Fitbit Charge 5 dies after first time worn in a pool

[RJBinDC]

After 10 years, I think I'm done with Fitbit as a company. I purchased the Charge 5 around a year ago and wore it without a problem since then. Yesterday, it tracked my 4.25 mile walk and then I wore it into the pool for the first time. It stopped working. I followed the instructions to reset the device but it didn't work. It isn't paired with my iPhone anymore. It's dead as a direct result of wearing it in the pool once and this is a "Swim proof" and "water resistant" device.

I chatted with the support team last night and in the morning they followed up by emailing me a 30% discount toward buying another Fitbit.

Excuse me? I get a 30% discount to buy another defective product? What a joke. This device is sold as water resistant and swim proof. The company should replace the device free of charge and I'll know never to wear it in the water despite their false advertising. A 30% discount is frankly insulting when they can see from my dashboard it was working right up until the moment I wore it in the pool. Seriously, WTF?

[RJBinDC]

"Swimproof to 50 meters" Charge 5 with "Deep Sea Sport Accessory Band" can't survive 10 minutes in a 5ft deep pool.

Wow this company is absolutely horrible. I bought the Charge 5 in May 2022 so it's now 13 months since buying it -- or a few weeks beyond the one-year warranty. I spoke to another customer service rep yesterday and wasting my time, kicked it up the chain to a supervisor. So they sweetened the deal for their defective Charge 5. Now they'd not only give me a 30% discount on their defective product but throw in a free sports band. Yippeee!

My mistake was not getting in the pool for the first time wearing the defective device one month earlier so that replacement would be covered by the company. There's absolutely no question that what caused the unit to fail was getting into the pool wearing the Charge 5. Written on the box, Fitbit claims it is "Swimproof (Water resistant to 50 meters)." On another side of the box it states that the Charge 5 bundle comes with a "Bonus Deep Sea Sport Accessory Band (Large)." The maximum depth of my pool is 5 feet and I was in it for 10 minutes.

The Charge 5 is a defective product and the company would rather lose a 10-year customer than do what's right and replace the unit.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @RJBinDC, it's a great pity this has been your experience. It will be no consolation to you to know that I wear my "Charge 5" daily for many weeks now when I swim 3,000 metres (120 lengths of a 25 metres pool) without any issue.

Good luck with your next wearable.

Cheers

[RJBinDC]

Thanks for letting me know. At least it works underwater for someone else. It would be less annoying if it wasn't my first time with it submerged. They're unwilling to work with me on this so I wouldn't buy another.