Anybody NOT have issues with the Charge 6?

[g12erald]

I ordered a Charge 6 despite reading that people have an issue with it crashing and requiring hard resets, etc. Well, it also happened to me. After it happened multiple times the first week, I’m getting a replacement and returning the defective one.

Is anybody actually happy with the 6??? (I have heart issues and want the ECG without too many bells and whistles, which is why I keep going with these).

I’m just about done with Fitbit after almost ten years. Most recently, my Charge 5 suddenly died for good, so I went back to use my original Versa which was totally normal for two days then also suddenly died.

[Grannymom]

Had a charge 3 for 4 yrs. The last year I had problems with time being off then black screen sometimes and finally total black screen all time but it still sent all the info to my phone I just cdnt see on wrist. My husband surprised me with Charge 6 this year on my birthday or I would still be using my charge 3 because it didn’t matter about see it on device, my phone was sufficient. Now, my new charge 6 is just fine for these last 6 months. I can’t really complain  at all because I know my problems are only from my not being able to navigate. And, when I find things by accident I might not remember how to get back to it. At 75 some things aren’t as important as they used to be so guess I’m not as technically savvy as I used to be. I haven’t set up my charge 6 to use all of its capabilities. For what I track it works great so far, no complaints. So it surprises me when I read others complaints, but they’re not showing up on my Fitbit 

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Are y’all getting them wet?? Can’t do that. If you want to get it wet need to turn on swimming feature and turn it off when out of water. It then flushes out any water in it so there’s no damage. My Charge 3 was good to 30 feet and didn’t have to remove for shower. But I never got it wet. I always took it off. The one time I forgot n wore it in the shower was when it had intermittent problems for about month and then screen went totally blank. Do the Charge 3 was NOT good for swim or any other wet activity. I kept using it because it still reported to my phone app and I could see it all there. I found the swimming thing by accident but had already decided to never get it wet so didn’t pay much attention to instructions. I don’t even let water splash on it I remove it when washing hands. I figure if the 3 was good for 30 feet and in reality it was not that I wasn’t trusting any water issues with the 6. I never saw anywhere the swimming option to keep it dry. It did not say anywhere to Not Get it Wet unless you turned on the swimming function. A lot of the complaints I’m reading on the 6 are the things that went wrong on my 3 when I forgot & wore it in shower. Hope that helps someone. Just don’t get the 6 wet unless you turned in swimming feature. 

[Edword]

I have now had my charge 6 for 31 days the main problem is the strap falls off which means I may lose it also, it falling on the ground may not be ideal. I never dropped the Huawei band I had for the last 4 years as the band never failed once.  I wonder if the reason my sleep data does not appear in watch very often is because of the syncing problem that people refer to. Personally I am not that bothered about that as can still see sleep in the app. The GPS is also rubbish as but not that bothered about. For running a bad design as only has 3 stages and buzzes with low value messages. For cycling its also rubbish. The rubbish GPS running cycling and less good than a Huawei for heart rate are known things by the online scientist that does scientific reviews. For sleep tracking the fitbit is best of all but apple way better than a Huawei so generally I would say I am fairly satisfied with my charge 6 apart from it constantly falling off but I am going to get a fancy leather strap and glue it on then even if does not sync and show sleep in the app a very minor thing. Although my Huawei tracker that cost 100 less was way better for cycling and running never used it for cycling and often did not use it for running. 

[Live_unafraid47]

I have never had an issue with the technology aspect of the charge 6. My issue has been the design. Why on earth did the think it was a good idea to put the release clasp for the band on the underside where it rubs against the skin. It has fallen off countless times. It doesn't matter how loose or tight it is. It just falls off. I loved the charge 4 and it worked well for years. I don't understand why they changed the clasp design.

[Iqbalsbarqi]

I am done with my Charge 6. It is less than a year. Now the battery won't get charged, no matter what I do. I bought it in Australia, but I am Indonesian. To claim a warranty is super complicated. I would never buy google products ever again. 

[kritchie55]

Ive been a loyal FitBit premium user since 2012. I purchased the Charge 6 as a Christmas present for myself six months ago.  Minor issues with this version (like tracking that I’m sleeping anytime I stop moving) I can deal with. But, Last week the display stopped working. Tried all the suggested reset steps, nothing worked. Did an online chat with support, they couldnt do anything further so they asked for a copy of my receipt and told me someone from “their warranty team” would get back to me. I called today after hearing nothing from the warranty team to be told I didnt buy my FitBit from an authorized seller. I bought it on Amazon!!! But apparently in the fine print, it shows the seller as someone other than Amazon themselves. I asked that my issue be escalated and now waiting for a call back from a supervisor within 24 hours. I sure hope they dont call at 3 AM since all Fitbit support is in another country. If Fitbit is not going to make good on their product, I’m done!!!! After 14 years, there are other products out there. They are not the only ones!!!! Buyer beware. Their products have decreased in quality, their support is meaningless and if you do purchase a Fitbit, be absolutely certain its from an authorized seller. 

[Saul1]

Glad your C6 is working Penny. 
Do you work for Google?

[PenelopeR]

Good grief!  No I don't work for anyone. I'm a retired equestrian in my dotage. I don't post here very often at all.  So far the only grumble I have is that sometimes the sync goes awry and I have to go through the tedious procedure necessary to get the watch and app up and running again.

Sorry I've nothing bad to report - perhaps that time will come and I'll certainly let you know about it.

Penny

[Mcav75]

It's awfully difficult for people to get their heads around the fact that the vast majority of people who don't have problems with their charge 6 are simply not on this forum, and never will be. 

To reiterate,  the two charge 6 watches on this house are working perfectly and haven't skipped a beat. They get charged every 7-8 days either above or just below 20%. That's with everything on, screen to dim, and GPS to dynamic. All tracking works MUCH better than the Sense 2, especially for HIIT and Spinning at higher heart rates. Sleep tracking has also been much better. 

The only thing missing is the altimeter, but given the price reduction, that's just fine by us. 

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You need to understand that your experience is not all there is.

[cankiwi]

Sounds like a common problem.  My Charge 5 battery suddenly completely drained and wouldn't recharge.  After suffering separation anxiety for a day I bought a charge 6.  Already the battery is draining quickly - there was an update while I was setting the new Fitbit up and these updates and battery problems seem to be a common theme in the complaints.

[Maire]

Been with FB for 13 years. No issues until the Charge6 which was purchased on May 13, 2024 (brand new)  Supposed to have 6 months subscription. I wanted to try the added health metrics features as I'm getting up there.

I got a 'server error' when syncing 4 days ago, no sleep score, next day no Deep or REM just restless, awake and sleep.  Health metrics data 3 out of 5. No BR or HRV.  

I still miss the challenges with friends who have moved on and if my Charge6 is bad or just acts like a pedometer with a few extras I am investigating Garmin.

I really don't need the young folks bells and whistles. Fitbit was a much better product prior to the takeover, in my opinion.

[kritchie55]

Like you, I was a long time and loyal Fitbit user. Upgraded to Charge 6 in December. The display stopped working in June. Fitbit would not honor the warranty because I did not buy it from an “authorized seller”. I bought it on Amazon but never notice in the fine print the “seller” was not Amazon. Apparently they look for any reason to not support their customers. The Fitbit company I did business with for 12 years went out of their way to support their customers. No longer true. I switched to Apple Watch. It cost more than the Fitbit but it has more features, better support, and better sync with my phone. So many complaints online about the charge 6!!!!!
Sent from my iPhone

[Grannymom]

I’ve had issues about heart rate and rhythm reports but none of the issues that you stated. It could be an issue with your particular charge 6.
Some of my issues were “operator issues”. I persisted until I figured why it wasn’t reporting. I will eventually communicate with tech support because I have already set things up that it is saying to set up. Quite often it’s a “spider web“ or “drop a stitch” thing that one minor thing you didn’t do right is causing problems with some things you did do right. The only way out of that is discuss it with tech support and be open minded. Good luck.

Sent from my G iPhone

[GLM2U]

So far the Charge 6 has been problematic. I don't care about any features except for steps, heart beat and activity minutes. It doesn't register activity minutes. I'm getting really disgusted with Fitbit. 

[FerretBomb]

Pretty happy with mine, mostly, but I have a low bar as it's my first fitness tracker.

Step count seems iffy at best (but it's on my wrist, so a rough estimate is expected, right?). Tap/swipe sometimes goes nonresponsive (but I've had that happen with phones, so it might just be my fingers). Google Wallet is a little clunky (entering the PIN is OK with a little thinking ahead, but needing your financial institutions' apps on your phone to link it seems... hazardous) but really cool when you can just skim through the line, tap your watch, and go.

The bad. Lack of altimeter to track slope stinks. Not having instant O2 sats is just DUMB. Randomly not showing overnight sleep stats for some days is frustrating. Battery life seems to be unstable, sometimes needing charging 2-4 times a week. Most of all, they didn't include a 'large' band, only 'small' and 'medium'. I'd love to use the nice silicone band, but as they don't even *sell* the large bands any more, I'm SOL using a third-party elastic ankle strap that gets grungy SUPER quick. Because no big fat guy might ever buy their product in the pursuit of improving their health, surely.

[Grannymom]

Hi, I have a lot of problems with my fingertips on both Charge6 & my cell phone. I have had breast cancer and surgery removed all the lymph nodes and part of muscle under my left arm. So the nerve endings in my left fingers aren’t best. Add chemo induced carpal tunnel syndrome and most times I can’t count on that hand for much, including my phone screen and my Charge6 screen. I can’t wear it on my left wrist as it doesn’t work right caused by my also having a fluid problem known as Lymphadema. And I’m overweight tipping scales at just over 200 Lbs and although not liking it, I’ve learned my physical condition & medical problems have direct effects on charge6.
How I sleep at night influences whether it gets the info it needs for all that it tracks. Sometimes it misses just one other times 4 out of 5. It’s my body, how I wear the charge6 and how much fluid my body is retaining. I’m up to bathrm every 2 hrs so if I manage to lose 10 Lbs fluids over night, my wrist band gets loose and doesn’t record. There are nights I sleep sitting up I breathe differently. Guess I’m saying our body’s condition effects the charge6 a LOT. All that said, since your battery needs recharged so often, there might be problem there. I often don’t charge mine til it gets to 6%. Only takes a couple hours to charge. So if battery part is problem the other stuff means little. I would try to see if you can figure out what’s drawing the charge the most. Or talk to IT tech expert who can help you figure it out. And maybe posting in community for a Large band may find one for you. Good luck🍀


Sent from my G iPhone

[GLM2U]

My step count is accurate. And I check. But it fails elsewhere - namely zone minutes. I no longer have stairs; zone minutes are inaccurate and I couldn't care less about all the other bells and whistles (that may, or may not work).

[Mcav75]

Still no problems here with 2 charge 6 watches in this house. Same as before. 

I will of course report here should I encounter any problems. 

[Julescount]

Absolutely horrible device. This is my third Fitbit- they all suck, TBF - i just want a way to record my steps and give me the time!!! The Fitbit app - which is supposed to keep an accurate record of my steps (kinda why i bought it) is NEVER EVER right. I am always syncing and updating and it’s always awful. 

[Grannymom]

Did to happen to catch the phrase keep app open for best results? Or keep phone within 30’ for best results? I didn’t either until I started researching my heart rate n rhythm notifications.
But it uses a lot of battery power from cell phone. I had 20% when I started typing and it’s down to 6% now. I seldom leave it open and sinc it a couple times if day. Not real happy with that either.

Sent from my G iPhone

[Fish79]

Mine has also totally crashed. Started with the screen going pixelated white, then a white line under the numbers and now nothing. Have tried a hard restart but the button doesn't work now either! Am wondering how you managed to organise a replacement as I can't even get through to the contact centre via chat to talk about the problems that I'm having!!