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]

Thanks for the update MsMari and I'm glad you were able to get a replacement! Unfortunately,  it seems the majority of us are not that lucky since the watches are just out of warranty when the issues begin.

[CherylBr]

My Charge 5 is just over a year old and was working fine.  I have done everything that they suggest and still will not hold a charge for more than 6 hours or so.  I hate to buy something new but I think I will stay away from any Fitbit products from now on.

[LisaRS]

My fitbit 5 has been having issues for roughly a month. It just quits without warning even when battery is charged past 50 %. I'm advised to charge nearly daily when previously one charge lasted 7 days easily. I'm eally dissatisfied. 

[drpelpi]

The same is exactly happening to my wife's 16 months old Charge 5 since last week. Before battery life was 5 days without problems as she never used it for anything else than receiving text notifications and looking at the time, NEVER ever used GPS, sports tracking, ECG, etc. Out of the sudden last week she ran out of battery and charged to 99% and after a few hours the watch just died, we found it super weird. I thought well I suppose it didn't charge well, but the same happened again again and again charging all night long. We went through all unpairing, resetting, using different chargers, cleaning drill Fitbit is recommending and nothing works. Full charge showed on the screen and the battery drains totally in 1-2 hours without even touching the device staying flat on a table. She is in the last firmware but we don't remember updating it recently. As usual Fitbit customer support is using the typical ping pong of doing that that and that and requesting to sync it the device while is discharging fast. I don't understand why Fitbit support is forcing us to test and retest silly approaches to solve the unsolvable. It is pretty evident the battery just died after 14 to 24 months to all of us. Why pretending they just don't know what is going on? It is the same issue now in hundreds of users.

[Java3]

My charge 5 blanked out and I could not get it to restart. I called and the rep helped me clear the issue. Then I charged it fully. The next morning it was at 10% battery. I called again and after talking with the rep that answered. They asked when it was purchased, 2/2024 and said stand by for an email and ended the call. The email stated that the warranty was over for this device. I'm at a loss for this. I emailed and no response.

[Yzripper]

Add me to the list. As soon as the firmware update was installed, the watch bricked.  Won’t hold a charge for more than an hour. I’ve done all the reset and cleaning bits.  This is 100% linked to their firmware update.  They need to fix this now!

[ChuckB14628]

I have the same problem. Tracker giving random numbers it not tracking. Won't hold a charge and won't reset 

[Leslie777]

Since this has been going on for months now, and this forum now has 18 pages of complaints, Fitbit has been well aware of the problem for a long time.  Obviously they choose to ignore the problem.  It definitely sounds intentional on their part, it's the only conclusion that one can reach.

[Clifford2rocky]

I’m sorry to hear this. My story is much like yours. It is bewildering That a company like Google either wouldn’t be able to solve these problems, or worse, didn’t want to. But after waiting hopefully for quite a long time, not hearing one meaningful word from Fitbit/Google about a plan to rectify the mess, like many others I’m giving up.









Sent from my iPad

[LisaRS]

Just called Fitbit help line. Their team is going to look into the
problems of a charge not lasting more than 24 hours and no sleep record.
Time will tell. Don't have much hope for a satisfying resolution

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I reached out to customer support and was offered a replacement fitbitcharge 5. Not sure if a replacement will be any better but it can't be much worse. If the replacement has problems then I may buy something else. I really miss not having it work properly

[Batesy07]

Same!  A week ago today my screen stopped being responsive and I went from 7 day battery life to 1 day.  I tried all the steps to restart multiple times and no change.  Since yesterday I can charge it to 97% (still no screen response) but the second I take it off the charger it goes to 1%...we're talking about the time I take it off the charger and before I can get it on my wrist.  Support has been zero help, they want me to do the reset steps...done...then they want me to change my active step hours from 12..which doesn't help if I can't even get it on my wrist.  So annoyed!  There's obviously a bigger issue that they need to acknowledge 

[cabfit99]

FYI

its not a battery issue.

I replaced the battery and exactly the same thing happens.

[Pickett419]

Then it was something in the update

[Hendrik55]

😔

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@cabfit99 wrote:

FYI

its not a battery issue.

I replaced the battery and exactly the same thing happens.

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That's interesting. 🤔 Good work!  👍 👏 How did you manage that?

Then there is something with the firmware or the update did not (always) go well, causing the Charge 5 to no longer function as intended.
Then Google/Fitbit has a major challenge. Because how can you replace the firmware on a non-working Fitbit? This can only be done via the Fitbit app, but the Charge 5 must then be able to start. Or there must be a possibility to do it via cable. After all, the Fitbit has 4 contact points. 2 of them are used for charging, but what are the middle 2 for?
It would be interesting to get a response from Google/Fitbit on this. But as has been the case for a long time, there will be no response now. Not even from the moderators..... 😔

[SunsetRunner]

I have been using my C5 without any issues for 15 months. All of a sudden, over the last couple of days, it would drain the battery completely in less than 24 hours. Today, it will not charge at all and the screen remains blank. It is sad that Fitbit does not own the issues with their product that adversely impact many customers and then does not attempt to provide a reasonable solution. I kept mine in sleep mode all the time, which allowed it to last longer so it was not coming on with every twist of my wrist. I do CrossFit and jogging and wore it in the water once months ago at a water park. I practically babied the thing. I would still be under warranty if I purchased it from an EEA member country.

[JF325A]

I got an email asking me to rate my customer service experience. The irony!

[Pickett419]

They should discontinue the Charge 5 and give everyone one of the other models.

[selshaieb]

I've seen some bad product failures but this one is really something. I wonder why the company is so silent? I mean, even after the Ars Technica article, it's crickets.

[NicoleChris]

My screen is black, no resets will turn the screen on, but it still tracks steps (app). I know the screen is not actually broken because the reset brings the battery info up for a moment.

[Kpepper72]

Gigantic laughing emojis!!