Charge 5 won't hold a charge

[wonderingwhy]

my charge 5 will not hold a charge. i have charged it overnight 2 days in a row because it has totally run down during the day. this does not help when you are trying to monitor your sleep hours.


Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there, @wonderingwhy. Welcome to the Fitbit Community Forums. Thanks for the details provided in your post about the issue with your Charge 5.

Regarding the battery short life, in general, it is recommended to follow the recommendations listed in this article to improve or extend battery life.  There are a few features that would make the battery drain faster than usual, even in one day. Some of these features are: 

• Built-in GPS (Charge 5 can have a battery life of up to 4 days when using this feature regularly, or up to 5 hours if you use it continuously).
• Always-on display (Charge 5 can have a battery life of up to 3 days when using this feature). 
• Tracking SpO2 (Fitbit points out in this article that you may have to charge your Fitbit device more often when collecting SpO2 data).

If this doesn't apply to you, another step that has been helpful for other users having battery draining problems is the three pulse restart procedure using the charging cable. This should also help with the problem you mentioned with the display: 

1. Connect your device to the charging cable. For instructions, see How do I charge my Fitbit device?
2. Press the button located on the flat end of the charger 3 times within 8 seconds, holding each press for about 1 second.
3. Wait 10 seconds or until the Fitbit logo appears.
4. If the device doesn’t restart, wait 15 seconds to try again.

[c_p_4 · Accepted solution]

Hello, just wanted to give you a real answer instead of the Fitbit corporate jargon they have to tell you as a support team.

In July they released a firmware update that has effectively rendered the Charge 5 useless. You'll be lucky to get eight hours out of it now. Ironic, seeing as the device's name is Charge haha. Anyway, Fitbit is basically acting as if it's not a thing and offering people replacements if they're under warranty...which will of course suffer from the same problems since it'll be on the same firmware. 

Hope this helps. You just have to keep charging it and wait to for them to patch it, if they even do. 

[RiekoC]

Hello @wonderingwhy 

When my Charge 5 started to rapidly lose power, I restarted & recharged my device multiple times over several days. This eventually got my device "unstuck" and the battery went back to lasting 6-7 days. 

One of our users wrote a post with detailed steps that they used which seemed to help reduce battery drain. Click here for: Possible fix for rapid battery drain 

Hopefully, these troubleshooting tips will be successful for you.