Charge 5 is not charging properly

[NickBerg]

I have a 2 year old Fitbit Charge 5, which has suddenly developed an issue with both the battery and display. Over the weekend, I noticed that the battery had depleted after just 3 days, where it would normally last all week. After charging it for a few hours, the display has been showing this permanent static glowing pattern (see attached photo below).

When the Fitbit is attached to the charging cable, my phone can sync with it. But as soon as it is detached from external power, no connection is possible and the screen remains black. I have reset the device, but this has not resolved the issues.

I suspect that the battery has failed. Can anyone confirm this or offer any other troubleshooting steps that I can try?

I have attached photos showing what the display looks like when charging.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there, @NickBerg. Welcome to the Fitbit Community Forums. Thanks for bringing this to my attention and for the troubleshooting steps you've tried. I'm sorry to hear that your Charge 5 is not charging properly and the screen is now corrupted. I understand your concern, I will do my best to help you with this!

Please note that there are some issues that affect this, being which power source is used and how clean the contacts are and how well the charger is seated. If you are charging your Charge 5 on the wall socket, try using another CE certified USB adapter for low energy devices.

If you haven't done so yet, I'd recommend following the tips and recommendations provided here Why isn't my Fitbit device's battery charging?

Regarding the screen, if you haven't done so yet, please try the steps below:

1. From the Today tab in the Fitbit app, tap the devices icon at the top-left corner.
2. Tap your Fitbit device image. 
3. Near the bottom of the page, tap Sync Now.

If the above doesn't work, please restart your Fitbit device once again as suggested here How do I restart my Fitbit device? Note: Restarting the device doesn’t delete any data. If the restart doesn't work try to change your clock face. If this fixes the issue, you can change your clock face back to the original clock face. 

[NickBerg]

Thank you for the information @MarreFitbit

Here's what have tried:

- Cleaning the contacts on the device and charging cable.
- Using an alternative charger from a family member, who has the same device.
- Clicking Sync Now. The result is "just now", but only if connected to the charger. Otherwise it's stuck "Looking..."
- Initiating a reset does seem to restart the device as it vibrates 5 - 10 seconds after pressing the button three times. However the screen remains the same.
- Changing the clock face from "Target" to "Continuum". The device vibrates after the clock face installs successfully, but the display is black.

Since posting earlier today, the display is now black instead of showing the corrupted pattern. A single white line flickers when connected to power, but the screen stays black even when restarted.

Let me know if there is anything else that I can try. Otherwise I will assume that this unit has failed.

[MarreFitbit]

@NickBerg Thanks for getting back and for the detailed information provided in your post.

Since all the steps you tried didn't work, you have a Charge 5 and report it's not working properly, I need additional information from you that would best be shared privately. I’m sharing a link to a form for you to fill out so we can look into this further. 

This form is only meant for you to use, so let me know once you’re done. Click here to get access to it. 

[NickBerg]

Thanks @MarreFitbit, I have submitted the form.

[NickBerg]

Following up for anyone who comes across this when having a similar experience.

Support emailed me within 2 days requesting details about the purchase. This confirmed that I'm out of warranty, but they offered a 35% discount for a new Fitbit. This has been documented elsewhere in the community, so it's probably their standard practice.

Unfortunately, I'm not comfortable with the lifespan of the device. I don't have enough confidence that there will be any improvement with the Charge 6. I've decided to leave the Fitbit eco-system after 10 years and 30 million steps tracked.

I spent some time looking for an alternative. I tried a Huawei Band 9 for a few days. The device feels great, but the Huawei app is cluttered and unintuitive. I'm going back to a digital Casio watch for a few weeks. If I miss having activity metrics on hand, maybe I'll reconsider.

[SunsetRunner]

@NickBerg 
Hi Nick, I experienced the exact same issues, funny enough like you after 2 years and 2 months, just when the warranty has ended. I don't want to think it's a built-in Google Fitbit pattern to make us buy a new Google Fitbit tracker. The offer of a 35% discount instead of genuine customer support smells to me fishy, though.

I checked this community for issues with the Charge 6 just for funsies. Oh my, I can only advise anyone who considers buying a Charge 6 to have a look for themselves before they purchase one. To me, way too many issues with Fitbit Google Charge 6 as well.

Like you I've had it with Google Fitbit and my last tracker made by them will be exactly that: my last Google Fitbit tracker after four (!) different Fitbit trackers with various issues, an exchanged pebble, withdrawn functionality etc. I think it's just bad business behavior and most certainly not an incentive for me to switch to one of their pricy Google Pixel watches. So I'm searching for alternatives outside Google's offers. Feels like the right thing to do.