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

[Brewer257]

Mind blowing. My old Fitbit died last year & I replaced it with a Charge
5. It’s never completely worked, then came the app removals, now they’re
basically turning off our devices with the “update”. They expect us to
spend money on another one of their products?!? Not gonna happen. --

Moderator Edit: Personal info removed

[Ignomo]

Something else that might be related is that the update to the latest firmware does not succeed. It appears to install correctly, but is not updating the firmware. The issue might have started after this happened. I tried a couple more times to install latest and same result. The firmware isn't updated, and better y drains in an hour.

[Frank5522]

My Charge 5 got the black, unresponsive screen on 7/8/23.  It was working fine earlier in the day; had a sleep score, auto-tracked my morning walk etc.  The tracker had disconnected itself from my iPhone’s Bluetooth too when I looked on my iPhone when trying to figure out what was going on at the time.   Tried the 3 short cable button pushes - nothing.  Vibrated on each push then vibrated a few seconds later then…nothing.  Repeated this a dozen times - same result.  Tried the hold-the-cable-button-forever fix - nothing.  No logo ever appeared - nothing.  Left the watch plugged in overnight - nothing.  My web Account and the app each show the last version is 188.58.  Tracker is ~14 months since purchase date.  It was replaced during the first week under warranty because the BP wasn’t working.  I talked to Support 2 days ago about the sudden black, unresponsive screen and have been emailing back and forth since then. Support says it was replaced once and can’t be replaced again out of warranty - even though the two issues are unrelated and are months apart!   …makes no sense to me either…   Support during these communications never once mentioned that this latest 196.41 update might be causing exactly the same problems that I’m experiencing…  

[Jamie32182]

Oh dang duh, you are right 🫠

[Chrishighs]

Same issue exactly. I've been a Pixel user since the original phone. Very disappointed that Google won't take responsibility for this massive software related event that they caused. 

Yes it happened to me right after integrating my Fitbit account over to Google. 

[Mogurt]

In 2019, Google had to replace their Home Mini devices after a firmware update caused them to become bricked, even for devices outside the warranty window. 

It's unfortunate that Google took 2-3 months to provide an effective resolution (replacement). Let's hope that Fitbit will be more prompt in addressing and resolving the issue at hand.

https://www.cnet.com/home/smart-home/your-google-home-is-bricked-heres-how-to-get-a-new-one-for-free

[Olijk79]

Mine bricked last weekend. Contacted support and was asked to send it in. Happened a few days before the 1y warranty period was over. I hope that they honor their warranty and replace it as any reputable company would do. If not this was the last fitbit for me after almost 10 years. I have had several Fitbit tracker since the force days in 2013 and am also paying for their premium subscription.

[JeniferC]

Yesterday my charge 5 screen flashed a few times and went black. I tried to reset and nothing. It’s totally bricked. Thinking it was a random tech thing and it just died (and didn’t want to spend hours of my time chasing down a customer service rep who might or might know what’s wrong) I ordered a new one from Amazon but reading this, just going to return it - what’s the point if it’s the firmware and Fitbit isn’t being accountable.  A 35% discount on a new item isn’t helpful since FitBit caused the problem.  I’d rather spring for an Apple Watch and call it a day. 

[Chrishighs]

I understand a warranty replacement may still happen. The issue is that I reached out to support and clearly stated I had recently integrated my Fitbit account over to Google and that I thought the black screen issue was related to the update. "Out of warranty, sorry" isn't customer service when the issue is directly caused by a non-optional software update.

[SunsetRunner]

The pink banner on the webpage says  "We are experiencing extremely high contact volume right now and estimated wait times will be higher than normal. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to provide support as quickly as possible. in the meantime, please visit our Help Center for troubleshooting articles and our Community Forums."

I think it's a classic Big Tech move (Google) killing off the competition after a takeover.  Control all the data. Steps, BMI, Sleep, HR, etc. they have the DNA results (health markers, DNA relatives from 23andMe. Photos, emails, mapping, GPS. Facial recognition. We pay them to track us on devices they break. They broke the trackers and I believe Fitbit will be bricked eventually by Google. The speculation is all over the internet and I read somewhere that someone from Fitbit verified that all the devices will last a year. I think it's a good time to reflect on how important this data is and where it really helped with better health etc.

[BeckyBoo31387]

On 7/4/23 my charge 5 randomly turned off which I thought was weird because I charged it up the day before. I had went swimming so I thought it was possibly due to that. After reading this forum I realize now that is not the case. Once I was able to put it on the charger it will only charge to 99%. I took it off the charger and it died instantly with a white line going across the screen. I put it back on the charger and it says 1% charged. Once it is charged to 99% it will sync in to the app. I've tried doing all of the recommended restarts and all of that. Nothing is helping. I had contacted support and all they did was offer the 35% off a new device like everyone else is getting. My charge 5 is still on the 188.58 firmware. Will there even be an update to fix this issue? 

[JeniferC]

Exactly my experience yesterday. I’m so frustrated and tempted to head to Apple Store that’s two blocks away. 

[Cpl117]

My Charge 5 turned to the Logo only screen 2 days ago. I have followed all possible options listed in these forums for it to work again, including deleting it from my app. Now, I'm still stuck with the logo, and the Charge 5 is no longer found. That means I can't even try to add it as a device or check the firmware version. It seems suspicious that a new firmware version comes out, which causes this issue for thousands of people, and a new Charge 6 is coming out soon. Is this what we can expect from Google products now? Very disappointed.

[Mogurt]

Another article:
https://www.techradar.com/health-fitness/fitness-trackers/fitbit-charge-5-users-experiencing-sudden-...

[Acceptable]

<< issues experienced with the firmware version 188.58 have been reported to our team and they're currently looking into this. Once we receive more information, we'll update this thread.

For the ones updating to the new Charge 5 firmware version 194.61, please don't hesitate to share your feedback >

HEY LADY!! it's the other way around with 194.61 having issues not 188.58. You are not inspiring anyone's confidence. If you want to know what is going on, I'd suggest reading the news.

[Murph44]

For what it's worth, I'm on version 188.58 and have had issues for at least a month. My issues went from this great tracker to something with extremely terrible battery drain (literally less than an hour to 0%) to the BSOD we now see posts about.

Now I pretty much leave it connected to its charger and sync it every now and then to see if some kind of update pops up.

Just like others, I reached out to Fitbit customer support for some type of resolution, but with my Charge being out of warranty, I got a runaround and the typical 35% discount email. For those that didn't get it yet, the discount can't be used for the Fitbit Ace 3 or Google Pixel Watch. Not that I'd ever use it to purchase another product from them anyway.

This response is just so disappointing. I was an early adopter of the Charge 5, and was excited by Google's acquisition to integrate Fitbit into their ecosystem. Maybe make Wear OS something special. Now I want to completely break up w Google. Get rid of my current Pixel phone (and forget upgrading to the 8.) Get rid of GMail. Use Bing or Duck Duck Go or whatever. Use Firefox. Get a Garmin watch or something better on Prime Day.

[Chrishighs]

I'm 100% invested in Google's ecosystem. Gmail, drive, Pixel 6 (committed since before the first Pixel), YouTube premium, etc. I hope someone at Google understands that over $100 they can lose customers like me forever. The data that I have provided over the years for them to develop their business is priceless. Pay it forward by making good on a product that I purchased full price.

[browndeergolf]

I've tried all the recommended steps however it seems since the firmware update on 6/30/2023 Charge5 is unresponsive. 

No tracking has registered since the update. 

[KayNumero1]

Don't be so quick to say upgrades have been fully tested! Have you actually read what's going on with Charge 5s? They are BRICKED, unusable, done-for. How do you think this happened? Customers with out-of-warranty Charge 5s get 35% off of a new Fitbit. This is unacceptable! 

[browndeergolf]

So if my Charge5 is out of warranty I’m out of luck??

Mark Anderson