Charge 5 issue with set up and update

[Kbulmer]

Bought the fitbit 5.  Have spent 8hours now trying to get the thing to first upload the fitbit app, a call to customer service after 2 hours last night and 2 hours today. My iphone 11 needed an update.  It will take some time, so I update with a email from customer service to me with steps that I have already taken, to repeat now that phone updated. Another 2 hours later and nothing!  Finally, call customer service, explain how frustrated I am.  Nice gentlemen helps me after more than an hour repeating all steps and now to the point that the fitbit says it's sinced and updating....hang up phone with support that I'll call him if problems.  Now it 1:10pm after beginning the process since 8am.   It's still keeps saying an error message  that the "update has failed for the 5th time!   Each time it begins again saying it downloading the application once again only to be left with failure again.   This is not rocket science but I'm ready to box the little f*&^%r up and sail it back to the company!  I thought I was buying a quality product!

Moderator edit: subject for clarity 

[LiliyaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community, @Kbulmer.

Thank you for the details mentioned and the troubleshooting performed. I am sorry to hear about the frustration this situation has caused. Thank you for working with our Support team and for your feedback as it helps us to keep improving. If you continue experiencing difficulties, I recommend contacting our team back as they already have all the details and special tools to continue assisting you. I know they will be glad to help you out and provide a solution.

See you around.

[Dbb99]

Kbulmer, I have the same frustrations that you do.  The Charge 5 is not what I expected at all.  I want to go back to my Charge 3 but can't get that to work now either.  I'm very frustrated with a unit that doesn't do what it is supposed to do.

[LiliyaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community, @Dbb99.

I appreciate your participation in the Forums and sharing your experience. 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 and that they were able to help you. Thank you for your time and efforts.

See you around.

[Dbb99]

Your support team helped me get back to my Charge 3 app.  I just returned my Charge 5 and needed to get back to my Charge 3 App.  The short battery life on the Charge 5 and the lack of ECG capabilities definitely helped me decide that I didn't want the Charge 5.  I may upgrade to another Fitbit in the future but I will certainly do my research in advance of my next purchase.

[Kbulmer]

Update: After more than 8 hours of constant error messages from the fitbit5 while supposedly downloading  and failing to update itself, it finally loaded the programs, I think?  I never received a message that it was totally complete.  So, I wonder if I actually got everything that I was supposed to on the watch. The deal is, it gave me checkmarks next to about 5-6 updated programs on it.  Is that all of it?  I don't know!  NO message to say it was complete ever happened! Another issue, I still haven't figured out if I received 6 months of premium?  I registered and it said I only got 3 mos.   According to the box, I should have 6 months free!  I've never had such a hard time with a product.  Why aren't there any instructions within the box for downloading the apps for the consumer?  Why the lack of any type of instructions?  I bought a product that wasn't cheap thinking I would be using a quality product. I hope the watch performs better than the marketers.   I am college educated with more than a master's degree in  Communications and Education, so I'm not ignorant or lacking technical skills.  This is a poor excuse for communication and having to do "your job" for 8 hours is unacceptable.  Don't bother sending me any more emails.   I am intelligent enough to call for help for a third time and I don't make it habit of leaving harsh comments, but the lack of instructions to the consumer is just piss poor and making your workers clean up your mess, is nothing less then despicable.  I would like the 6 months premium service, given that I feel I earned it!

[LiliyaFitbit]

Thank you for your reply, @Dbb99.

I appreciate the update and thank you for your feedback as it helps us to keep improving. I appreciate you being a Fitbit customer and hope you continue enjoying the Fitbit experience and working on your goals. 

In case you have some spare time, I would like to invite you to visit our Discussions board where you can make new friends and create new topics.

Keep on visiting the forums!

[laccanvas]

I just received a Fitbit charge 5 for Christmas and right out of the box I am setting up my watch and I've downloaded the app and I synced up my watch to the app.... and then it asked me to update my Fitbit charge 5,  so I allowed it to update and it keeps trying to download the update, but it will stop at about 10% and my watch will shut down and then my phone will say that it's searching for my charge 5. It will do that for several minutes and it'll just keep doing that again... the app will go back and forth between downloading and trying to find my charge 5 watch.  I've tried changing the internet source connection to see if that will help, but it just keeps on bouncing the download back and forth. I can't access the Fitbit app properly until I update my charge 5...plus it interferes with the watch, shutting down and restarting everytime it "finds" the charge 5. 

[laccanvas]

Restarting my phone helped.

[laccanvas]

Now I'm dealing with a black screen that wont come back on...I've tried the 3 push button trick on the charger but it wont turn back on...it was on 97%  charge...then went black. I'm going to wait till morning to see if it resets itself. 

[PLuong]

Did this issue ever resolve with all these other folks? I just got my fitbit 3 days ago and facing the same frustrating issues. I"m now being asked by your rep to do a video (which I would use my phone) of how my phone and fitbit won't update...SMH. 

[HappyDogs]

So here we are in January 2023 and I am having the same problems.  I have been a Charge Fitbit user for many years with different models.  My Charge 4 has given up the ghost so I first got a Sense 2, only to find that it doesn't track steps during the hour, only with a fleeting message at 10 minutes to the hour.  They removed one of the most important features that I used constantly.  So I set it up for a return and ordered a Charge 5.  It keeps telling me to download the Fitbit app.  I HAVE the Fitbit app.  It will not show up in my iPhone bluetooth.  I've turned everything on and off, pushed the button on the charger, zip, nada, I have to get back to work.  At least I now have a box I can use to send both devices back!  What happened?  How could Google take such a simple, useful device and mess it up this badly?  

[Moondog74]

I lost the receipt! My new charge 5 is garbage!! Can’t get it set up. I hate that my last  Fitbit’s seem to stop working when a new one comes out. I am thinking I am done worth these products.