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?

[shimsim]

@MarcusDaly dont suppose you know where the first unit was manufactured? and how about the replacement one? Malaysia or China?

[Eef01]

I have the same problem. Is Fitbit aware of this? Or can I send the charge 5 back. Because 2-3 days is too short. I recharged my last fitbit after 6-7 days, these one every two days. I don't use GPS. I bought this because of GPS in the phone but that doesn't work during winter with jacket. Really dispointed.

[Bike-man]

Scroll back to “Go to The Best Answer” & try these suggested remedies.  If they do not work apply to return the Charge 5.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, it's great to read that so many of you have seen an improvement in battery life after you tried the troubleshooting steps or after you received a replacement unit. 

In case you're new to this thread and if you haven't done so already, make sure to follow the recommendations listed here to extend battery life and to complete a three pulse restart described here below if you're still having trouble:

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, pausing for 1 second between presses. Then wait 10 seconds or until the Fitbit logo appears.

In case you continue to have the same problem with the battery draining too fast, make sure to give us a call or chat with us and the Customer Support team will let you know how proceed. Click here to get connected. 

See you around. 

[Krisius]

Fitbit charge 5 times a day. This thing is a piece. After seeing countless people complain about the battery issues, and not having seen any “reviews” state the battery troubles, I am feeling a little hoodwinked into buying this thing. This is not the way you release a product. I like it, but the fact I am troubleshooting battery life 2 days after buying this thing, is not making for a happy customer. You then have the audacity to push for a premium subscription for a device countless people are complaining about. I am not pleased. 

[AKLDave]

I have had a Charge 4 for the last couple of years and it still holds battery life for much longer. I have had my Charge 5 for less than a week, i charged it to 100% before I set it up and starting using it, charge it every morning for around 15 minutes while I have a shower, etc. (like my Charge 4) and on the second day it was flat by 10pm. I charged it this morning to 100% at 10am, it is now 10:30pm and it is already below 50%. This is pathetic! If I have to turn off all of the functions as described in other posts here then what is the point of having it!? If that is the case I want a refund. 

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Same for me and I agree 100%!

[shimsim]

You should not need to turn off the key functionality if using the primary tracking functions, i.e. HR, SPO2, skin temp, active minutes, etc etc, it should last 7-8 days. Things like having the screen on all the time or using the built-in GPS are also going to drain the battery much faster. I don't have a good measure of how long it will last with the screen on, but most people on this thread are having an issue because the battery (or something else) is defective. 

If you have tried the suggested restart fix (press the button on the charging cable 3 times) and after a full charge still getting poor battery life (when not using the screen on all the time + GPS) then you might also have a defective unit and you should contact support to help you out.

[Bike-man]

Agreed 👍👍.   
it would be interesting to know what % of Charge 5 owners are experiencing these issues and perhaps where their tracker was made.

[Eef01]

I have send the charge 5 back. Battery is draining to fast. GPS doesn't work properly. I will buy these fitbit when these issues are solved. My charge 2 is far better. Only the screen is broken. 

[Auntygail]

I am in the US I returned mine took about a month. But that was fring the busy Christmas season. My née one works great. 


Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

[MarcusDaly]

Not when its working properly - quite happy with my replacement. 🙂

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New one is made in China. Don’t know about old one.

[dz1234]

How long does the battery last with the GPS on for one that is working properly? I have a charge 4 and the battery is good for about 3 hours when fully charged, which isn't enough for tracking a long hike or bike ride. Is the charge 5 any better?

[Bike-man]

I used the gps once during a bike ride.   During the 3 hour ride it consumed about 30-35% battery charge.  Because I did not pause it when I stopped for coffee, it saw the stop as part of the ride and impacted the stats for average speed.  I didn’t buy the Charge 5 for gps so I will not use it going forward.  
I’m on day 8 of a full charge with 23% left.  

[Eef01]

No not better

[MarcusDaly]

Update - after 2 weeks the replacement Fibit is still consistently losing around 10% per day  - that seems OK and predictable, so I'm quite content.

A couple of observations - maybe its my age and eyesight but the battery remaining % on the bit  is quite difficult to read. When I sync with the app the % in the app is not updating unless the fitbit or phone restart - not a big deal for me.

[SunsetRunner]

This is really disappointing. After charging to 100%, I wore it overnight (in ‘sleep’ model, so screens and all notifications off) and when I woke up the battery was now at 75%. Took it off for a shower (not on charge) and when I came back after 15 mins or so it was down another 3%.

Sending it back, I have to say, every time I have tried the ‘newest’ offering from Fitbit, I have been disappointed with the result. Poor reliability, poor performance, features advertised but not enabled…

[dponzio]

I am having the same problem.  The battery gets really low in a day, goes into low battery by the end of the day.  I don’t have the new features 0xygen, EKG.  I don’t have display always on.  I think I won’t buy a Fitbit again.  My charge 3 screen went white after 2 years.  I went back to my charge 2 that was cracked but worked.  Neither of these had the battery drain so fast.  I don’t even have stairs on this one.  Way more expensive and not of good quality.

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the new users in the Community, and thank you everyone for all your replies about this inconvenience with the Charge 5. 

It seems that a good percentage of people have been able to resolve after they contacted the Support team. It's good to know that many of you have received a replacement and that it's been working properly. 

If you haven't done so already, please follow the recommendations listed here to extend battery life and make sure to complete a three pulse restart if you're still experiencing this problem with the battery draining too fast:

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, pausing for 1 second between presses. Then wait 10 seconds or until the Fitbit logo appears.

In case you continue to have the same problem, please get in touch with out Customer Support team so they can provide you with further instructions. Click here to get connected. 

Have a good day.

[berkeleycoffee]

I've also noticed that if I reset the watch while charging the amount of battery left will suddenly spike. For instance this evening it was charging at 70%. I pressed the button three times and the battery level showed 85% after restarting.

[shimsim]

I can confirm I was also seeing this anomaly on my faulty unit, didn't happen all the time, but it did definitely jump sometimes after doing a restart