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

[lbriozzo]

Hey, in case it helps anyone... 

A couple of days ago, my fitbit went completely unresponsive with 37% battery left. Black screen, no green light in the back, it didn't even vibrate when connecting to the charger. The banner of the upgrade had just appeared in my app (iphone) so I'm guessing it tried to upgrade automatically and failed. 

Yesterday, I tried several times to reset it even if it was completely dead... at some point it revived, but the behavior was flaky and lasted only a few minutes until I tried to upgrade the firmware again thinking it might solve it. I did manage to link my fitbit account with my google account, clear the data from the watch and link it back to my phone, thinking maybe it could help. After a day of trying to make it work I decided to put it on, dead as it was, turned bluetooth from my phone off, and closed the app, thinking about buying a new one from another brand today on prime day, and went to sleep. 

When I woke up today, I made one last attempt to bring it back to life (still without bluetooth on and no app), and it sort of worked. The battery was completely drained, but it started charging. I left it until 92% and tried it on... the screen was frozen, but I could at least check the time, and the battery was draining fast. 

I turned on bluetooth and opened the app, and did a quick sync without clicking on the upgrade banner. I reseted it through the button in the charger, but the screen was still unresponsive, though still showing the time. After a few hours, I decided to make a last attempt to upgrade the firmware, thinking my watch was better off dead than working half way through..... and apparently it worked.

Banner is gone though the firmware version is still the old one. My fitbit seems to be working again, fully responsive, with the usual battery consumption. Not sure if it is temporary and it will fail again, not sure what exactly happened that brought it back to life, not sure if the next upgrade will break it again. Maybe draining out the battery worked? I cannot find any logic...

I think it was a prime day miracle. 

[NJ-Brad]

I read somewhere that the update was pulled, to prevent further "brickage". Glad you got yours working again.

[mrg823]

I got in touch with Support as suggested above, and when I asked for a replacement device for my out-of-warranty Charge 5 that is now a brick (not even able to pair it to my phone), I got this response:

“As much as I want you to give an offer that you want doing so is beyond jurisdiction.“

Not terribly helpful, still.

[JayKay123]

This is such a bad communication from Fitbit. With this comment you ignore what people are trying to say here, and even not still admit that there is a big problem.

Is the buggy update still running and reaching all, or is it stopped?

[singlespeed]

Do you guys not listen!

The update tries installing and doesnt complete. In my (wifes) case we had another update prompt whilst on the chat support. It completed successfully but the firmware version hadn't changed... the watch is still bricked

[NCM303]

I guess I am number 205 customer who has lost use of my charge 5. Blank screen on Sunday. Talked to support...factory reset, cleaned contacts, deleted and reloaded app, off on Bluetooth, pushed button on charge cord per support instructions, changed clockface (but cant see screen so who knows?).  Now, app says it's fully charged, Bluetooth won't connect,  tapping screen does nothing. Bought Jan22, so 'out of warranty'  What the heck??  This was not cheap.. 17 months and it's dead?. 35% off new one is outrageous.  Do you not repair what you sell??? 

[bbunge]

No, they are not listening. The 188.58 firmware works great until the new firmware tries to replace it. The new firmware fails and the version number still shows 188.58. The moderators and tech support are reading from a prepared script from higher management. They need to listen to all the complaints and bad press. I really, really want to keep my Charge 5 specifically for the heart monitor!. But the moderators keep deleting my posts. I've been looking at a Watch5 but it has horrible battery life.

[chilehead]

Thanks for the post @DavideFitbit ... while I don't have the update and mine is running fine, it does seem like part of the problem from the posts here are that people did get the update (or at least thought they got it), and the FW flashing didn't successfully complete.  I don't know the update process, but I have worked for 4 decades in embedded sw/firmware development and can come up with a dozen ways for a FW update to get scrogged and leave it in various states of duress, and yet still report the old sw version.

I'd be surprised if there were dozens of users who didn't get the FW update from 188.58 to 194.61 and all started to have trouble at the same time.

I assume there is someway for fitbit to check these customers to see if their device was slated for the new firmware and now have a bricked device.  If so, wouldn't it be reasonable to assume even if 188.58 were reported that the firmware install caused some sort of issue?

Can you comment on whether the firmware update has been halted until this is investigated further?  I'm going on vacation soon and would hate for my device to update and brick half way through  I'll be bringing my old non-fitbit tracker as a backup.

[Mogurt]

---

---

The central focus of this "firmware feedback thread" revolves around users who have encountered a complete device failure, rendering it inoperable. The significance of the new firmware update becomes irrelevant since no one can install it to resolve the bricking problem associated with the previous version (188.58).

I have already communicated to @LizzyFitbit that this thread requires either a renamed title reflecting the ongoing discussion or the creation of a new prominent topic dedicated to addressing this issue. It is evident from the comments that no one possesses the new firmware update. Moreover, since this problem emerged two weeks ago, dozens of new topics have emerged in the forum. It would be more beneficial for you to initiate a new "official" thread specifically aimed at tackling this problem, allowing the entire forum community, including new users, to contribute to a single consolidated discussion rather than creating a chaotic array of topics revolving around the same issue.

@DavideFitbit As a moderator with a substantial track record of over 25,000 posts, it is reasonable to expect that you are well aware of your responsibilities and how to effectively perform your duties. It should not be necessary for us to instruct or create topics on your behalf, particularly those that highlight a significant problem with the Fitbit Charge 5.

We kindly request that you demonstrate greater consideration for your customers.

[DoxieGran]

Also why would the older version all of a sudden be causing problems when we have been running on it for some time now.

[SweeTea]

How did you install an older version?

[Mogurt]

---

@DoxieGran wrote:

Also why would the older version all of a sudden be causing problems when we have been running on it for some time now.

---

The phenomenon known as planned obsolescence leads me to suspect that there could have been a deliberate attempt to render our devices useless through a hidden feature in the current firmware.

Seen several postings about it before from Fitbit users:
https://medium.com/@andyyeh/fitbits-lesson-for-everyone-6f0cc172b36e

[sporkster]

"Also why would the older version all of a sudden be causing problems when we have been running on it for some time now."

This is an interesting question. I think I'm one of the few here that "resurrected" my Charge 5. I'm still on 188.58 (at least that's what displayed in the app and the device). I'm kind of suspicious of the phone app at this point, because the first long stretch I had where a reset left the fitbit working for more than a few hours was when I removed it from the app and unpaired it from the phone. Today I noticed the iOS app itself had an update, so I let that update and then paired the Fitbit again. I've gone the whole day without any issues - no logo screen, no unresponsive screen, no unusual battery drain (about 15% down for the day).

Is this all a coincidence? Is it failed hardware that magically fixed itself? No idea.

Oh also, to recap my "fix" - I kept doing all the various reset methods, eventually with the device removed from the app AND unpaired via my phone's bluetooth settings AND with bluetooth shut off on my phone, and that seemed to be key...

[FitbitUser0724]

I hadn't realized there was a firmware update in the past few weeks until I was researching which NEW fitbit to buy after mine mysteriously and suddenly stopped working a few days ago.  Like many who have posted, I went through all the troubleshooting steps together with the customer support representative with no result.  My "case" was moved up to the warranty dept. who ever so kindly told me that my Charge5 is out of warranty but they would graciously provide a 35% discount. 

Once I read the article below, I felt betrayed.  According to this article, this isn't a case of the fitbit wearing out on its own; the article says that this problem was caused by the company's firmware update.  https://gadgetsandwearables.com/2023/07/08/fitbit-charge-5-bricked-device-firmware-update/

Fitbit should correct the problem and it if cannot do so, it should replace the Charge5 devices at no additional cost to the customer. 

Moderator Edit: Formatting

[HeldiBoo]

Yes this was the exakt behavior with mine. DEAD.. 48%... i try to charge it now continually. Also the color from batterystatus is strenge...

[JeniferC]

I tried all of these when the screen first went black - because this information was posted within community well before this issue. 
1. I can’t synch in the app because the app can’t “find” the device

2. I can’t change the clock face because the app can’t find the device

3. no firmware banner is appearing in app

Logic dictates that it’s highly unlikely a large number of Fitbit devices suddenly stop working unless there is a set of circumstances that applied to all. The most likely answer is that a firmware update was pushed out and it didn’t succeed in updating and impacted the devices.  
I’m sure you’re QA team is working to replicate the issue but it would be best if Fitbit provided daily updates to community regarding what the company is doing to solve these issues, the steps being taken, the status of the efforts and, if not successful, the process to return our devices for new ones - without cost to your consumer. 

[Anbuy]

https://techpulse.be/nieuws/432568/waarschuwing-laatste-update-maakt-fitbit-charge-5-stuk/

[JeniferC]

Quick update - someone mentioned the app so I gave this a try:

1. Hadn’t updated app yet so just did so

2. connected Fitbit to power and clicked on app to synchronize. Please note - in app FitBit status was still “looking” but it DID synch and my device screen turned on. 
3. Recharged Fitbit, however within an hour battery drained to 60% and it continues to rapidly drain (went from 60% to 48% in @15min), I’m at work do activity level is low. 

to note: never had a battery issue before this so even if screen is back/device no longer bricked, the battery drain is still a major issue.  

[joeax61]

I had no idea this was an update issue, I thought my Charge 5 was dead and foolishly tossed it. Ordered another to arrive today, wondering if I should update it or not? 

I charged the new Charge 5 and wore it last night, seems ok so far but just updated itself so I'll wait and see what happens!

[Dareed56]

Happened to ne