Charge 6 didn't last more than a year

[SunsetRunner]

So it looks like it's time to switch to a other brand , any suggestions my husband and I have been Fitbit users for years. Quite a few wristbands dating back to about 2013. The past few devices have all crapped out a year after purchase. So they replaced. Now GOOGLE just says sorry here's 30% off. Not paying $150 a year when we can't even do challenges anymore.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[ChattyKat]

Mine just crapped out and its only been 9 months.  Worked fine then bam 💥 no battery life.  I don’t understand why.  Tried all kinds if things to troubleshoot. Hearing from you makes me want to go with another brand.  Don't want to keep spending annually on a new fit bit.  Thanks for posting!

[SunsetRunner]

Contact customer service. If I remember they have 1 year warranty. Hope this helps.

[Adriannapolis]

All of mine have lasted over a year, usually 2-3.  By then there is better technology and I upgrade anyway. 

[tompabes]

My Charge 4 lasted 3 years (I just upgraded to the Charge 6, and it was still working, although the display was getting very dim). My Charge 2 lasted 2 years as well and, even in that case, it was not broken when I upgraded.

[SunsetRunner]

Sounds like you've had a better experience. than we have. We've had at
least 2 replacements each by the 1 year mark.

[Lbjamin]

My Charge 5 died after a few months. It's time to move on to something else. Customer support had me ship it to them for a replacement, but now say they never received it.

[Karen50]

My fist Fitbit Charge was in 2015, it lasted exactly one year to the date of purchase & I was able to get it replaced free of charge. In 2017 I purchased a Charge 2, it is still working however the battery isn’t lasting more than a couple days. So, I thought it would be nice to upgrade. I purchased a Charge 6 10 days ago & I am regretting it every minute. It’s taken me two days to get it synced & somewhat working. It still says it’s not synced to my iPhone 14 but I can get all the info on my iPhone & iPad app. I was ready to return it yesterday. The verdict is still out on whether it was a good purchase. I have a small wrist & so many of the trackers available would look like a miniature computer on my wrist. Google made a big mistake making too many changes all at once. This will probably be the last time I purchase from them. 

[tompabes]

It looks like there are some people with several bad experiences, and others with no issues at all. I consider the tracker as a delicate object. It is a delicate object, after all. This doesn't mean you have to give it a white-glove treatment, though... I remove it when I shower, but, other than that, it's always on my wrist and I don't use any specific care. I do some sports and trainings during the week, after which I usually briefly rinse and dry it with a towel, and that's it. I don't swim with it.

It would be interesting to understand if people with frequent failures have a common usage pattern, e.g. swimming or intensive usage.

----

@Karen50 I'm using the Charge 6 with a Google Pixel phone and have no issues at all. You might want to check the iOS app section to see if there are specific issues related to iOS.

[RolandT]

My Charge 4 worked acceptable for one year. There wer still some annoying things as the update, the syncing and so on. I don't need much and didn't want to spend more but it looks like Charge 6 will definitely be the last one.

[SunsetRunner]

I also have been gentle on my Charge. Protect it from water even though
they claim it's ok for swimming. I do not shower with it. It essentially
looks brand new. The past few days the battery is lasting less than 24
hours. That's new since I posted my original message this week.

[RolandT]

Never showered with it, as i don't trust the statement that it withstands
some water. It was only sweat of my arms, which i think it should stand as
its a wristband for God's sake. Always cleaned as recommended.
Thats what annoyed me about it.
All of a sudden, after hours of biking, counting on it's recording, noticed
that it goes off. Perhaps due to gps usage.
But the device should stay awake at least 7 h and i never done more than 5,
maximum 5.30.
However, the device stopped in less than 4h.
So...
I don't expect more from Charge 6.

[Susie.porter]

My Fitbit Charge 4 lasted prob 2.  When it died, I replaced it with the Charge 5.  Had it 18 mo, and it worked great until I stepped into the shower with it for 2 seconds. Literally just stepped in, turned into the spray, realized I had it on, so took it off and dried with towel.  (As you pointed out - advertised to be waterproof.).  The screen would not light up again. Did all recommended steps (put in rice for 72 hrs, then tried restart from charger cord) but no luck.  They would not replace it, but offered a discount. I have purchased a Charge 6 on Amazon on early Black Friday sale (better price than discounted offer from Fitbit), but will prob go with different brand when it goes out. (My Apple Watch is >5 yrs old and still runs great.)

[tompabes]

@RolandT regarding the GPS, I set the Charge 6 to use only the phone's GPS, to reduce the strain on the battery. The battery is too small to support long sessions anyway.

So, I checked what the Fitbit website says about water resistance:

"Charge 6 is designed to comply with a water protection rating of 5 ATM under ISO standard 22810:2010 when manufactured, but it is not waterproof. Water resistance is not a permanent condition and decreases or is lost over time due to normal wear and tear, repair, disassembly or damage. Dropping your Charge 6 may result in loss of water resistance. Charge 6 is designed to be used in shallow water and should not be used for activities involving water at high velocity or high temperature. "

So, basically... no swimming, although swimming is one of the activities that the tracker supports... I think this generates confusion. A shower should be ok, but... who knows when it gets older... I think the only thing that we can trust is a little bit of rain when you're running. But I always remove it before taking a shower (also because I want to wash my wrist! 🙂 )

[Bill-Baggins]

Similar experience. I did get two years out of my charge 4. It was still working but the part that connects to the wrist band broke. After about a week the Charge 6 seemed to work better, but not great. 

[Bill-Baggins]

Swimming is supposed to be an option for the Charge 6. The device is designed to be worn by people involved in sports. Id shouldn’t be so delicate you cannot use it for the intended purpose. I had a great experience with my Charge 4 not so much with the Charge 6. 

[Bill-Baggins]

Is your GPS on all the time?

[Bill-Baggins]

Mine stopped at four miles on a five mile run. It was fresh off the charger. Got home and plugged it in. Said it was at 60%!

[RonR82]

Mine lasted 4 months.