Charge 5 not good for swmming

[Librafamily4]

On my 2nd replacement and I’m not going to swim with it on anymore.  That’s too bad because that’s my main workout 3 times a week.  Real bummed about that because I want the heart rate to be recorded all that. Will just have to manually enter the time and distance. 
they should not advertise it’s good for swimming. It is NOT

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Librafamily4 , welcome, I swim daily and currently use a "Charge 5" without any issues. You will find that if you start your swim on your device swipe left from the clock screen>exercise>swim>start arrow you will not get HR on the Fitbit app when you sync after your swim. How do I track swims with my Fitbit device? explains this at the end of the first paragraph.

If you set the waterlock before going in the pool and rely on the auto-recognize feature to record your swim you will get HR. This is my swim this morning.

All you need to do is set the water lock, and your "Charge 5" will recognise you are swimming after 15 minutes (you can adjust this time) You do not need to "Finish" the swim exercise, just go home & sync the app on your phone.

I hope this helps but if you are still stuck please post here again.

Cheers

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there, @Librafamily4. Thanks for stopping by in the Fitbit Communtiy Forums. We‘re taking your comments and sentiments in regards to our products into consideration.

I've seen that the issue you've had with your Fitbit devices is with the screen. Please note if your Charge 5 got wet, it’s important to take it off and dry it well before putting it back on. If your watch has come into contact with any liquid other than fresh water, you should clean it with fresh water and a soap-free cleanser (like Cetaphil) and dry it with a lint free-cloth. Be sure to follow our Wear and Care instructions to keep your device clean.

Water resistance may diminish over time and can be negatively impacted by any of the following:

• Dropping the device.
• Exposing the device to soaps, shampoos, conditioners, perfume, insect repellent, lotions, or sunscreen.
• Exposing the device to high-velocity water (for example, during water sports).
  
  

On a side note, please take all the information and suggestions shared by @Gr4ndp4 into consideration.

[Surfista]

I agree with you. If you need to figure out a workaround to record basic data, the device was clearly not designed for use as a swim tracker. It seems like the swim tracking feature was stuck in as an afterthought. When you also consider that it will not show laps or distance on the screen as you swim, this further reinforces the idea that it was not designed as a swim tracker.

[t.parker]

@Librafamily4 if this is your main workout then you'll do yourself a favour changing your device to something that can track swimming. Fitbit swim tracking is primitive, unreliable and made by people who clearly didn't understand swimming as an activity. I have been using several watches and I see Fitbit as the worst in the market when it comes to swim tracking.

[Librafamily4]

Thank you! Think I’ll do some research and find something else for sure.

👩🏼‍💻pamela rowe iwamoto

[opaopa]

slightest exposure and this watch dies. I was washing my hands and it went nuts showing me fitbit logo. Never again

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @opaopa , welcome, may I suggest you engage "water lock" to avoid your problem. Alternatively, you could remove your device when washing your hands.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

[Surfista]

The "water lock" does not make the charge 5 waterproof. It only turns off some sensors that Fitbit says do no work properly in the water.

[Librafamily4]

Thank you!

👩🏼‍💻pamela rowe iwamoto

[LindaT0806]

I am on my second Charge 5 and have found the same thing to be true.  Yesterday I was simply getting splashed by small kids while sitting by the side of a pool and now my screen appears to be shot -- it comes on every now and then and sometimes it is so light you can hardly see anything on the display and other times it just flashes a lot.  Same thing happened to my first one, but I did actually wear it in my pool before this happened.  This seems to be a real flaw for a product that is advertised as appropriate to wear while swimming.  Now I have to decide whether to try to get my second one replaced or move on to another product, which I really don't want to do because other than this display issue whenever it gets wet I've been quite happy with it.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @LindaT0806 , you should definitely not be having this experience with your Charge 5. I have been swimming with mine everyday this week and have covered 20,000 metres (12.5 miles in real money) you should talk to "Customer Support" .

Cheers

[LindaT0806]

Thanks for the reply Gr4ndp4!  I think the display issue has gotten better, but now the darn thing won't charge.  It took about 8 hours yesterday to get it charged to 100% and then about an hour to get back down to just 1%.  Now when I put it on the charger it isn't charging at all, although the logo does come up on the display now.  But within a minute or so the screen indicates that the charger is not working; however it is working just fine for my husband's device.  I've tried the reset process and I've cleaned everything so not sure what to do next.  This is so frustrating, especially since this is the second device that has done this.  My husband also swims in his quite often and he has not had any problems with his.  I guess perhaps I keep getting faulty devices or something.  I saw another thread about devices not charging and it seems like nobody on there has really gotten any resolution.  So at this point I don't really know if my display issue is still there or not, but I now appear to have a whole different issue along with the display issue. I hope you have a great day!!!

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @LindaT0806 Talk to "Customer Support"

Cheers

[LindaT0806]

Hi Gr4ndp4.  I am working with Customer Support on my issues.  Have a great day!!

[LYNNBULLOCH]

I also swim (open water) and hoped to record my swims. I set the swim activity, it auto-locked as it should, but the band would slide and not record HR. 

I am disappointed like you, looking for other options as the FitBit is also now not charging after only a few weeks of swimming. 

I am also a x-country skier and the Fitbit recorded my skiing as swimming, which was odd, but whatever. There is certainly room for improvement. I used to use my old (2012) Timex Ironman for all kinds of water sports and never ever had any issues. 

[LYNNBULLOCH]

Out of curiousity, did you always dry it off right after getting out of the water? Also, was it salt water, chlorine, or fresh water like in a river or lake? I am going to get a replacement device and want to continue my lake and river swims, but am cautious after reading your posts.