Charge 5, device went dead

[Cybelle]

Device went dead seven hours ago, tried everything to revive. It came back alive 1 hour ago  with full battery, by itself.  10 minutes  later got a message of low battery, put it on the charger, nothing is happening, still at 2%.  This is going to be my last Fitbit product.  Had issues with all my previous ones.

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My Fitbit Charge Five  device just stop working, screen totally dark.  Battery is full., had it for maybe close to one year.  I tried everything .

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, welcome back to the Community forums, @Cybelle. 

Thank you for the information provided regarding the issue you've been experiencing with your Charge 5. 

If this is related to the battery, please make sure that you've followed the steps provided in this article. If the device is charging, but the screen is completely black, make sure that you've also completed the restart procedure described here below: 

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 (end if the USB cable), pausing for 1 second between presses. Then wait 10 seconds or until the Fitbit logo appears.

In addition, there are some features that can drain the battery more rapidly, but it's a bit strange that your battery would drain within an hour. Some of these features are: 

• Built-in GPS (Charge 5 can have a battery life of up to 4 day when using this feature regularly, or up to 5 hours if you use it continuously).
• Always-on display (Charge 5 can have a battery life of up to 3 days when using this feature). 
• Using an Sp82 clock face (Fitbit points out in this article that you may have to charge your Fitbit device more often when collecting SpO2 data).

If you already tried to complete the 3 pulse restart and you continue to experience the same problem, please try these additional steps that have been useful for other users:  

1. Please follow these steps in case you're having trouble to charge your device. 
2. Please sync your device in the Fitbit app by tapping your profile picture > Charge 5 > Sync Now.
3. If you  can't sync, tap on your profile picture > Charge 5 > Tile to see if a firmware banner appears. 
4. If it's still unresponsive, please try changing the clock face as well and check if you're able to see anything on the display. 

[Cybelle]

Thanks.  I will follow the instructions.  I noticed that my device was fully charged at 10 pm last night, this morning by 9:30 am got notification It was at 7%.  No special apps on deviceSent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[DavideFitbit]

@Cybelle Thank you for your reply. 

Let me know if you continue to experience the same problem after the troubleshooting steps suggested. 

I'll be around. 

[Cybelle]

Yes, still having issues.  Fitbit has to be recharged every 24 hours.  Not sure what the outcome is going to be.   Not the first time,I had issues with other Fitbits.  I am sort of partial to the brand, but is is becoming an expensive tradition.  Shopping around.  Thanks for the follow up.  Best RegardsSent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[DavideFitbit]

@Cybelle I'm sorry to see that you're still experiencing this problem after all the troubleshooting steps suggested. Thank you for sharing your feedback about this as well. 

In this case, I do recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team so they can provide you with the next steps or if there are any options available for you. 

The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. You can click here to get connected.

[MDS68]

Mine did the same thing.  My versa I hated so I went back to the charger.  I kept reading that FitBit was going to do an update to correct this problem.  I'm tired of fighting it.  I'm done too.  I'm telling everyone not to buy FitBit.  Not worth the money.

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David - I followed the directions about uninstalling and reinstalling.  That worked for about 4 days.  Actually thought the problem was partially solved because the charge lasted from Sun til Wed.  But Wed afternoon it registered a low battery.  I recharged Wed night and Friday morning the screen disappeared and has not come back.  I walked Friday for 4 miles, came home and the screen is blank and will not light up.  Rarely I'll get the Fitbit symbol and it did sync at 8:30 this morning but still no image on screen. It did record my steps from my walk this morning but nothing since.  This Charger was bought from FitBit (not a local store) in Nov 2021.   

[Cybelle]

I am done with fitbit.  This is my 4th, never seem to last more than a year.  This one was brought to replace a Versa less than a year ago.  Right now I have to charge the device twice a day while looking g for another brand.  Thanks for reaching out.Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[DavideFitbit]

@MDS68 @Cybelle Thank you for sharing all this information and feedback about the Charge 5. I'm sorry to see that the troubleshooting steps were not successful. 

There's a new firmware version recently released for the Charge 5 that should address some of the problems related to the display and battery life. However, if you already updated the firmware version and you continue to have the same problems after all the steps mentioned earlier, I do recommend that you continue the communication with the Customer Support team for further assistance. 

The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. Click here to get connected. 

Thanks again for sharing all your comments and feedback about this so far. 

[MDS68]

I took my fitbit off my iPhone and tried to reinstall but the battery wont hold a charge now. I’m so disgusted with this fitbit. Did the battery come from China? I chose this over Apple and all I get is problems. Was excited about the upgrade but have not been able to get it to hold a charge to be able to download. And it is less than a yr old

Sent from my iPhone

[DavideFitbit]

@MDS68 Thank you for sharing your experience and feedback about this issue with the Charge .

If you haven't done so already, please make sure that you've exhausted all the troubleshooting options listed in this article. 

If you already tried all the recommendations that are usually helpful with this type of issues  and you continue to experience the same problem, I do recommend that you continue the communication with the Customer Support team so they can let you know what are the options available for you. You can contact them here to chat with them or call them directly. 

Please know that all your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated. 

[KJKC]

Good morning,

Disappointed in how these problems have played out, and sharing my experience so that other customers might be able to have insight into next steps.

My charge 5 was working swimmingly until Version 1.171.50 came out, and I rapidly developed the same problems others have mentioned. 

Within a day my fitbit charge 5 became 'bricked', where it would immediately die once being disconnected from the charger. After 3 circuitous discussions with customer support, who continued to blame the immediate fitbit death upon my 'looking at my watch too often' or not 'maximizing battery life settings' I finally screenshot my sync screens to show how quickly it lost charge once disconnected. (I had diligently followed their advice similar to what is listed above; maximizing settings to not drain battery life, not using a third-party clock face, recharging, restarting, and even a 'factory reset'/clear user data). 

Despite owning the charge 5 for just over 1 year (1 month outside their 'warranty') Fitbit did not offer me a replacement device but instead only 35% off a new product . I have been a fitbit customer for years now and was one of the users to pre-order the charge 5. After the disappointing customer service based on a problem caused by fitbit's software updates, I'm disheartened that this is how they are addressing it - by asking me to spend more money on an overall unreliable product and software.

Cheers. 

[MDS68]

My Charger 5 died and after fighting with it for months I finally got it to work for a short period of time but had to recharge it at least once or twice daily. Now it won’t come on at all. Mine is not even a yr old yet. I’m done with Fit it.

Sent from my iPhone

[Jeffersen]

I have had several Fitbits over the past 8 years or so and they seem to get worse as time goes on. The latest Charge 5 I have is only 2 months old and started to experience super fast battery drain and hasn’t tracked my heartbeat for over a week now. This seems really bad Fitbit, kinda embarrassing to be honest since your products usually had a solid 6-7 days of battery performance. 

[itsatradegy]

I'm having the same problem.  My Charge 5 was working well, and then, I recharged it last night to 100% (after 5-6 days of use).  This morning, it was just dead out of the blue. The battery is draining insanely fast for no reason, and I haven't changed any setting on it.  There is no reason for a product I got last fall to be performing so poorly so quickly. 

[jones2000]

Hi, I too am having problems with my charge 5.  When I went to charge it last night the screen was dead but there was a vibration when I attached the charging cable .  I presumed it would then charge overnight. This morning the screen is still dead and no vibrations when I detach/attach the cable.  I have tried all the above options: pressing button on charge cable, deleted app from phone, still nothing on the screen.  Do you have any more suggestions ?  Thanks

[MDS68]

I finally gave up on mine. I’m done with fitbit. Thought I was getting a nicer one from my previous 2 but this has been a nightmare. When I got the Charge 5 to work it only lasted a week or 2 and then died for good.

Sent from my iPhone

[Camerade]

This is exactly what mine did. I noticed the battery had died unexpectedly yesterday afternoon. I put it on to charge last night. Logo briefly appeared and watch vibrated. Left it over night. Went to put it on this morning and it was still dead. Put it back on the charger. Logo briefly appeared and vibrated but charging screen never appeared. Now it doesn’t even do that. Just a black screen, no vibration. No lights on the back. 

Tried resetting it using the 3 button press method. Cleaned all the terminals to ensure proper connection. Unable to connect it to phone since there’s no charge in the watch.

Contacted customer support and being told to wait for email. As it’s only just 18 months old, I know they aren’t going to replace it and basically don’t care. They’ll just offer a discount on a refurbished one or discount at the store. I spent $239 on preordering this and it has bricked in 1.5 years. Wholly unacceptable. 

I don’t run with it. I don’t do sports. I don’t swim with it. Clearly low quality components have been used for it to fail in such a short period of time. I’ll be leaving a 1* review on Amazon, warning others of what happened to mine and the fact that I repeatedly had to reset the **ahem** thing to get message notifications to work. I won’t be buying another one, nor any of my family. Far too expensive for such low quality and longevity. 

[LindaP7]

I've had exactly the same issues with my 14 month old Charge 5!  It's no longer covered under warrantee, but I was offered a 35% discount if I buy a new one.  My first Charge 5 lasted 13 months and was NOT covered under warrantee either, but I replaced it with my current one with a small discount they gave me.

I'm a long time user of Fitbits, having various models over the years; Alta, Charge 3 - April 2020 (replaced under warranty), Charge 5 - Dec 2021, Charge 5 - Jan 2022.  However, none of them have lasted much longer than a year.  I believe only 1 of them was covered under warranty and replaced and a couple others were not covered or replaced.  But again, they didn't last much longer than a year!  

I am aware that this one is two months out of warranty, but I just think it's ridiculous that they rarely last longer than a year!

It almost makes you wonder if they "Fitbit" can shut of your sport watch shortly after the warranty period is up???

With many different brands of sport watches out there, why would I buy a new Fitbit, yet again???  I will be pursuing other brands to see if they last longer than a year.

[Danze]

I love the Charge 5, but it’s really unreliable, I had 4 died on me already, including my wife’s, she got so angry she refused to get another one. 2 I had died within 6 months to 1 year. My last one just died on me last night, only had it for 2 months! Since I’m traveling, not sure what I should do now. I had my Charge 4 for 2 years and nothing like that ever happened, seems like Charge 5 is very prone to this! Lucky that I have my Oura ring with me too, I’ve been using the Oura ring 2 and 3 for years, never had a problem with them, including my wife’s, Fitbit really should do something about the Charge 5! 🤬🤬🤬