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

[Oneswhofly]

Starting experiencing rapid battery drainage out of no where. It started at around 2pm when I noticed my Fitbit was not responding to my touch. I put it on charge and after 5mins it still would not turn on. So I restarted it and left it to charge to about 80% before putting it back on.

Around 3pm it died again so I put it back to charge and restarted it again. When the device reached 98% I took it off charge and it only lasted about 2hrs before notifying me that the battery was low. After uninstalling some apps and reading through the forums I noticed that my fit but would drop from 70% to 50% in the span of 10mins 

[BarbaraBarnfiel]

My Charge 5 also won't hold charge for long. And struggles to charge.

When I put it on charge this morning, it said it had 13%, I spent ages making sure the watch was actually charging (it often goes off charge!). When I left it, it was charging. 20 minutes later when I took it off charge it said it had 4% charge and was critical. This happens all the time and is very annoying.

[cawrigh]

pkjohn1,

I started having the same issue you describe at about the same time. At first I thought my battery was end of life. I bought my Charge 5 in June of 2022. Now that I see in the Forum lots of other people are having the same problem, it must be a bad software or firmware update that has caused the issue.

[Grammyof8kids]

I am having the same trouble. It wont hold a charge for more than a few hours now

[Hendrik55]

Battery(management) sucks.

Friday Evening I got a message to charge my Charge 5. It was at 14%

I charged it to 60 %

Now Sunday morning it still shows 60 %. In the fitbit-app too...🤔

So I think I have an everlasting battery now..😄..

That can not be true. I wait till shuts off.

[Itdosentwork]

Been using my charge 5 for 13 months. Used to run well for 7 days between charges, then suddenly dropped to 2 days between charges. Then the screen stopped working even when app showed 100% charge. It still tracks just needs frequent charging and no working display. Last charge lasted under 24hrs. Still waiting on Fitbit support. Will not be buying a Fitbit device if this isn't sorted. Will also look to leave Google if even possible. Still hopeful Fitbit will resolve the issue we have very good consumer laws in New Zealand.

[BarbaraBarnfiel]

I hope you get it sorted.

[Cityfrank]

What I have noticed aside from the fact that it no longer holds a charge, is that it drains faster and when it gets to about 50%, it is basically done.  Within a few hours it is dead. Very sad.

[BarbaraBarnfiel]

Agreed!

[Jpentico]

Same issues for me but I can't get it restarted now at all!

[jvhoef]

Mine dies in about 6 hours, gps off, spo2 off, manual screen on. I sure as heck hope it wasn't because I went swimming two days before in a pool. It's a stupid fitness tracker if it can't be used in the water. Also of course it is 2 weeks more than a year old.

[reneeshawgo]

I purchased the Charge 5 specifically to monitor my Afib.  I used it faithfully for 8+ months then upon charging it one day, it never charged again and now has been dead black for 6 months.  I've tried all the specified ways to fix the problem, alcohol on posts, pushing button 3x, removing the app from my phone, using a friend's charger to determine if the problem lies w my charger or my Charge 5.   Nothing has helped to bring the Charge back to life.  And, now,  no way to check my Afib, which is a health issue .  I thought the Charge 5 was going to be my healthy friend but nope; not now.  

[but_seriously]

Same issues and it makes me wonder: did Apple by Fitbit? Weren't their hands slapped for increasingly poor battery performance after successive updates? My Charge5 won't hold a charge for 48 hours; my screen often becomes unresponsive within 36; I've done everything I can to minimize power usage; I don't get it wet (my previous ChargeX died doing that). This has been going on since the last update and if Fitbit isn't addressing the problem, I'm interested in others' recommendations for change. 

[Radmanbit]

Yeah it’s annoying as. 
I got through to support from online chat doing their tests ie: push button on charge cable three times etc etc, wait for it to charge. Did this unplug from charger device Flat, was told to plug back and try again hahaha did got back them next day as I told them it will take upto 8+ hours to charge, anyway got back into them the next day, they agreed it is broken sending me a new one as replacement, they did offer 50% off a newer device. Uuummm Na. 
Get onto support if you can. 
good luck all.

[Trickyfish]

I have the exact same issue.  It’s a problem with the stupid software. I was told by customer suppport to reset it and they could somehow log how long it lasted between charges.  Miraculously it started working normally again and keeping its charge so I never followed up with suppprt. fAs of yesterday it’s happening again and barely lasts the day after charging.

[reneeshawgo]

Trickyfish(Jogger), this is so frustrating as I want to use my fitbit for
my Afib detection. I'm glad I didn't pay the $89 Premium fee for extra
programs, meditations and exercises. Im so sorry that you are back to the
beginning with this issue. Many of us need a reimbursement but I think
they want us to purchase a new Fitbit. Not happening.

[Roby117]

This problem is not limited to the charge 5.  Same issue an my Charge 4. No problems using device for 2 years. SUDDENLY after a firmware update my Fitbit started draining completely in less than an hour. Absolutely no responsibility taken from Fitbit! Never buying one again.

[Tinkerbell99]

My watch won't work at all since yesterday and the battery was absolutely fine, don't know what to do, the charger reset does nothing, watch totally black and sitting at 69% when it was 100%, can't get anything up on screen and it no longer charges!!! I need my watch working as I run alot, so frustrating!!!!

[Zari45]

I am having the same issue. 2 days ago it went black and shut down when it wasn’t dead. After plugging it in, it turned back on and fully charged. It died within 15 hours. Charged it again to full by midnight last night and woke up to it being at 63% by 8am. Now at 1:43 it is down to 50%. Reached out to customer support and just had me do the regular testing but no fix. Prior to Saturday I only had to charge my Charge 5 once a week. 

[BarbaraBarnfiel]

Yes, same here. However, after messaging the help desk, my charge 5 is
holding charge again!! Hmmm!! 🧐