Don’t believe the claim that Fitbit Charge 5 is water resistant to 50 meters

[BillGettingFit]

For those of you who have or plan to buy a Fitbit, beware. My Fitbit Charge 5, which Fitbit claims to be water resistant to 50 meters, died while I was snorkeling in the BVI (there’s no way I went deeper than maybe 25 ft).
When I reached out to Fitbit, they refused to do anything (other than continue to claim it’s water resistant to 50 meters) because my watch was just over a year old.

[Rich_Laue]

@BillGettingFit 50 meters refers more to pressure. When they test, they put the unit in a pressure chamber slowly raise The pressure. 

In real life, we have currents, in a pool jets, etc. I would have thought 25 feet would not be to deep, but that is close to the recommended depth for a 50 meter rating. 

[BillGettingFit]

That’s an absurd response.  The only time anyone uses meters to describe water resistance, it’s a reference to how deep you can go.  Else, a reference to how many atmospheres of pressure might be used, which could easily be translated to depth in meters (one atmosphere (101kPa or 14.7 psi) is the pressure caused by the weight of a column of freshwater of approximately 10.3 m (33.8 ft)).

If Fitbit is using some non-standard unit, then they have a serious false-advertising issue.

[Mhavener81]

When I read the manual I swear it says that it's not water proof. The water lock is just to protect against splashes. It's recommended to take it off even while in the shower. Which makes no sense if it has a swimming option to track.....hmm 

[Steve_t100]

These products are so so now. Invest wisely. Perhaps it works better in indoors temperatures?

[Rich_Laue · Accepted solution]

Of course they don't claim to be waterproof. It has been illegal to claim any mechanical device as waterproof for almost 50 years @Mhavener81 

Their are several ways to rate water resistance. 

By feet. 

By ATM

By meters 

By bars

See https://theslenderwrist.com/watch-water-resistance-explained/#What_Is_Watch_Water_Resistance

• 1 bar = 1 atmosphere = 33 feet = 10 meters =14.7 PSI 
• <50M: Do not expose to water
• 50M: Splash resistant, but no swimming or bathing
• 100M: Okay for swimming, snorkeling, and bathing, but not long-term submersion
• 200M: Okay for swimming, snorkeling, short dives
• 200M+: Okay for anyone who isn’t a certified diver to use any way they’d like