Fitbit Charge 5 battery problems since update

[DC..]

How many of you are experiencing battery problems since the update?

Could anyone who's experienced problems with the charge 5 battery please post once on this thread so it's easy to count and present to show it's not a warranty problem and is a result if the update.

I obviously have battery problems. Had to charge it twice yesterday and uninstalled the SpO2 app to try to make the battery last through the night. Managed to wake up to 50% battery instead of it being dead by morning, even though fully charged before bed.

Moderator Edit: Formatting and clarified subject

[antdawn]

So interesting development...

Charge 5 was still draining completely within 24 hrs up until a few days ago.  Fitbit app kept flashing at me to "move account to Google". I finally decided to do so since what could it hurt? It's barely working now anyway...

Coincidentally (or not) the battery is now lasting longer that it has in a couple months. Not nearly as long as it should, but I'm on day 3 and have 41% left.  Google's way of encouraging the move?  ...wth 🤦‍:female_sign: 

Guess it will at least buy me a few more weeks to search for a better replacement. Lol

[8gmaaaaa]

I cannot charge my Charge5 that I purchased about six weeks ago after replacing the Versa that was less than 2 years old and had the face pop off of it.  Why aren’t these fitbit products made to last more than a few months?  Very frustrated that I continually run into functional problems with these products.

[jgrey.....]

Update on this post.  Good ol' EU consumer protection and mandatory 2 years warranty.  I contacted support and went through the motions, sent a video and they agreed to send me a replacement for my Charge 5 (14 mths old).   My wife's Charge 6 is covered by the retailer and has been returned.   The Fitbit support was good in the end, but they couldn't fix the problem after the software update - its clearly a problem.    Anyway, I'll get the new Charge 5 and NEVER update the firmware! 

[Kpepper72]

I'm not even going to bother. 2 yr warranty has expired...a month ago. I've ordered something else & since Fitbit hasn't seen FIT to reach out to us, I'm fine with tossing it & NOT recommending it, ever.

[FUNSIZ3]

My battery is drained 24 hours after charging 100%. Seems like after year year and a half something goes wrong and I have to get a new one. Getting tired of this.

[Kpepper72]

My feeling is if they can't do better and REFUSE to acknowledge the issue,
they can be replaced by something that will work.

[Shin72111]

My charge 5 drains pretty fast, and the battery percentage jumps arround. It drained about 30% in 24 hours while I installed SpO2, turned screen wake to manual, and turned off all notifcations. Whey I plugged for charging, it jumped from 31% to 54%. Sometimes, it kept charging at around 70% for hours. After a restart, it jumped to 100%.

[ZZI]

Mine has done the battery jumping, also.  But, currently frozen on the blue logo—“kiss of death.”I clearly sympathize with everyone’s frustration. I wonder how many owners just threw their Fitbits away and did not bother to post. Google is known for its technology experience.  Does not make any sense that they continually choose to ignore everyone’s problems.  Fitbit was a competitor with Google’s tracker.  So, oftentimes companies choose to kill off their competitors.  
I personally did not like the app’s “NEW” look. Totally boring from my standpoint. No colors as before.  Perhaps that was an early sign of what has come, now.  

[Kpepper72]

I foolishly thought all would be well. As soon as my NON-FITBIT replacement
arrives, my Charge 5 goes in the trash. Google is blowing it & how wise is
that when so many already think you've gotten out of hand??

[Duganfire123]

Done with Fitbit. Father Day is coming so different tracker is being requested. Google sucks. Battery won't charge and they offer 50% off. Why would I get another of their products if they don't stand behind them? That's crazy.

[tchr524]

I've had my Charge 5 not even 11 months and now it won't keep the charge.  I have to charged it 3 times since 6:30am and its only 3:15pm.

[UmbraCat]

I've also had this problem.  My charge 5 battery used to last about 8 days, now I'm lucky if it lasts 24 hours.  I've uninstalled the SpO2 app and keep it on night mode overnight but that hasn't seemed to make much of a difference.  

The problem started a few weeks ago when it started vibrating incessantly in the middle of the night (even though it was in night mode) for around 2 minutes then shut down completely.

Very frustrating!

[SunsetRunner]

My Charge 5 dies during activity and only comes back up when it's put on charger. The problem started back in February, just about 2 years after I bought it. I tried using it again this week after deleting and reinstalling the app, and it died part way through my gym session today. Given all the things I've read about this issue, I have no hope of a good outcome. Fitbit will go in the bin when it dies again and I'll not get another. I'll seek a more reliable product and not one that's designed to fail.

[Abigael]

Yep, I'm having issues too. Charged it halfway a day or so ago and it was dead by morning (usually 50% charge lasts me a few days at least). Didn't even think it could be related to something like this until I went online to investigate the issue!

[coagmano]

I've had the same problem since the 13th of May. Now it barely lasts during the day when used only as a watch, and never makes it through the night (even when starting at 100% charge). Fitbit is 9mo old, bought in August 2023.

I seem to be stuck on the previous firmware (188.58) with no prompt to update to latest.

Have tried restarting, clearing data and setting up new, re-installing the app, triple checking all settings (including disabling GPS) and nothing has helped

[TrippM]

Apparently something changed again the last week of May 2024. I share the frustration. My 18 month old Charge 5 only last 3 hours during normal use and 1 hour during my walks. I’ve followed Fitbit’s recommendations and they don’t help. Loyal Fitbit user for 8 years, having 3 devices and upgrading as they improved. Fitbit is the best tracker for my goals, but I’m sorely disappointed with this. The device is practically useless. Come on Google. ‘Fess up’ and make this right!

[Pickett419]

My Charge 5 last 15 minutes than dies. Had it for about 15 months.

[MsMari]

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to let you all know that I contacted the support team, using the chat option, it was very straightforward to do and since my Fitbit was under the guarantee they send me a new one free of charge. 

[TrippM]

Update - My Charge 5 is 3 months out of warranty, so Fitbit offered a 50% off code towards purchase of any Fitbit product excluding the Google Pixel watch. Undecided what I am going to do.  The Charge 6 is on back order and I'm not sure if I want to go with the Versa 4 or Sense 2.  Not delighted, but a warranty is a warranty.

[Rencaz32]

Well, the battery issue finally caught up to me...seems fishy it was a day after I finally linked my Google account to my fitbit account. 2 years to date after my purchase so of course no warranty either. It was fully charged Sunday, by Monday mid morning was 64% and then completely dead by afternoon. It will appear to be charging when hooked on the charger, but the moment I disconnect it blips off and goes back to 1%.

I hope the "discount" is pretty significant since this has been a known issue. Really considering another brand all together. 😭