ECG Fitbit charge 5 won't acknowledge when fingers placed on sides

[KrisxH]

I have had my Fitbit charge 5 for less than a year and the ECG function recently stopped working. When the ECG icon is tapped, it says to place fingers on metal sides. Once I have put my fingers on the sides, it doesn't acknowledge that they are there and start the ECG mode it just stays on the "place fingers screen". When I use the EDA mode, it works just fine. I have tried uninstalling the ECG app, re-paired my watch and my phone neither has made a difference. Any suggestions? Am wondering if the hardware/software might be the issue.

[Talahthas]

Welcome to the Fitbit community, @KrisxH!

Sad to hear you're having issues with the ECG feature of your Charge 5.
As you have not mentioned already having tried that, I'd suggest restarting your Charge 5 to hopefully get things fixed. Before doing so you should make sure you've synced your device to not lose any data tracked so far. Also you should verify that the charging contacts on your device are clean and the charging pins on it's charging adapter are clean as well and can move flawlessly. In doubt please have a look here:

How do I clean my Fitbit device?

Next please closely follow these instructions as timing is crucial for this procedure:

1.) Connect your Charge 5 to the charging cable which has to be connected to a reliable power source.
2.) Press the button located on the flat end of the charging cable 3 times within 8 seconds(!), holding each press for about 1 second(!).
3.) Wait around 10 seconds until the Fitbit logo appears on your device's display.

I'd like to point out that it sometimes requires more than one attempt to restart Charge 5. So, before throwing the towel, please give it another try.

If that really won't work for you, please try if changing your device's clock face will get it back to working order. Here's how to do that:

How do I change the clock face on my Fitbit device? 

I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[RiekoC]

Hello @KrisxH 

Although it doesn't make sense since the EDA recognizes your fingers, one of the tips I've seen is to slightly dampen your fingertips before placing them on the sides of your Charge 5. It could be worth a try.

[Gldi]

My ECG also stopped to recognise fingers.

[jaybee8955]

Same with mine. Even the trick someone mentioned about dampening your fingers didn’t help.