Fitbit Charge not shipping and Charge 6 doesn't seem worth it :(

[BriPelt]

Dear Fitbit/Google,

My 2nd Charge 5 (first one died at about 8-9 months after purchase) stopped holding a charge about 2 months ago. I’m an experienced tech user and researched and implemented all the fixes that were suggested, but no luck--even tried again this weekend with no positive results. After trying all what I found on this forum, I reached out to FitBit support, and they basically said there was no hope to save my Charge 5, so offered me a 35% discount. There was an awesome “Back to School” sale at the time, so I used that discount and my 35% discount to order a new Charge 5 for a really reasonable price!

I immediately got an email that said it was on backorder until mid-September. Then I got another email a few days later that said it was going to ship 9/29. Two weeks later I got an email that said the time was indeterminate as to when I would get my new Charge 5. That was about a month ago. I have had radio silence since then, and it looks like many others have had the same experience as well.

The radio silence got me thinking that maybe the Charge 6 might be on the way. So I did a little research, and sure enough, there was some buzz about a possible release soon. So I contacted FitBit support again to try and confirm whether or not I would ever get the Charge 5 I ordered, or if they had already stopped production to start making the Charge 6. My husband’s a firmware engineer, I know how these things work. Well, that conversation was pretty fruitless, and I asked the guy for a transcript for my records, because this whole situation seemed pretty fishy to me about then, and he said he would send me an email, and sure enough, he that never came. Good thing I took screen shots for my record, because I really feel like something has to be done about this, now that all the Charge 5 Community Forums are blowing up with the same issue I’m having.

I’ve been a loyal Fitbit customer because I like the longevity of the Charge battery life, ~1x a week, and that they aren’t quite a Smartwatch, but has a few Smartwatch type features. I really don’t want to go to a Smartwatch, but many family members and friends are moving to Apple Watch and seem to love it. I’m very hesitant, because I really don’t want to have something I charge everyday, anything I am encouraged to attach my credit cards to pay with just my device (identity risk much?) or that answers phone calls for me, but Fitbit/Google’s management of well loved Fitbit products recently has made me question whether I want to stay with this brand. The feature to pair with my Peloton is tempting, but I don’t use YouTube Music—and don’t want to—but I use Spotify heavily and that would have been a much better feature.

I live in Colorado and the altimeter was my favorite pert of the Charge 4, because I could calculate elevation gain in real time, which helped me to set paces better for longer hikes. There were so many articles that hinted at the altimeter returning—even one that confirmed it from a “Google Insider” a week before this release and now I can’t find the article or I would reference it—and now I’m super disappointed to find it, yet again, that it hasn't been included in the Charge series! I was trying to hold out on the Charge 6, because I’ve loved the Charge line, but you’ve really messed up this time. I’m super bummed about the altimeter not being included again, especially since every article I read was hopeful it would return after the huge backlash from it being removed from the Charge 5. I know it probably ruins the sleek frame that the Charge 5 has, but I would sacrifice a little more bulk in the size of the Charge 6 for the ability to calculate elevation gains on my hikes again.

So, Fitbit/Google, the ball is in your court. What possible reason do I have to stay with your brand? How are your products better than the competition when you keep ignoring customers and removing/not adding features that your competitors are including in their products? Is the Charge 5 I ordered even in production now that it's been removed from your website? I feel like i am out of luck and I'm being left in the dark on purpose, that me and several other Charge 5 users are just not worthy of your time or energy, Fitbit/Google. We are intelligent people and we deserve some answers about the Charge 5 hardware issues, possible fixes on the way, or full refunds on our Charge 5s for the inconvenience of your firmware update ruining the battery life, because clearly, many users have been having issues since that latest update alone. Please give me a reason to stay, because I've been a happy customer for 10+ years and I really don't want to shuck out the money for one of your competitors right now. Thank you in advance!

[katieues]

My Charge 5 stopped working a month after the warranty expired and they offered me the same 35% discount. I ordered mine on Aug 3, and there was no indication there was a shortage.

When I saw the back to school sale, I wrote Fitbit (my third time contacting them) to ask if I could cancel and use my discount with the sale, because my discount was still valid for another few days. They told me I would not be permitted to use my discount with any additional sales, so it’s pretty maddening to hear that other customers were able to do that.

I reached out to customer support again last week (after the announcement of the Charge 6) - my fourth time reaching out - because it has been two months, there’s still no shipping estimate, and there IS a shipping estimate on the charge 6.

I asked if there was an update on the ETA of my charge 5 and if not, could I just apply my discount to the charge 6. I was told no on both counts and that there was nothing that rep could do but that “he would escalate the issue to a supervisor to prioritize my case.” It took four times reaching out and two months - why wasn’t it already on their radar? He told me someone would email me and no one ever did.

This is infuriating.

[BriPelt]

They said you couldn’t do the Back to School discount?!?! I guess I didn’t ask and just did it, but it enrages me they tried to stop customers—who had purchased almost a month ahead of me—to not take advantage of that deal. I made this post and another on the Charge 6 page, and have yet to hear from anyone who works for Google/Fitbit. In fact, I’ve found that unless it’s something that can be answered with a canned or pre-written response, they’ve just stopped answering questions surrounding the Charge 5 and the battery drain/software issue.

I think that is what bothers me the most. There’s literally radio silence, both on the forums/customer service end at FitBit and on the internet news (like someone’s trying to keep this all *hush hush* for some reason), as far as my research has found. No “We’re sorry this battery drain/software issue hasn’t been resolved yet, stay tuned”, no real solutions provided, or even any incentives to buy something else that is equivalent other than the insulting 35% towards a new device. Customer service used to be better than this and I’m seriously contemplating moving to Garmin or Apple Watch soon, because at least I could have a device in my hand sooner than Fitbit can get one to me at this point.

I agree with you @katieues, this is infuriating, and simply unacceptable in this day and age not to have answers for months on end about something we pay over a hundred dollars for, and in some cases depend upon, especially if they want us to pay extra for Premium and other perks. Prime Day is coming up, and I might just take my money and investment in a fitness device in a new direction. I don’t want to, I’ve rather liked that the Charge line was just a tracker with a few smart functions and I’ve liked the platform until recently, but most of my family and friends have moved in a new direction, and with all of the social challenges etc. gone, I really don’t have many reasons to stay anymore. Fitbit was almost synonymous with “Fitness tracker” when these devices started out, but they are quickly being left behind by the competition, and their behavior with this situation seems like they aren’t trying very hard to keep the customer base they’ve built. Please let me know if you hear back about your Charge, I’d like to hear a happy ending, but I’m not optimistic at this point. 🙁

[Lschitbit]

The same thing happened to me. My Charge 5 stopped working/shut off 4 months after purchase in November 2022. The replacement Fitbit shipped to me stopped working the same time as yours in the beginning of August 2023. It was within 1 month after the warranty ended of my initial purchase.

My Charge 5 completely shut off while it was recording a run. There wasn't anything I could do to fix it and same for the fitbit support person. 

Prior to this no physical damage had ever happened to it. I never left the battery charge too long/nothing was done to make the battery faulty. There was a software update that happened maybe a week before. 

When I called fitbit support the person tried to help me get it to turn back on which failed and that they would review my claim with another department. It was probably at least a month when I finally received an email for 35% off a fitbit device. I was furious. I called them and said why would I buy another fitbit product when two Charge 5's broke between July 2022 and August 2023. 

Mysteriously at that time my replacement Charge 5 stopped working and the warranty ran out is when they had inventory problems with the Charge 5. How convenient.I was not going to purchase a more expensive model with a built-in GPS after this failure. 

I couldn't bring myself to buy a new fitbit. My husband, the great guy he is, pre-ordered the new Charge 6. I just got it in the mail.  Initially it synced to my phone during setup, now nothing and it didnt even setup yet. I'm not an idiot when it comes to technology, but hopefully the new Charge 6 is better. 

Fitbit/Google please get it right. I don't write about products failing, but the issues regarding the Charge 5 is worthy.