Charge 5 not working?

[monkemanpabs]

A family member's Charge 5 suddenly stopped working yesterday. I don't know about these things so I consulted google and it said that to fix the device not charging / screen not turning on to press the button on the charger 3 times. I have 2 separate chargers for the device however neither are the original chargers therefore I googled what to do and it said to unplug it and plug it back in within 8 seconds. I have tried this method however this hasn't worked at turning it on or charging it. there was no indication at all of anything happening, not even a vibration from the device. Would anyone have any suggestions for fixing this?

Sorry for my bad english

[Julia_G]

Hi, @monkemanpabs , the instructions you are seeing on Google is for how to restart a Fitbit.  A restart can sometimes solve issues when the Fitbit is not behaving as expected, however, it cannot solve all issues.

If the screen is working on the Charge 5 you can perform a restart by going to the settings menu on the device itself (swipe down from clock screen to find settings, tap to open and then swipe up to find restart.

Fitbit have designed a second method for restarting a Charge 5 (and certain other devices) when the screen is blacked out.  In this case you need to press the button on the charger 3 times within 8 seconds.  This should also force a restart, although you have to get the timing right.

The original charging cable for the Charge 5 will have a button on the end that fits into the power source.  Unfortunately, many of the third party replacement charging cables do not include this button and therefore you cannot carry out the restart.  

In this case it seems to me that you have two options: get an official charging cable or get in touch with Customer Support.  You can buy a new charging cable for the Charge 5 from the official Fitbit Store (there’s a link at the top right hand side of every page in the Community Forums - choose accessories to find it) or try to find someone to lend you one.  This will allow you to try the restart fix and you can see if that fixes the issue.

If you decide to get in touch with Customer Support you can reach them on contact.fitbit.com .  As the Charge 5 is now an older device and probably not subject to guarantee in any jurisdiction, I think Customer Support is not likely to have a better option for you other than upgrading to a Charge 6 (which is the newer model and does have some updated features and will come with a new warranty).  However, if your family member does want to upgrade Customer Support may be able to offer a discount, so it can be worth contacting them in that case.

I am sorry not to have better news for you.  Welcome to the Community Forums!

[WeeJimmy]

It’s a problem fitbit have caused as lots of charge 5 users are suddenly complaining about the same issue all at once. My watch has never had an issue until i did the latest update now the battery drains within a couple of hours same as hundreds of other users but fitbit seem to be ignoring there’s issue and instead keep posting the same generic battery extending tips 😡

[Singlefirst]

They won’t send me another even my insurance will pay