Charge 5 stopped working

[DNea]

My Charge 5 stopped working after 14 months. I’m in my ninth year of membership, pay for premium. No offer of support from Fitbit other than a list of products to buy!

I think I may investigate other HR trackers. Before I do so is this charge 5 failure a common occurrence?

Moderator edit: format

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, thank you for all your feedback and for sharing all these details about the inconvenience you've been having with your Charge 5, @DNea. 

I've been informed that you were able to get in touch with the Customer Support team again for further assistance with this and it seems they've shared other instructions with you. In this case, I recommend that you continue the communication with them so they can let you know how to proceed. 

Have a good day. 

[RiekoC]

According to the posts I've seen on this forum, many of us experienced fatal issues after updating to the current firmware - sudden loss of battery power & non-responsive screen. Sadly, there is no acknowledgement from the company that the firmware update caused our Charge 5 devices to fail or any reason why all of a sudden, we are seeing fatal issues. It's frustrating for many of us users. For me, the Charge 5 has the features that I want in a fitness tracker. 

I keep wondering how much these issues are costing the company in replacements as well as lost users who have given up on Fitbit and choose a different brand altogether. 

[DavideFitbit]

@RiekoC Thanks for confirming that you've been experiencing this issue with your Charge 5 as well. 

It seems that you were also able to get in touch with the Customer Support team. In this case, since you already tried all the basic troubleshooting steps shared in the forums, I do recommend that you continue the communication with them so they can let you know about the options available for you. 

Please know that your feedback and comments are greatly appreciated. 

[MahaloMike]

Same here. No help from Support and they give ridiculous suggestions, turning off EVERYTHING to see if this is the cause. I am done with this. I barely use anything on my Fitbit and it can usually last 5 to 6 days in a charge. Now I can only get a few hours.

[SunsetRunner]

Yeah, the options are to buy a new one. No thanks

[SunsetRunner]

My Charge 5 won't sync the past couple days. Yesterday I did a restart on the device and re-paired on Bluetooth but today? Nothing. I haven't contacted support because I've already done every suggestion including restart my phone, restart my Fitbit, turn Bluetooth on and off, etc. I hope it starts to work soon. I've had it less than 4 months! 

[Joyzam]

I have had a charge 2 and now a charge 4. The charge 2 finally wore out. However, the Charge 4 has been problematic since I got it. Somedays it won’t track sleep, steps per hour, etc. Today the screen went black and won’t go back on. I think it is a piece of junk. My husband is not much more impressed with his Charge 5.

[RiekoC]

@SunsetRunner Since your Charge 5 is still under warranty, I recommend that you contact Fitbit support. They will walk you through the same troubleshooting procedures that you've already done. Once they confirm that none of those procedures return your device back to normal operation and that your Charge 5 is still under warranty, they will send you an offer for a replacement tracker/pebble or a discount on a different device. (Note: the discount is on the device's full price, even if it's on sale on the Fitbit store.)

This is what I had to do when my Charge 5 became non-responsive (screen stayed black). So far, the replacement is working fine, even after updating to the most recent firmware. 

[Rob.Aus]

Did you recently changed your phone?

I had the same experience before when i was using Fitbit.

I changed my iphone, and didn't do a proper un-paired from the old phone because I run the app from the new phone it straight away allowed me to do a sync!

BUT, there is always a but, somehow the fitbit software got crazy, the iphone shows that bluetooth was connected with fibit, yet the fitbit still keep trying to connect to the phone or searching for bluetooth devices at the background, hence the battery just drain quickly.

I did a complete reset, and pair again, the battery life went back to normal of about 5 days instead of a few hours.

Hope this helps.

PS. The support from fitbit is hopeless!

My sense just died out not long ago!

[42003989]

Hi 

My Fitbit Charge 5 has stopped working ever since I went to Italy, post a trip to the beach where the water lock was on. 

Ever since, the screen is unresponsive. I have tried charging it, restarting and everything else suggested but it's not working. My warranty expires soon. Please help!!! 

[Joyzam]

Thanks for your reply, but I didn’t change my phone. I ordered one of the new fitness trackers from Amazon, because there was so much I really did not care for with my Charge 4. I will see how that goes.

Again, I really appreciate your response.

Best,

Joy

Sent from my iPhone

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing that you've been experiencing a similar issue with your Charge 5. 

If you haven't done so already, please make sure to try the steps mentioned here below that have been useful for other users: 

1. Complete the 3 pulse restart procedure using the charging cable. 
2. Follow these steps in case you're having trouble to charge your device. 
3. Please sync your device in the Fitbit app by tapping your profile picture > Charge 5 > Sync Now.
4. If you  can't sync, tap on your profile picture > Charge 5 > Tile to see if a firmware banner appears. 
5. If it's still unresponsive, please try changing the clock face as well and check if you're able to see anything on the display. 

I can see some users have also mentioned syncing issues, let me know if you already tried all the steps listed here to resolve syncing problems, and make sure to check the compatibility requirements listed here and to keep the Fitbit app updated to the latest version available. 

In addition, please try the following steps that have been useful for other users: 

• Force quit the Fitbit app. 
• Turn Bluetooth off and on. 
• Open the Fitbit app and sync again

[Kazlea]

That is exactly what has happened to mine in last 24 hours 😳

[calypsosfire]

Mine lasted less than a year. Got it replaced and that lasted 7 months. Now I’m ‘out of warranty’ But can buy another one at a discount. 

[obsessiv3]

Just signed up today because my 2nd one wet the bed...  I'm not even bothering sending it back in.

Why bother?

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, thank you for all your feedback and for confirming that you're still experiencing this inconvenience with your Charge 5 and the display. I seems that many of you already tried a few troubleshooting options.  

In this case, if you already tried all the steps mentioned here earlier that have been helpful for other users to resolve display issues, I do recommend that you continue the communication with the Customer Support team for further assistance. They will let you know about the next steps. 

The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. You can click here to get connected.

See you around in the Community.