Charge 5 got wet and now the screen doesn't show up

[Gardentroll]

• My charge 5 is now not fit for purpose, I was wearing it sailing in the sea a couple of weeks ago and it got wet and after I got back ashore it bricked itself.  No response to anything suggested in other posts. I left it to dry out for a week and put it back on charge and after a couple of minutes the logo and vibration came back and I reset it and it carried on working after a full charge. 

I then used it in the gym and wore it in the shower. Again it brick itself. Again went through the same procedure and got it to work again.  Used it in the gym again but took it off and wiped it with a damp cloth, brick itself again.  Another gym visit and I left it to dry naturally. Brick itself. But I did get lots of symbols and finally a red circle with a white X.    Put it back on charge the battery had gone from 89% to 0 in less than an hour.

Basically it now doesn't like getting damp.  I did read a reply to another post about the charge 5 but in a swimming pool from a Fitbit support "help" agent that said that the Fitbit should only be worn in fresh water.  Where is that in the instructions and how many swimming pools are not chemical dumps.  

My watch is now not fit for purpose.  I'm not sure where the moisture is getting in so not going to spend money having it repaired.  

I think that all these watches should have a three year guarantee on them even if you had to pay return postage after a year. This was my second Fitbit, I  I had a charge 2 that went in the sea often and brought the charge 5 for more functions. Won't buy another Fitbit until they extended the guaranteed period.

Moderator edit: edited title to clarity.

[CrisVillaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community, @Gardentroll.

Thanks for letting me know about this situation in regards to your Charge 5 after getting wet. I appreciate your efforts and participation in the community to get this improved.

I recommend you to follow this steps:

- In the Fitbit app, touch your profile picture, touch your Fitbit device and click 'Sync Now'. This will help you synchronize it.
- Restart your device by following the steps here.
- After this, change the clock face of your Charge 5. In the Fitbit app, you can access the image of your profile and the image of your Fitbit device, touch the gallery and the screen and click on the clock face, preferably one of Fitbit and install.

[Gardentroll]

Thanks for the advice. Seems to have worked but the watch still rapidly drains its battery when it gets damp. Should I take it to a reputable repair shop and have the battery replaced?

regards

chris

[Rohit_2921]

I have the same issue, tried everything but still there’s no screen. I got mine exchanged within 3 months on purchase because of the same issue. The exchanged one is out of warranty and customer care wants me to dump it in e-waste bin, offering no help, exchange or discount:(

[Gardentroll]

Sorry to hear that.  It’s really annoying after spending so much on a watch only for it to die and the company that produces the thing, now wants you dump it.  It probably only costs $10 to produce so the rest is handling fees, overheads, and mark up.  

[Rohit_2921]

Makes me skeptical about getting another device from the same company. Even though it feels unfair if a device is slowed down over the years as software updates are pushed, I would atleast want the device to be in working condition. It has hardly been a couple of years and the device is rendered useless. I was thinking about the charge 6 or the sense/versa as my next purchase, but after this experience I don't think I would want to be anywhere close to Fitbit for the foreseeable future. I own an iPhone 8 from 2019, it's still going, battery is okay and the resolution isn't much per today's standards, but the device is still going. I was thinking about the charge 6 or the sense/versa as my next purchase, but after this experience I don't think I would want to be anywhere close to Fitbit for the foreseeable future.

[Gardentroll]

I decided to replace my charge 5 with a Suunto Vertical as I want to use it for outdoor activities and the gym.  It’s very bulky and the user interface is not great especially if you want to use it with the Pro sports modes. It doesn’t have a payment feature and you don’t appear to be able to scroll down through a message as far as I can tell, although they claim that you can.  Didn’t want an Apple Watch as the battery has to be recharged too frequently. Not much other choice apart from Garmin or Samsung.  Be interested in knowing what you decide to do about a replacement.

[Rohit_2921]

Those are exactly my concerns, don't want the tracker to be bulky, want it to last a few days atleast and accuracy is a must. Got gifted a CMF watch a few months ago, looks great, is a bit bulky, lasts a while but data that it provides doesn't fill me with trust. At this point, I'm not willing to spend a lot so an older Samsung is one of the choices, but it requires a Samsung phone to be fully functional (I'm a Pixel user). I tried an older garmin, felt a bit clunky usability wise, maybe it was an older model. Pixel watch looks compact and competent, but the latest one in India starts at ~40k INR ($450+). I follow 'the quantified scientist', his studies show the Apple watches at the top, followed by huawei watches in terms of accuracy and battery lasts a while. I'm not really sure what I should go for, I'd appreciate if you have any suggestions. 

[Rohit_2921]

So I got this badge today, some kind of joke it seems. Even they would know
their devices don't last that much. Maybe they want to appreciate you for
making this far 😂

[Gardentroll]

So did I LOL.  

I really don’t know which sports watch is best there are so many biased reviews. There is also the coros pace watches but they seem to have a problem with the watch glass coming loose after a couple of years.