Charge 5 stopped working after update

[Caniac]

Perfectly operating Charge 5 that synched this AM. Update Firmware and now 100% unresponsive. None of the support measures work nor any accountability from Fitbit to resolve the issue without customer paying more. Never seen a company break own product then punish customer. 

Has this been the experience others have had in this situation?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Caniac]

Had a functioning Charge 5 die after the firmware update. Good luck with Fitbit owning their product issues beyond the published FAQs.

[Odyssey13]

Have you gotten with customer support?

[Caniac]

Yes. Synched at 9:30am. Ran firmware upgrade. Totally dead. Support could not find the device. Would not even buzz when connected to charger. They could do nothing but offer me a discount to pay them more money for an issue they created. Honestly with the ongoing synch issues with two of these devices in my household I am going to try other brands. Switching back over to Charge 4 I had in interim which was much more reliable than the 5. 

[Odyssey13]

@Caniac  I've asked a Fitbit Moderator to stop by to address this with you.

[TFDRAG]

Same here dead and all they want is more money. I'm done with FITBIT!!!!!!!!!!!

[Jackgee]

Likewise a few days ago. This was a warrantee replacement Charge 5 to replace a frozen Charge 5 that I received early August 2022.
The original Charge 5 went totally bank screen and couldn’t get screen back after trouble shooting with Fitbit customer service over the phone.

Warranted Replacement Fitbit has lasted 5 months then has screen with Fitbit logo showing. 

Strangely, I hadn’t thrown out the original Charge 5 and put on charger. Screen has come up and was able to setup again via app. Unfortunately, only lasted till yesterday then screen has gone blank as it did back in July 2022.

Now have 2 dead fitbits. One dead with totally blank screen and other with screen locked on Fitbit logo.

[Imorris0606]

Yes, as of a couple days ago, my Fitbit of 6 months, started draining battery within 8 hours from fully charged.  Today, I wake up to find that the screen and device is completely unresponsive.  I have restarted the device with the charger but it doesn't recognize the charger anymore.  I have also logged out and back in on my app.  It's like the device is dead, which is 

[Imorris0606]

Which is ridiculous 

[C_page]

Don't know if mine updated.. but last sync was the same as yours. Won't sync today.  Tried everything.

[maw147]

Happened to mine too today. Battery drained all the way down and went to charge it and screen stopped responding. I did the USB reboot about 6 times and still nothing. I could sync to the app and I changed the clock face.  Did the reboot several more times and one time it flashed the logo in the correct colors and then turned green and grainy like a Commodore 64.  When I got on with customer service chat they asked me to take a photo of it to send to them and when I went to wake it up it had gone black again.  Still syncs to the app and vibrates but screen is dead.  They are sending me a new one.  Although if they dont fix the firmware as that seems to be the issue its just gonna happen again when I go to sync the new one.  If I had the money right now I'd just buy a apple watch. 

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi everyone, and welcome to our new members. @Odyssey13 Thanks for your help.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention and the steps tried prior to posting. I understand where you're coming from as this isn't the type of experience that we want you to have with the Charge 5. I'm sorry for this inconvenience and I truly appreciate your feedback.

@Caniac, @Imorris0606 and @maw147 I went ahead to check your details and because you already have a case created, my best advice is to keep an open communication with our Support team. They've specialized tools that will allow them to further assist you.

@Jackgee and @C_page To look into this, may I know the error message displayed on the Fitbit app when trying to sync? What is the model and OS version of your phone? While you've tried some steps, please make sure to have exhausted the troubleshooting described here. 

@TFDRAG Just to confirm, do you mean your tracker won't charge or turn on? If that's correct and if you haven't done so, let me recommend the steps described in this help article.