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

[ljmuk]

I am also having battery problems but it isn't as simple as losing charge. If I am still for half an hour or so, it switches off. It seems like the battery is dead but when I connect the charger it displays a high charge & also the time when it switched off. After a couple of minutes it displays the correct time & high charge. This is very annoying because it is missing chunks of my day & if it happens when I sm sleeping it doesn't re ird my sleep.  Do fitbit actually read these posts?

[Vital_top7]

I contacted the support. Got same old "try clean the charging contacts, restart by pressing the button 3 times, try charging again for 30 minutes"...

Then after my answer, that it doesn't help, they sent me (almost right away) a 35% discount code for google-store for purchase of other fitbit product.

What a shame, if not to tell worse.

[Pickett419]

If they do, they don't care. They just tell you they will give you 15% off
if you purchase another one.

[Sylvirgro]

My Charge 5 is also having battery problems. Used to go for a week, now less than a day. Screen goes black and it won't respond. Not counting steps. I've had it since November 2022, got it to replace 3 Versa ones that died, looks like this one is also doomed.

[AlGoon]

I have the same problem. Sorry Fitbit you have lost my business and as many people I can tell to NOT BUY FITBIT

[Kpepper72]

I got mine in April '22...of course I got 2 yr warranty that expired last
month! Planned obsolescence??

[Lulu2024]

Same as my Fitbit

[Lulu2024]

Same as my Charge 5 

[J__0]

Also having an issue with the battery life of my charge since the recent firmware update.

The light on the back of the watch is constantly on, I suspect this is what is draining the battery so quickly. It lasts for maybe 5 hours. I've reverted back to a simple digital watch that will at least tell me the time. 

I'm wondering if replacing the device since it's still under a year old, will help with the issue or is it for all Charge 5 since the firmware update?

[jwilliamsr9]

OMG , I just went to my dashboard and it shows on my activity that I,ve walked 5264 steps today , my Fitbit charge 5 has been laying on kitchen table unplugged for past week . ugh what's going on with this thing ??

[Jfeen82]

It might help as long as the new device you are sent still has the old firmware. From what other users have posted it seems Fitbit stopped the rollout of the new firmware that is causing the issue

[Tgillies]

Same. But just started this week. 
18 months old. 
getting the Fitbit logo. 
need to charge for 4-5 hours to get 12 hours of use. 

[YMF]

My battery is now lasting less than an hour. I’ve done all the recommended restarts/resets but nothing works. It’s just over two years old. Not sure what my next choice will be as I like the charge 6 design but reliability is worrying. I’m looking at changing to Garmin Lily.

[antdawn]

Similar issue, same response!

Charge 5 losing charge quickly THEN screen wouldn't come on at all. Went through troubleshooting on my own then with a Fitbit tech. Nothing... Finally, they gave me the standard response, Out of warranty, here is 35% off a new one...

This would be the 2nd Fitbit I would have to replace shortly after the warranty expired. Frustrated at the thought of having to buy a new Fitbit every 2 yrs, I continued to troubleshoot on my own. 

The last attempt, I went through the standard reboot/reset procedures but this time turned on my Bluetooth (something they did not suggest). Put it on the charger and the standard logo appeared now but was smaller and had a faint line under it. I realized it was trying to do an update.

Good news: after the update, it appeared to be charging again and screen worked.

Bad news: the battery is still dying every 24 +/- hrs...

I am looking for a new brand...

[Pickett419]

It's funny how the Charge 5 mysteriously go dead shortly after the warranty expires.

[Pickett419]

Same thing happened to me. I just got my Charge 5 around 14 months ago.

[antdawn]

And only a few months after Charge 6 is released...

[RRFit5]

Agree, after the update it went from lasting 6-7 days to less than 24hrs. Researched, took out the Spo2 also, called support... nothing. Then the screen started blanking out (black) no response to touch or anything. Can sync, update the clock & will show active as it installs, and that is it. Goes black again.  At one point the device got very hot during charging... Called support & they said out of warranty and offered a coupon. Well, after been a customer since (2017) Charge2 and my Charge 3 at least still works - unlike the 5 - it is time to say goodbye. 

At a time it seems we are left with cheaper quality, updates that kill the device (maybe intended to force users to get new ones...) and sub-par materials and coincidently post warranty failures... it is time to cut the cord. It is a shame it's come down to this Fitbit! AND even with all the cases and recent complaints, we see where their focus is (not customer satisfaction and the quality of the product but increasing sales) ...! Not good!

Thanks for all the years of service, BUT these last few months just leaves too much of a bad taste to stay with you and your company!

[Ohnoseagull]

Similar issue here. It started happening last week and was taking about 15 minutes for my Charge 5 to go from fully charged down to 6%, then another 5 minutes to dead screen. I spent a few days intermittently trying all of the trouble shooting advice given but nothing worked.

Luckily it was purchased from John Lewis and was just on the right side of their two year warranty so full refund processed. 

I had a Charge 4 before that I liked a lot. It lasted 3 years before the screen went and to be honest, I was pretty tough on it (a couple of hard knocks) so thought fair enough. The 5 just seemed glitchy from the get go so I’m not surprised this has happened.  

I’m grumpy about it though, so think I’m done with FitBit. 

[selshaieb]

I am also done. I can't stomach buying another one that will break in 14 months for 35% cheaper. I don't really think my issues had anything to do with the update (I updated a long time ago) or with the Google account integration (I did that a long time ago too). Just out of the blue in the past two weeks it's unable to hold a charge for more than 30 minutes, gets hot when charging, yadda yadda, all the usual stuff. I've purchased something else and it is far better so I am just letting the Fitbit world go.