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]

Seems that way. Total cluster xxxx. --

Moderator edit: removed personal info

[Mrs_T512]

I'm having all of the same battery drain, not syncing issues and I'm still on the old firmware.

[yy0127]

It is definitely suck of the arrangement and firmware QA. My previous one was bricked and I was thought that just mine out of order since brought it almost 2 years. So I brought another one but bricked again........I have totally disappointed and will not buy any fitbit and google stuff again in the future. Bad reputation and feedback from them.

[Chiguy50]

I emailed them back and told them their response was unacceptable. I’m glad they responded again, but I think this is going to take them some time to figure out. I’ll be patient, as long as my Charge 5 starts working again within a reasonable amount of time.

My Charge 5 was purchased in October 2022 and is still within warranty, but it was purchased from Amazon (from Fitbit’s distribution, mind you) and the response was “We won’t honor the warranty because it wasn’t purchased from Fitbit”.

Fitbit/Google, keep in touch with us. Don’t leave your customers hanging. Resolve this and quit with the excuses. Do the right thing.

[SunsetRunner]

I’m really sorry to hear that, I haven’t had any issues yet, and hopefully
I won’t. Does it still keep track of your progress?. I used the Charge
before, and had no issues with it. But I had it for 4 years then it had
problems. I also used the inspire 2 and that lasted about 3 years. Sorry
you’re having issues with your Fitbit. I just don’t want to use a
smartwatch, because of the extra payments. I wish you luck, make sure when
you connect it, the clock starts getting lines around it that pulseate out.
The first time I plugged mine in and charged it, it didn’t charge because I
didn’t have it exactly right. Have a good night. Lacey

[Mogurt]

---

@Chiguy50 wrote:

I emailed them back and told them their response was unacceptable. I’m glad they responded again, but I think this is going to take them some time to figure out. I’ll be patient, as long as my Charge 5 starts working again within a reasonable amount of time.

My Charge 5 was purchased in October 2022 and is still within warranty, but it was purchased from Amazon (from Fitbit’s distribution, mind you) and the response was “We won’t honor the warranty because it wasn’t purchased from Fitbit”.

Fitbit/Google, keep in touch with us. Don’t leave your customers hanging. Resolve this and quit with the excuses. Do the right thing.

---

If someone from Customer Support informed you that they won't honor your Amazon purchase, which is still within the warranty period, they are mistaken. I recommend reaching out to support again to confirm this information. As long as your purchase is still covered by the warranty and you bought it from an authorized retail partner with proof of purchase, you are entitled to the warranty benefits.

It literally states in the FitBit warranty policy:
"These Limited Product Warranties apply only to the original purchaser of the Product that was purchased from an authorized reseller or sales channel and manufactured by or for Fitbit that can be identified by an authorized “Fitbit” trademark, trade name, or logo affixed to it."

[Cpl117]

My Charge 5 warranty ends 7/11. I called support they want me to mail my device to them. I just want a reduced price on a different Fitbit device. I no longer trust the Charge 5. This thing is a dead brick now. Not even the logo, not recognized on Bluetooth. What is your suggestion?

[SunsetRunner]

I think this is a new tinsel christmas tree widget : my charge 5 works and lights on for 4 seconds ( when trying the usb cable button push, the new clock face, the dance clockwise at full moon night in Salem,  the charger , the synchro-desynchro-try to guess the pin,  the candle to Holly virgin , then stops, later 3 seconds, then stops for 4 hours and so on..

But the datas seems to be fine. just have to look at them on my phone, not on my wrist.

I'm currently keeping money aside to buy another item. And that won't be a fitbit one.

Edit : but i'm trying to keep my Charge 5 alive, just in case Fitbit finds a curative software update.

[Swede63]

Seems like the update discussed it withheld at the moment, correct?
I did get a Charge 5 about 10 days ago as a replacement for a Charge 4 where the attachment for the bracelet is broken.
The new device prompted for updates during startup, but is stuck with version 20001.188.58 and claims no updates available.

I have severe problems with the GPS on the charge 5, but on the other hand the rest works.

Let's hope the development team get's their act together and releases a viable version, I really don't want to have to shop for another device.

The Charge 4 technically works very good still, taped it to my arm for a few runs, got  a perfect track every time where the charge 5 failed miserably and stopped tracking after about 1 km. 

So not only blank screen and power drain on the list of bugs to fix!!

[elegent_edison]

My Charge 5 becomes a brick after the update. It turns to a totally black screen with only fitbit logo appearing in the first second when you restart.

[FLAndrew]

The update bricked mine and restarts are not doing anything.  I contacted customer support but they only gave me a 35% promo to buy new.  I don’t want a new I just want my broken watch fixed. Unfortunately it is over a year old and out of warranty. 

[elsiechris]

I think for most people (myself included) that placed an order with the discount code, it's backordered, so you have plenty of time to cancel.  I just did after purchasing something else.  You can even give then a reason, mine was a prefer a non-fitbit model.  

[chilehead]

I can't imagine ordering another one with the discount code.  The device was bricked by a firmware update (most likely) and they need to take responsibility.  Even if out of warranty they need to resolve it as this wasn't caused by misuse or age, the firmware is flawed.

[CCsoul]

Last week I updated the fitbit app on my android phone.  The next morning, my charge was showing the day before's date and stats.  Trying to sync, it finally hung up and I restarted it several time.  Then I saw this thread.  My charge is still on 188.58 and never tried to update.

I ended up uninstalling the fitbit app and installed an older version.  When I restarted the charge again, it connected and started syncing normally although the sleep data from the night after the app updated was lost.

Been working well ever since.

[SunsetRunner]

It looks like sometimes the software update isn't fully installed, so the version number remains the old one ...

[McKayS_NF]

Both my wife and I have given up on fitbit products.   We were loyal users since 2017.  Over the past couple years, we have grown tired of the lack of acknowledgement with defects in their products and their inability to correct these issues in a timely manner.   Even our warranty replacements did not work after a year. 

We have moved on and are happy with our new fitness trackers from another company other than fitbit or Google and will never come back unless we see any improvements in future models.

[Bearded_Spen]

I talked Tech Support last week about my Charge 5 going dark July 4th.  Thought it was due to jumping into a pool.  Tech support never mentioned that is was a potential firmware issue....

Turns out it was coincidental and the cause was the firmware update.

Seems like there isn't a fix and I now have a bricked Charge.  I have tried all the supposed fixes with no success.

I was going to upgrade to a different FitBit with their less than generous 35% discount but with this latest development I'm switching to a different Smartwatch brand.  They have lost a longtime customer and will be cancelling the Premium app.

What was once a fine tracker/watch is now a paperweight, and not a very good one at that...

[younger1]

Add me to the list of < 1 day battery for my Charge 5 (very suddenly, usually got 5 days or so), less than 18mths old so out of warranty, 35% discount offer on a Fitbit/Google watch, and now a dissatisfied customer.

[sporkster]

Apparently the Charge 5 is seeing some truthful reviews, Amazon had to disable them for non-verified purchases...

[Brewer257]

Google is doing this to ALL FITBITs. Fitbit won’t be supported anymore w/in 2 years. We are being forced out- why waste your money?