Update for those with draining battery

[W_D_S]

Well the attached is what I received from customer support today. Considering Fitbit is taking no steps to provide information to everyone who's device has been affected by their error I figured it would be helpful to share. 

There is no current solution but they are trying to create a firmware update to fix the battery issue. No time-line provided as you can see, but some "helpful" tips to "extend" your battery life...lol.  Because going from one hour of life to two is a big help.... 

[delawareBirder]

What's kind of funny is a just got an email from Fitbit touting the latest firmware update.  I wish I had never installed it on my Charge 5.  I installed in on my wife's Charge5 and there doesn't appear to be any negative effect.

[W_D_S]

Awesome! I will do that. 

[W_D_S]

What solution has been found for the battery draining insanely fast - mine is 2 months old and doesn't last an hour. 

Why are some people being provided replacement devices and others told they just have to wait? 

[Julia_G]

Hi, @W_D_S , if your two month old Charge 5 is only lasting one hour, that is obviously unacceptable and your Fitbit is not working as expected.  I would suggest trying the restart procedure here and then monitoring your battery life.  If the problem persists, then please get in touch with Fitbit Customer Support on Contact.Fitbit.com .  Let them know what trouble shooting steps you have already tried.  

Fitbit is able to look behind the scenes and confirm how quickly your battery is draining.

If you have previously contacted them and have not been able to resolve the issue you may need to ask for your issue to be escalated.  

Good luck, and let us know how it goes,

[Salem309]

Hello W_D_S

I wonder if you are suffering since getting your Charge5.

Mine was working perfectly from battery perspective till this morning,  when I started suffering from a sudden performance issue with my battery. ( It is draining so fast) 

[W_D_S]

Thanks. I've done all of that and they literally said they don't have a solution and I just have to wait..."these things take time to resolve"....until firmware is developed to solve the issue. It's not acceptable. 

[Georgialee]

Same here. I've installed the update and the was no change whatsoever.  I get 13 hours to a charge. This has been going on since April. Expecting us to wait for an update is ludicrous.  Whoever is responsible for the release of the Charge5 should be fired! Where is their quality control?

[delawareBirder]

@Julia_G  Fitbit confirmed that my Charge 5 battery is draining unacceptably fast.  Issue was escalated... result?  I was told to wait, they are working on the solution.  After a while... 2 chats and 2 phone calls, you get tired of trying to get a replacement, which is what I guess Fitbit is trying to avoid.

[delawareBirder]

@W_D_S  "These things take time to resolve" ... of course they do, but within a reasonable time.  We are past within a reasonable time.  If Fitbit had a robust test suite for their software/firmware they wouldn't release software before it's well tested.  I can only guess that they do not.

[Bisvettech]

Doesn't seem to answer anything or offer a real solution.  Mine has worked perfectly since I bought but starting draining within a day since Friday.  I never changed any settings. 

[Julia_G]

If my Fitbit battery were draining within an hour I would call back...This sounds like a hardware issue to me and not something that could be solved by an update.

[W_D_S]

I received a response today saying they are currently releasing a firmware update to solve the issue as well as some other items. Great news and sounds like it should be fixed very soon! 

[W_D_S]

They keep insisting its a firmware issue. Sounds like an updated firmware will be released in the next few days to solve the issue so we'll see. Sounds like others are having the same issue as me so hoping this works. 

[roberjw]

This issue has persisted for quite some time and has made my watch completely unusable. I no longer can even track sleep because the battery will die during the night. Luckily for me I have a new Garmin Forerunner 255 out for delivery today and I can sever my ties with this trash company once and for all. Thank you Google / Fitbit for destroying a wonderful brand with greedy subscription service tactics and faulty hardware that you are unwilling to take the responsibility for.

[delawareBirder]

@W_D_S  Could you share the response that you received concerning a firmware update that is being released?

[W_D_S]

[delawareBirder]

@W_D_S  Thanks!  Hopefully we will get the update soon.

[WCC10522]

It seems to me that the Fitbit email that W_D_S copied and pasted is referring to the recent firmware update that's causing all the problems that many Charge 5 users are having for the first time and is not referring to a corrected update.  I hope I'm wrong but I'm not optimistic based on what I have seen from Fitbit so far.

[Julia_G]

The update referred to was first released approximately one month ago and was gradually rolled out to users.  I would imagine most users would have had that update by now.

The update version number is 171.50.  You can check what version your Charge 5 is running by opening your app and clicking on the picture/photo icon top left, and on the next screen clicking on your Charge 5.  On the Charge 5 screen at the top it will tell you the firmware version.  If your Fitbit is already updated the last 5 digits should show 171.50.  If it does, you are already on the latest version and there is no further update.

If you are not on the latest version, keep a look out for a pink downward arrow on the front page of your app which will alert you that an update is available.

If you are already on the latest version and are still experiencing the battery issues reported in this thread then your issues are not related to the fixes in this update and you should get back in touch with Customer Support to let them know.

I hope this helps.

Edited to add: you can also check your firmware version by swiping down on the Charge 5 until you come to the settings app. Tap on settings and then swipe up to find Device info, tape to System info and then swipe up to Version.  Again, the last 5 digits should be 171.50 if you are on the latest version.  That is the latest update.