Display and battery issues with Charge 5

[kathleenjames]

Suddenly many people are dealing with sudden loss of battery and black screen with no possible way to fix it. Could this have anything to do with the update? It seems not so coincidental it's all happening at the same time.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[klassylass]

Thanks for sharing! I also tried all the suggested fixes and they didn't work for me either. The lights are also not flashing on mine, and it does not vibrate when I put it in the charger, but after a few seconds the Fitbit logo comes on, but then it goes unresponsive again.

[GrahamQ]

Mine exactly the same after swimming with water block on 😞

[Bently77]

My charge five says that my updates are current and this is when my watch stopped working. Two things, it won’t sync and it is not counting steps. In fact, it finished counting yesterday stops this morning and told me I hit my goal after I walked about 50 steps. Absolutely ridiculous. 

Here is a case of Fitbit failing again. I am on the forum for charge 5 help of why my Fitbit won’t sync and doesn’t count steps it’s stuck and Fitbit  answers questions about three other models, and nothing about the charge five. Obviously googles AI is not working well.

[Bently77]

Hey Lizzie, at Fitbit, you asked for a reply, here it is obviously the update is not working. Additionally people who haven’t gotten the update yet. Watches are also not working so you guys have really created a math problem rather than a potential benefit what is going on with this company it is so frustrating how many days should we have to wait and not have our fit tracker watch is available to us. You ask us to be patient; why should we you you said we might have to wait a few weeks to get an update and so in that few weeks we have a Fitbit that doesn’t work anymore. How do you make this right for everybody, this is the most unacceptable poorly  Delivered response and technology I have ever encountered 

binge, simply set your watch for an auto update. Sounds like your update worked and I’m glad for that but most people’s lack of update or update created issues with their Fitbit tracker.

[klassylass]

I've had multiple Fitbit devices since 2013. Got my Charge 5 in Dec 2021, so it's out of warranty, but it's been fine until this week. On Friday, it went from full charge to depleted in a matter of hours. On Saturday, I put it into water lock to go swimming. About 5 minutes in, it did a long vibrate then went black. It stopped syncing at that point and the lights no longer flash on the back. I logged into the forums and discovered that I was not alone. Some folks had reached out to support and gotten steps to try. None worked for me (again, not alone in that) since my device is no longer syncing or being recognized by the app. I'm traveling and didn't bring my original charger with me, so I can't restart, but that doesn't seem to be working  for others anyway. Today, I tried chatting with support, but was told I'd have to wait until I was home and able to use my original charger. I found that useless, but my experience does not appear to be unique. I had considered just purchasing another device, but now I'm thinking I'll just leave Fitbit behind me. Take note Fitbit!  Clearly something you did has caused issues, yet you are not offering any useful resolves.

[Heathermwycoff]

I’m going with an Apple Watch now. This is the second one Fitbit that only lasted a year. My current Fitbit stopped working while trying to update and ran out of battery, while plugged in. It worked perfectly until the update and my only option is to buy another one with a discount. I have to pay for their mistake. Akkk

[DavideFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hi everyone, I appreciate the reports that you've shared about the firmware update. 

Keep in mind that not everyone will receive the update at the same time, since this is always released progressively, but everyone will be able to see the firmware banner eventually. For any issues during the firmware update, please follow these steps. 

I've seen some of you have mentioned having trouble with the screen no longer responding or the battery draining too fast. Please try the steps here below for display issues: 

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 > Tap 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. 

There's also a different combination of steps that could be helpful with this problem; 

1. Hold on the button (or charging cable button) until you see the Fitbit Logo blinking (up to 15 seconds)
2. When you see the screen blinking, release the button, wait 1-2 seconds and then hold the button again until you see the circle screen (up to 5 seconds).

For battery draining too fast, please follow these troubleshooting steps as well. If any of these issues persist, please get in touch with the Customer Support team as soon as possible, so they can provide you with the next steps. 

[jessieh3527]

David,

It appears that you are not reading what users are reporting.  We have tried all of the troubleshooting steps, and the screens are still black after the update.
Please look through the threads on this subject.  There are too many black screens for this to be a coincidence.  This was caused by the update that Fitbit sent out, plain and simple. 

Sending a 30% off coupon to purchase the same flawed product is not an acceptable response.  

Fitbit needs to re-evaluate the recent update to find out why it is bricking the Charge 5 as quickly as possible, and push this out to all of the affected users.

For those of us who removed the Charge 5 from our app, we now cannot even re-connect, because you cannot see the 4 digit pairing code to reconnect the tracker to the app.

[JenHunter]

Yes this started after the update. Battery started draining quickly last week. Screen won't turn on now since the weekend. Super frustrating.

[Aramsham]

Same thing happened to me starting last week. My charge 5 went from lasting an entire week on one charge, now it drains from full to dead in about two hours. I don't understand why they even remotely think that giving 30% off a new device is fair compensation when it really points to some update ruining a lot of our devices.  

[AEB1989]

I've tried all these things and still have a black screen and the battery only is lasting 3-4 hours.  This started last night.  Before then, the battery would last a bout a week.

[bbunge]

I suspect that many of you who are having problems are not following the upgrade instructions. Those that have problems are not successfully doing a reset with the power cord.

So, when all else fails, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS!

I am fully aware that developers often miss or gloss over important steps. I was involved in writing software instructions for a large government organization and know firsthand how easy it is for someone familiar with software can skip over a minor process that is important to successful setup/operation. Please let Fitbit/Google know when you encounter such a step.

I am also aware that many are caviler when it comes to consumer electronics. So once again, When all else fails, Read the Instructions!

[Blackhawk007]

I am having exactly the same issue and customer support wasnt able to fix it. They said they will email me when they have a solution.

[jessieh3527]

BBunge, We have read the instructions, we have followed the instructions.  There is not much you can do if the screen is black, and won't come on.  This is definitely an issue with the update that Fitbit is pushing out.

Probably an attempt by Google to force Fitbit users into the more expensive Google Watch.

[Blackhawk007]

support team just emailed me and said my device is out of warranty ( its been 15months since i bought it) and they are offering 35% off on a new device.

This is downright stupid and the issue needs to be fixed.

[NJ-Brad]

The 3 pulse restart did nothing

The long hold to get to the flashing logo got the flashing logo, but the second hold doesn't change anything.

My daughter lost her receipt, so I cannot show proof of purchase date.  (It was a gift for her birthday last year (Aug 7))

Guess she's getting an Apple Watch this year.

[123987123]

Mud device is about the same 15 months old and stopped working... Seems like faulty product...unless their business model is to keep things running just u told warranty is up. 

I didn't update ( didn't have the option) and this happened to me anyway.

[borzoimom]

We (the Community) have been doing these things for days but nothing works. The tech I worked with over the weekend had me trying all kinds of fixes but after 45 minutes, when I said it's obvious that it's the update causing the problems and not my particular Charge 5, he finally admitted "Yes, actually we are aware of the issue and we are looking to find a resolution."  

I'm an IT professional. When you have serious issues like this, you back out the update and reinstall the older version until you have fixed the problems and done extensive testing. Asking for volunteers to try a new version, before a full rollout, is always a good idea. Offering a 30% discount on a replacement unit is a terrible mistake and it's only causing owners to go elsewhere for a new one. 

[SunsetRunner]

IT guy here as well. I asked for a flash Tool for the firmware. Not possible as it looks like. Everyone knows its a Firmware problem.

[jamesaf]

My charge 5 is dead. I am not sure what this firmware update did or didn't do but since this happening my charge 5 is now dead. Just like everyone else on this forum. It was working fine, I loved it and now it is dead and unusable. Tried all solutions and nothing. Fitbit killed my change 5, thanks!!!