Charge 5 - suddenly battery draining in a few hours

[skatardrummer]

I've worn my Charge 5 every day since getting it in May 2022. It usually lasts about 7 days before I have to charge it. I've changed no settings on it or on my phone. All of the sudden the last 2 days, the battery drains from 100% to 4% in less than 12 hours. I made sure the contact points were clean and charged it last night and put it on before bed, and by morning it was down to 6%. I'm really upset. This wasn't cheap and I don't think it's covered under any warranty. The last Fitbit product I had lasted about 3 years before I had any issues with it. What is going on?

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[SunsetRunner]

Thank you for your email.
I would no longer like to receive emails from Fitbit. I am deleting my
account and getting rid of my charge 5. I have decided this after months of
silence from fit bit on this issue.
It’s with regret that I do this since I have had a fit bit since 2013.

[Rorym1984]

My Charge 5 has started to do this today. I went to bed last night with 40% charge, when I woke up it was dead. I fully recharged it but 8 hours later it was gone again. I’ve just done a three pulse reset but looking at this feed I’m not confident. Why is this device still on the market, looks like this is a persistent problem?

[DavideFitbit]

@Rorym1984 Thanks for sharing that you've been experiencing the same inconvenience. 

It seems that you were able to get in touch with the Customer Support team as well and it seems they've provided you with some instructions. In this case, I recommend that you continue the communication with them so they can provide you with the next steps. 

See you around in the Community. 

[Rorym1984]

Just wondering if anyone else is actually getting any help from Customer Support. They just keep telling me to charge the device and monitor it… I’m not happy!

[DavideFitbit]

@Rorym1984 Thanks for your reply and for sharing your feedback. 

Please keep in mind the Customer Support team will always need to make sure that all available troubleshooting steps have been exhausted. If you already tried their recommendations and you continue to have the same problem, please let them know so they can provide you with the next steps. 

Thanks again for taking the time to share your comments and feedback. 

[cmarie22]

Hello,

I am having this same issue. I am charging it constantly. It charges to 100% but then is down to 3% within 2 hours. This problem after 2 weeks ago having an issue with it not charging at all and having a screen frozen on the logo. I am frustrated because I used to have the Charge 3 or 4 and that died mysteriously and I connected with customer support and was issued another just for that one to die within 6 months. So I gave up and got a different tracker from elsewhere. But I had always had a love for Fitbit products so last year Nov/Dec decided to give Fitbit a try again with the 5 and here it is a year later and it is acting up! I have tried the reset button and it is still quickly losing battery and don't have anything open. 

Update: Let it charge to 100% again and it was dead within an hour. I have hit the reset button multiple times while charging and only get that the "battery is low message, please place in charger", but it is already on the charger. 

[kdpszady]

Is there a phone number where I can directly speak with a customer service rep?  Twitter is not an option and with all the complaints regarding the messaging silence, I want to speak with a human.

[nihboo10]

Uhhhh! did you get any answers or suggestions from the Fitbit moderator yet?

My Fitbit4 was doing the same act. It drained in 5hrs.Tried everything but did not work at all.

So I bought a fitbit5. But reading all the problems people are having, I am thinking, if the same thing happened to me again with the new Fitbit, I am going to stop buying it.

So guys, solve this problem once and all so that we don't feel at the edge all the time.

Yours Sincerely

Nihal

[Miah8000]

I wanted to put some numbers to this and paid attention to charging time and battery levels over the last few days.

I forgot to recharge my Charge 5 on Sunday so that night into Monday it died overnight. I charged it to 100% by 9:30am. I wore it all day Monday, did a tracked walk using dynamic GPS which was linked to my phone but disconnected completely partway though. I slept with it on, got through the day yesterday, did another walk last night with dynamic GPS which went back to internal (watch) GPS. By the time my walk was done last night I got an alert saying the battery was at 20%. By the time I plugged it in, 15 to 30 min later, it was down to 13%. I charged it for 10 min and got it to 34%, wore it to bed, and just work up to it being 19% charged.

It lost 15% of its battery between midnight and 6:30am. 

I’m calling customer service today. This is not reliable. Resetting it doesn’t seem to make a difference. Charging it to less than 100% so as to not overcharge it doesn’t seem to help. 

Updated: yesterday, I restarted my Charge 5 and brought the battery up to about 75%. I wore it through the day, walked 4 miles as a GPS activity last night and went to bed with it at 66%, not bad. I just synced the device before walking to the post office expecting it to have 50%+… it was at 4%.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing all your updates about this issue. 

It seems that you already tried all the basic troubleshooting steps mentioned earlier to improve battery life in general. If the issue persists after all these steps, please make sure to continue the communication with the Customer Support team so they can let you know about the options available for you.

[Deanbigbee]

Same. Fitbit worked fine for a year. Suddenly, with no changes, battery drains in 12 hours. Turned off all settings, and still just bleeds out.

[SunsetRunner]

FITbit server is down, I have a Fitbit 5 to and my battery was doing the same thing it drained within hours from 100 percent then nothing,  so I think there’s an issue with them it’s not your watch I thought the same thing and restarted mine. But Fitbit has been having problems since Sunday so hang on. 

[nihboo10]

I have noticed nothing!
My Charge 5 used a lot of battery power first 7 days of its purchase but now it is going very reasonable.
Wishing you good luck.
Nihal

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

Good morning, just wondering if your issue with your Fitbit got resolved? I  am hoping this is not an issue with just Fitbit 5 draining battery then it dies. I only had mine for a year,. I will be very disappointed.

[leerlm1]

I’m on my second Fitbit 5 with the same experience and the same none solution! It works great and then suddenly without warning it loses a charge in a few hours! Lots of BS about turning off features reseting etc but I can’t fathom why with all the features on it works as advertised and then it doesn’t! I also can’t fathom why everyone has to jump through multiple dumbing down of features that make little to no difference before a replacement t is offered! It took two months on my last 5! Hope this won’t be the same experience!

[cmarie22]

Nope no change. Still dies after being charged. At this point I am over it. My last Fitbit had issues within a year and they sent me a new one just for it to die less than 6 mos. Then I decided to get a different one/model just for that to not work after a year either. At this point I am done. 

[nihboo10]

Aww! Very unfortunate. Fit-bit was much more reachable and much less problematic before it changed ownership.
I sympathise your disappointment.
If my gadget as well starts to have problems then I shall be most likely over with it too.
Pity though they have such good health-sleep measuring inventions. And they are the front runners in their field.
Grtngs
Nihal

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

Shame on the Fitbit people for selling the five if there is an issue like this. You figured they would’ve figured it out but I guess they really don’t care. My older Fitbit worked better than this one. I wish I would’ve kept it and to top it off with. I just got premium so that ain’t gonna be any help to me. Thank you everyone for replying, appreciate it.

Sent from my iPhone

[leerlm1]

I reported them to consumer affairs. The whole process with Fitbit was obstructive, delaying and useless. They offered me a 34 percent discount on a new one. Why! Both my Fitbit 5s failed within 8 months of receipt . I will also post a review on Amazon.Yes I too love the product when it works but I have had 6 fit bits in 5 years so they definitely have some problems.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, I'm sorry to see that many of you are still experiencing this issue and please know that all the feedback provided is greatly appreciated. 

It seems that you've exhausted all the steps shared in the forums to troubleshoot this issue. If the issue persists, please get in touch with out Customer Support team so they can let you know about the next steps or the options available for you. You can get in touch with them here.