"

That comment needs to be seen by the moderation team and somebody needs to correct that ASAP! 

That is flat out lying to customers, not just "we're aware" or "we're working on it"

I really hope a moderator stops by for a real comment and can provide some feedback.  This is getting to the point of never buying a FitBit product again.

Moderator edit: format

Moderator edit: all-caps

[JKOFFOTH]

In a previous members post the customer seemed to think his pre order Charge 5 pointed to a batch that first came out.
The problem I have with the problem being software is then why did my wife’s Charge 5 work fine for 8 months. Hers finally died and now they are replacing it under warranty.

John

[Fbituesr766]

Well we have two in our household, neither were the pre-order batch. 

One has failed, while the other is still going, but may fail down the line… 

[Bunchadogs]

I'm fairly certain I pre-ordered as well - my Charge 3 screen was dim but still working when they announced the 5 and I remember hoping it would hold out until their projected ship dates.

[Bunchadogs]

One other note for anyone contacting Tech Support - they can see your battery usage:

Agent: Clarence S.: Upon checking, we can see that your device was fully charged to May 17th at 3:44 PM and was reduced to 79% on the same day at 3:52 PM.

21% charge reduction in EIGHT minutes!  Woohoo!

They must have some insight into what is really going on with these devices!  It sure would be nice if somebody would share - with US and with the Customer Service team.

Moderator edit: format

[Fbituesr766]

Then it’s more widespread because ours aren’t pre-order. It’s probably all charge 5s and they just run into this issue at some point in their lifecycle. 

[Bunchadogs]

I really don't understand why they can't provide more information to their customers!

We're out here literally trying to HELP them - trying to troubleshoot their products and their quality control.  I've had Fitbits for years, most of my family and MANY friends adopted them based on my recommendation.

We gave them money and now we're working unpaid to help them troubleshoot their products...I really do wonder if anyone even monitors these forums versus just "doing damage control"

[Bunchadogs]

Hopefully this thread gets shared to the tech. support people at Fitbit...I'd hate to think all of our efforts are just a waste of time!

Test #5,798 (or something like that!) 🤔

I deleted all data from my Charge 5.

I used the Bluetooth "Forget this device" option

I turned off Bluetooth

I deleted the app from my iPhone

Re-downloaded the app and re-paired the device with my phone (same account - I did not setup a new Fitbit account)

Accepted prompts on the phone to re-pair and share notifications.

The Charge 5 screen changed to the Fitbit logo and a progress bar - not sure why!

The phone app says "Syncing apps"

GPS is set to Phone, Screen is Dim / Auto Wake, no ECG / EDM / SpO2 apps 

No auto-exercise recognition

I think the battery has been stable at 66% for 20 minutes....but it's not showing any steps!?

Argh!