Two Charge 5 died after being exposed to water

[VasVadum]

I've now had two Charge 5's die from the same issue. Both lasted just slightly over a year to make sure the warranty was no longer around. First one I got a Square Trade warranty which was a mistake and second one the Amazon system messed up and gave me the wrong warranty but Amazon tried to make it right anyway.

So what was the issue? Well, the first one died after being exposed to water after a year of use. I suspect the battery inside expanded slightly and pushed the case open enough to let moisture inside as the device completely shorted out and stopped working entirely.

The second device, well, it got maybe a few drops of rain on it while I was outside on the 4th. Then later that day I noticed it was off, turned it back on by plugging it in and it was at 90% power. Charged to 100% and it drained rapidly in random intervals by several percent each drain. I re-calibrated the battery twice to get it back to working (drain till it turns off then charge to 100%). Its lost 2/3rds of its capacity permanently, I suspect it shorted out inside.

For a device that claims you can swim with it, and go 50 meters deep, getting slightly wet from a drop or two of water and shorting out is very bad. My Charge 3 worked for years, and was frequently exposed to water. Of course the Charge 3 was manufactured by Fitbit. The Charge 5 is Google's product.

Honestly Google. If you're going to buy a company, you can't simultaneously decrease product quality and raise price and expect people to stick around. Your userbase is getting angry, and the Fitbit company now looks bad. I won't be sticking around myself if my next device has similar problems.

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And now your forums are crappy too. Claiming I'm flooding the system so I can't post, because your system kept rejecting my post due to the labels I tried to add which apparently there are no labels available on your forums.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Xinabe]

My device is also no longer working after contact with water and it seems like this is currently happening to countless other people (It’s swimming season after all). The device is simply not waterproof at the depth it claims it can withstand. I learned my lesson. Will either buy a Garmin or just go with an Apple Watch. 

[VasVadum]

I believe it to be related to time. The battery is likely expanding, or perhaps the seals aren't holding. Each time I get a new device, I tested it in water first week. I showered with it multiple times even. Stuck my hand down in a bucket of water and held for a little bit. It was fine. About a year and several months later, coincidentally after some kind of water exposure, even light rain or something, suddenly it broke. Both devices. I can't even imagine why the device would break from light exposure to rain on the 4th though, it was barely a sprinkle. I have to assume it was coincidence but still. It tells me the seals have likely failed due to battery expansion or quality control.