Introducing Charge 5 Firmware Release - Version 1.171.50

[FitbitCommunity]

We’re excited to announce that a firmware update for Charge 5. Some of you might already have this update available. If you installed it, let us know what you think!

We release updates to customers in phases. If you don’t see it, check the Fitbit app in a few days, and you’ll see a message when you can install the update. We appreciate your patience while we get this update to all of our customers. 

WHAT’S NEW AND FIXED

See What's changed in the latest Fitbit device update? for release notes.

HOW DO I UPDATE?

See How do I update my Fitbit device? for step-by-step instructions for updating your Charge 5. If you run into difficulty updating, see Why can't I update my Fitbit device?. 

We’re interested in hearing your feedback on this update! Let us know what you like! If you encounter unexpected behavior during or after your update, please post the details below.

[SunsetRunner]

It's not that some people are STILL experiencing battery drain problems, it's that the update BROKE devices which were previously working fine. This is absolutely terrible.

[VballKitty]

Wow. I use this for my watch. It sounds like this process will take a month. I can't be without my watch for a month. I will have to buy some other device. Bummer. Why don't they give me a voucher to get one locally??   

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[Ksalava]

I don’t work for Fitbit. Best to reach out to them for support


Sent from my iPhone

[VballKitty]

Not good. They should provide a voucher to get a new one locally. This would greatly reduce wait time and improve customer satisfaction

[Starforsaken]

Is contacting support going to fix the firmware? No. Is it allowing me to roll back to the previous version? Also no. I'll happily give up the new clock faces (which I also don't have) to get my battery life back.
The longest period without charging before the update was 11 days, it's not reaching 2 now. An absolute disgrace.

[christinas_7]

I did the update and now sleep is all messed up. 1st issue: I took a nap this afternoon and when I synced the sleep percentages are wrong (see first picture). 2nd issue: According to Fitbit, for years I have never had any high oxygen fluctuations but now I am consistently in the yellow (see pic 2) and its messed up all the oxygen history. If I was really having this much trouble with my oxygen levels I would be suffocating in my sleep every night. 

The other posts I've seen makes me question if Fitbit is pushing updates that either haven't been thoroughly tested prior to release or are poorly created. I don't know what Fitbit is doing but there is no point in using a device if all it is going to do is provide bad data.

 

 

[SLW422]

Today is a week since I updated to the new firmware.   So far my Charge 5 is working fine; battery is at 31% after a week (I don't use GPS).  I never had a problem with battery life either before or after the upgrade.  The only complaint I have is that there still are no new watch faces, but if those shown in previous posts are all we're getting then I don't really care about not getting those.  Just more useless cutsey faces without any new functionality. 

[SunsetRunner]

Why get another one that will just fail the same way? Wait until there is an actual documented fix to the firmware. Or get a device from another company like Garmin. Their units aren't as "pretty" but they seem to work very well.

[Catwoman777]

Agree. I use it as my watch too. Been without for a MONTH. And. They
still don’t have my returned dead watch. The shipping label takes 2 WEEKS.
Huh???? This is very poor customer service. IF I ever get a replacement I
hope it works

[Bearyogi]

Hello Davide, 

I am returning 2 new Charge 5 devices before my vendor return window closes. I cannot wait for a firmware fix to determine if I have fully functional devices. 
I set up one Charge 5 last night and it went smoothly. My Fitbit indicated the update was available. I tried multiple times to update and used all suggestions. Kept getting Bluetooth disconnected messages and/or noticed the download was going back to zero and attempting to reload. I also got a couple of download failure notices. I did make sure Bluetooth was off on my other devices to avoid any device conflicts and that I was the only one active on our family network.

I do not know if there were any issues with the Charge 5 before the update attempts because I did not use it long enough to determine battery life, etc.

I removed the Charge 5 from my Fitbit app and re-installed my Inspire HR. To avoid any issues before the set-up I proceeded as if I was installing a new device. I cleared the data on my Inspire HR and removed it from my Bluetooth device list on my iPhone. All went well with no Bluetooth disconnects. Once installed, I only had to edit my Inspire to add back changes I had made to non-factory settings. 
We want the Charge 5 features and the device size. I am hopeful Fitbit will resolve the issues while our Inspire HR’s are still working. 

[mchili]

Has anyone tried to get a refund directly from Fitbit on the charge 5 even if it was purchased elsewhere?  Today after over 2000 steps the app said 0 until I manually synced it also it constantly says ‘unable to sync your charge 5’ when it’s connected by Bluetooth and I need to refresh it constantly. My other Fitbits (Alta hr, charge 2, versa, charge 3 and inspire 2) work flawlessly with the app but I prefer the color screen which is more visible and the size of the charge 5

[SLW422]

Though I have no "proof," I believe that most of these problems are due to the BLUETOOTH CONNECTIVITY ISSUE that has never been resolved.  People may not even realize that their Fitbit is connecting/disconnecting to bluetooth every few seconds.   If this is the case with your device, then the download of the new Firmware is being disrupted and probably corrupted.   If you look at your connected bluetooth devices on your phone and see the Charge 5 connected, then disconnected... I would NOT try to download the new version.   JMHO.    (Note:  this is for iPhone iOS users; I'm not sure about Android.)

[FRZALI]

My GPS tracking has stopped working reliably, come to think of it it might have something to do with this update. During runs it just turns gps off, much prefer if it didn’t. This is a painful experience that has gotten me thinking about switching to another tracker.

[AlisonEsso]

How did you get the firmware update Mine is stuck on clock face

[radesix]

I’ve never had any Bluetooth connectivity issues. My firmware update completed successfully. Then the battery problems began.

[Phatboi20]

Since this update 2 hours ago, my fitbit has stopped working. It will not charge, it has not synced since the update. 

Someone needs to lose their job over this update! What a debacle!

[SunsetRunner]

It could very well be that the programmers who designed this whole system from early 2021 are gone. Unless they broke the software so badly that they were needed to help fix it. That can happen with large programs. I feel sorry for any programmer who tries to find a job now who used to work for Fitbit. Even if they are wonderful there will be a question.

[cfsFit]

Any responsible company should have standards requiring sufficient documentation to make code clear and maintainable, and not necessarily by the original author.

[SunsetRunner]

Key word: responsible.

[Starforsaken]

I've tried running with bluetooth disabled for a day (on android), and it made no difference. It could be that the Charge is still trying to connect because there's no way to disable it on the device itself. It could very well be part of the problems people have, but it seems unlikely that it's the only issue.

For clarification on my situation, my Charge 5 was working fine before the update (easily lasted a week between charges), and now it requires charging every other day.