Charge 5 difficulty disabling water lock during swim training

[MarshHawk]

Has anyone had difficulty dialing the water lock on the Charge 5 during or after swimming or swim training?  I have to whack it really hard 8-10 times so I can stop the timer.  This to the point of practically bruising my wrist.  I get inaccurate times-this is so much different than my Charge 3 where it was a single tap to stop the clock or pause.  So annoying.  Anyone else?  Beuller? 🙂

Moderator edit: subject for clarity 

[LiliyaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community, @MarshHawk.

Thanks for the details shared in your post. I understand how you are feeling and appreciate your feedback. Our team is always working on our products and services, and your comments are always welcome. I was able to see that you have already contacted our Support team regarding this. If you still need help, please feel free to contact our team back as they already have all the details and special tools to continue assisting you. For more information about water lock, see the Water Lock section in How do I navigate my Fitbit device?

See you around.

[NotJoe]

Anything that requires a "firm tap" or "firm double tap" is maddening. I'm just smacking the thing for several seconds until it finally responds. I understand the logic behind it, and I'm no engineer, but there has to be a better implementation of this.

[PallavShukla]

Charge 5 display during swimming keeps going all over the various options. The interface does not work till the time it is dry again.

Happens even in the shower! 

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @MarshHawk, welcome, bear in mind your Charge 5 (and other Fitbit devices) auto-recognizes swimming (among other exercises) From today screen in your phone app> Touch your icon in the top left corner> Activity & wellness> Exercise> and you can set the time "longer than">return to the today screen @& sync. I swim daily and while changing to enter the pool (before taking my glasses off) I set the water lock. Once out of the water at the end of my swim, I shower and return home before unlocking the Charge 5 - I sometimes have to repeat the double-tap but I would rather have to do that than have any issue with recording my swim. Once home I sync my phone to see all the stats Distance - lengths - AZM Calories - etc. If you want to check the time while swimming just flick your wrist in the usual way. In addition to counting laps as I swim, I monitor the pool clock having noted my start time in the knowledge my regular swim takes 90 minutes. The device ends the recording when you stop swimming.

I hope this is helpful.

Cheers

[nixcolai]

I use my knuckle and give it a firm knock. More effective than using my fingertips. Still need to apply a bit of force but doing it 2-3 times is better than double that.

[Regina3000]

Thanks! That does seem to work better.

[JMcGOC]

New Charge 5 purchased July 2022 and have same feature - once Swim started impossible to end.  Double Touch firmly to end message displays but screen very unresponsive during swim lock.  Will need to return Charge5 if resolution not available.  FYI - Main screen very responsive to touch, this appears so far to be isolated to Swim Lock.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @JMcGOC, you need to double-tap twice to bring up the finish/return option, there is a slight vibration indicating success (it may need more than one attempt). You can use the auto-recognize feature where you just get in and start swimming. (Before you start swipe down from the clock face and touch the "Waterlock" Icon) with nothing to do when you finish, on your return home sync your phone app to see the stats, dry your Charge 5 and turn off the "Water Lock". From your today screen in your phone app>touch your icon in the top left corner>activity & wellness>exercise,  set the time+ for your exercise, and ensure the slider is in the "on" position. After you have been swimming for (say 15 minutes) it records it as a swim. You still need to set the pool length on your Charge 5. Sync once you have the settings you need. 

I hope this helps.

Cheers

[KLCZ]

Why on Earth can't we have the display on the entire time we're swimming, in order to see our progress (or the time!)? There's no way I'm going to be able to double tap while I'm swimming. I'm not even sure why it needs to lock at all while swimming, that didn't happen with earlier models (although you couldn't see the display in those either because the time out was too short). I was very excited that I could have the display on while I was swimming si ce Charge 5 has that option.... only to discover that I have to swim lock the dang and thing and can't see anything! Huge disappointment again fitbit. Please support your swimmers!

[MarshHawk]

This is fine if you are just going for a swim and are only looking at total time (although it still takes a hard knock usually).  If I am doing drills and laps, it is a no go.  My Charge 3 was excellent for this, just a single tap and the clock stopped.  It was also visible for the entire time during my swim.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @MarshHawk If you set the display to always on in the swimming function and device settings you will always see the elapsed time. Swipe down from the clock face>settings>display settings>always on display & set to on. Return to clock face swipe right to exercise>swim (see the little chevron at the bottom of the screen), swipe up to "Settings always on display" tap to turn on>swipe down to the "Start" arrow> tap for "start" you will now see elapsed time is always on. Firmly double tap twice to access "Finish". 

Let us know how you get on.

Cheers

[KLCZ]

Elapsed time is not sufficient...should include HR and activity.....

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @KLCZ, More features are available on the "Sense" but none of the devices provides HR while swimming as the function is disabled (see the manual)

Cheers

[cjwiden]

Knuckle worked!

[JMcGOC]

Yep - hard knuckle tap triggers the unlock process

[JMcGOC]

I found that it requires a hard knuckle rap to proceed.  Been double-tapping out of swim lock with the Versa's but that not enough with the Charge

[3377KM]

I have the same difficulty. So much so I received a new Charge 5 after much back and forth with tech support? Problem is the same problem continues, I can’t turn off the swim lock! Very frustrating. The only way to get out of the water lock is to plug the Charge 5 into the charging cable. Not sure what my next steps will be but I don’t see another Fitbit in my future, I have had one for over 5 years too.

[cjwiden]

Hit it w your knuckle

[Surfista]

It always requires multiple hard taps to shut off the water lock. I will try the suggestion to use my knuckle next time I swim. I find it equally frustrating that after I am able to stop the timer, I get the message telling me to go to my device to see my stats. It is even harder to swipe off of this message and return to the clock face or to begin another series of swim laps. I sometimes just give up and leave the message on the screen until it eventually goes away by itself.