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

[Drooji]

Same issues as everyone else. This device completely fell off a cliff at around two years here.

[mmswitz]

Same here. purchased the Fitbit on Amazon and it worked beautifully for a few months and then screen went black. Customer service is useless. since I bought it through Amazon, It’s not under warranty. I will never buy another Fitbit product ever again!

[Grayson96]

My charge 5 battery drain on 7 April 2024. Charged 6 April in a.m.  down to 4% @ 313 a.m. on 7 April

[Clueitj]

I agree

[Hendrik55]

I got a new FitBit Charge 5….!

My problems with the Charge 5 are solved. At least for the time being and I hope it stays that way. After the last firmware update to 194.91 I also had all kinds of problems with battery and use of GPS.

In 2 months I tried everything to solve that. First with tips from the forum. Then I called the Fitbit helpdesk. There I was instructed to restart the Charge 5 using the button on the cable. I had already done that several times, and it had also been started several times because it had fallen out. But I had to do it according to the manual I was emailed. It did not help.
After a week of restarting many times, I called again. It could be seen that I had recently synchronized. One can see a lot and I don't know whether that is allowed in the context of privacy.
My 2 year warranty had now expired 3 months, so they could not do anything for me. The next assignment was to reset the C5 to factory settings according to a manual I received by email. However, according to the manual, this did not work. On the internet I found a YouTube video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gyx9pT874sk) that did work. To factory settings and reset everything. That did not solve the failure of the C5 when using GPS and strange battery percentages and draining. All this trouble started after firmware 194.91

After this I sent an angry email. At the time of the firmware update, my C5 was still within warranty and I demanded a solution from Fitbit/Google.

I have also stated that according to European legislation I can expect a normal usage time, and that for a smartwatch is certainly longer than 2 years. So I expect concrete action and quickly from Google, especially since Fitbit/Google is the cause of the unusability...

Because I received no answer, I called the helpdesk again after a week. I was told by a friendly gentleman, after reading my emails, that I was getting a new C5.

I have been using it for 2 weeks now and everything works as usual. No battery and/or GPS problems so far. This C5 runs on firmware 188.58 and I have not yet been offered any new firmware. Maybe Google pulled it back after all these problems?
I don't want new firmware either, but I don't know if I can prevent that.

So Fitbit/Google does have a solution

My advice, call the helpdesk in your country, do what they tell you to do and demand a functioning Fitbit Charge 5 even if it is out of warranty. GOOD LUCK!

[Clifford2rocky]

Charge 5 battery

my charge five, only little over a year old, stopped charging suddenly.  Called help and did a few things, but nothing worked. They were very quick to offer me to buy a charge six at half the price. I took the offer, though it was not what I wanted. While  waiting I did try to keep charging the five and got a little burst a little of 20%. What I’ve learned since that time is that there was a firmware update from Fitbit/Google, and that’s when so many of us started having problems. Coincidentally, Fitbit/Google is trying to get all accounts moved over to a Google account. Not happy about that. When I got the charge 6 and tried to set it up, I realize there were some strings attached that should raise alarm bills for Fitbit users. You cannot set up the charge 6 without agreeing to switch accounts from Fitbit to a Google account. Part of that switch is that you agree to allow Google to use all the health data they collect off of your fitness track tracker . Also, if you are on a group competition, those who still have Fitbit accounts can no longer see your step count, they, too, must switch to Google. Personally, the thought of Google accessing my health data from the Fitbit is alarming. There was no option on this . Other apps, of course do allow you to opt out of sharing this data. Based on this, I’m thinking it’s time to be looking for a different fitness tracker. Let me know if you have any thoughts on this .

[Smsoule]

I did the same and got the charge 6. It feels like it was an issue the
update caused purposely in an effort to force us to switch to a Google
account. It sounds a lot like what Apple did, slowing down certain phones,
and was fined for...

[Clifford2rocky]

I’ve been posting,  but don’t know if it stays on one thread of posts.  Is always the same the battery doesn’t work, it started in the last six weeks, and followed a firmware update by Fitbit. These are all fairly new charge fives.  The helpdesk makes some minimal effort to solve the problem and then tells you the unit is just passed warranty and needs replacement. They offer 30 to 50% off. Once you take the offer you receive a charge six. What they don’t tell you is that in order to do the set up on the charge six you must agree to switch your account from Fitbit to google. It won’t work unless you do it. And to switch to Google you must agree to allow Google to use all of your health data off of the tracking device. That doesn’t sound good to me. Other apps at least offer you the choice to make a decision about the data you share. There is no sharing option on this. so one has to ask what is Google up to, and what was their real purpose in buying Fitbit in the first place. Also, what happened in that firmware update that created this problem. I’m interested in what other members of this forum think, and what other alternative for a fitness  tracker, they have considered as a good option.

[Plymouthbird1]

yes used to last a week. Now its odd, watch says all good then switches off. Check phone down to 5%. Plug it in check phone back to 50% for example it cant make its mind up if its charged or not. Now its playing silly beggars whilst trying to do ECG. Crashed totally and ended up reinstalling

[Clueitj]

This a latent defect with the Fitbit 5 and should be covered by them but
they are not interested.

My reply was thank you for notifying them it helps them to improve their
future technology. Zero interest in my broken watch thanks to what seems to
be their update.

------------------------

Identical problem to mine but now its just a black screen. On doing the
"press button 3 times reset" the logo pops up then just goes to a black
screen.

[LadyCRBM]

So are you saying your Charge 5 is now working again? 

[Clueitj]

No mine is not working. Black screen. Won't hold charge.

[LA.]

Definitely same issues here. Trouble restarting, crashing after an hour. Battery says 100%, then 5 min later get a low battery warning. Have tried 3 chargers, so that's not the issue. 

[debsinindia]

My Charge 5 used to easily last over 5 or 6 days on one full charge, now I lose 90% of charge within 3 days, even though I am not doing anything particularly active or strenuous. Seems like this isn't as bad as many, but it is definitely much worse than it used to be.

[Dragonmrcry]

mine just started having problems last night. it only holds a charge for an hour

[AliBee85]

Mine’s less than a month old, worked fine for three weeks and then the battery drains in less than an hour. Bought it on catch of the day marketplace so returning it is a nightmare. I ended up just getting a 50% refund and will never get a Fitbit ever again

[jwilliamsr9]

Well about a care free fitbit charge 5 owner,,  then  then went to give a lil charge to get through work till i can get home and fully charge.. too watch off at 24%  , when i got to work it showed 4% and died . Got home and hooked to charger and it started flashing logo , so i did reset , nothing and from that point on nothing.. it will flash logo and then buz when logo flashes off.  over and over . nothing more.  i figure im out of warranty and been reading all the stories about failed fixes. so now guess its pointless to even contact Fitbit . So now i have a dead fitbit with a new band !!!

[carebear123]

The last few days I have. Charge it to full and 2 days later it shuts down and I have to charge again 

[Leslie777]

ABC News just did a segment on this at 7:30 a.m.this morning (4/14/12).

[olidesy]

Same thing for me... Since 2 weeks now, I have a problem with the longevity of the battery and also with the Heart rate. The Heart rate has worked last week intermittently, but since 5 days now, it is not responding anymore.