Charge HR Half Bar Error FIXED (for me at least) Firmware V122

[bunker6]

TLDR: Drained battery completely, turned bluetooth off on phone, re-paired with fitbit desktop app, firmware updated and problem solved.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to post my experience with the half bar error (failed firmware update) since I spent too much time looking for a fix.  These were the sympotms I experienced:

1. Screen displayed a progress bar at 50%
2. Holding the side button would do nothing other than do some sort of soft reset where the hr light flashed a couple times then the display went right back to the half bar
3. Charge HR would appear paired to my iPhone, but it was stuck in an update loop.  Would not allow me to forget the Charge HR as long as I was in bluetooth rainge because it kept trying to force the update (unsuccessfully).
4. Paired with desktop app but if I remember correctly, it directed me to have the phone try to update the firmware.
5. Attempted a reset method I saw online saying that the Charge HR should be plugged into the charger then you hold the side button for 2 seconds, then pull it off the charger and continue holding the button for 7-9 more seconds.  This did nothing in the state it was in.
6. A couple attempts of un-pairing from my iPhone and re-pairing with it made it appear that the firmware may successfully finish downloading, but it never happened.  The only other screen I saw trying this was the progress bar with the exclamation point in the middle.

At that point I was thinking I'd have to disassemble the unit and try to find a reset button or kill the unit trying.  Fortunately I didn't have a Torx bit small enough to remove the screws on the bottom of the Charge HR.  It ended up sitting on my desk and the battery drained completely (pressing/holding the side button no longer brought up the half filled progress bar).  I did a little more research the following day and some people said they had success un-pairing the Charge HR from any device they had it connected to, removing and reinstalling the Desktop App and then the firmware installation would complete.

SOLUTION:

With the battery fully drained I did the following:

1. Turned off bluetooth on my phone
2. Through the iPhone Fitbit App I went to "Account (bottom right on screen)->Clicked on the Charge HR icon-> Selected "Remove This Charge HR" (scroll down to the bottom of the screen).
3. At my computer now I opened the Fitbit Desktop App, IMPORTANT not the Fitbit iPhone APP, I went through the setup new device process.  NOTE: Bluetooth still off on my phone.  Also note that I did not have to uninstall and reinstall the Desktop App and I was running the latest version as of 3/21/2016.  Others may consider removing and reinstalling the current version of the desktop app if issues persist.
4. I made sure I had the Fitbit Sync Dongle plugged into a USB port 
5. 
6. I proceeded to the screen that says "Searching for device" and shows the person holding the side button on the Charge HR
7. I put the Charge HR charging cable into a USB port and plugged the other end into the Charge HR to give it some power.
8. I pressed and held the side button until the Fitbit Desktop App said it found the Charge HR.
9. For the first time, the display on the fitbit showed me something other than the half bar and the firmware installation finally completed successfully
10. The Charge HR showed low battery, so I allowed it to charge for a few hours.  
11. I re-enabled Bluetooth on my phone
12. When the battery was fully charged, I paired with my iPhone through the iPhone Fitbit App and everything appeared to work successfully.

I hope others can benefit from the write up.  It was a frustrating process to find a solution that worked and I'm glad my persistence paid off.  Good luck to anyone else that has a similar problem.  I knew that since the Charge HR was communicating with my phone and computer despite showing the half bar, I would be determined to get the firmware loaded.  If your Charge HR is showing the half bar but not communicating with your phone or computer, verify that you have bluetooth enabled or the Fitbit USB dongle plugged in, and if the issue persists, it may be a Bluetooth error with the Charge HR and this solution likely won't work for you.

Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to help.  I've seen Fitbit Customer Service reps say that you should message them or call their Customer Service if you encounter similar problems which I would also encourage.

Good luck.

[Odyssey13]

Welcome to the forums @bunker6

Nicely written out and thanks for sharing that with the community.

I haven't had any problems with my ChargeHR, thank goodness.

Keep on stepping!

[Baltoscott]

@bunker6 -- I am glad you got it working, and thanks for posting the steps you took.  It may help others.

[HockeyGod19]

Thanks for the tips... I went ahead and tried to just use the PC App (Windows 10) and it worked the first time I tried using the Dongle setup. Didn't drain battery or any of that.. Basically just plugged and played.

Have been trying using the Android app for over a week now.

[bunker6]

Yeah, I'm not sure the battery drain is completely necessary.  That just happened to be the condition mine was in when I finally had the update push through successfully.  Glad you were able to get your device working.

I also used Windows 10 for what that's worth.  I'd like to hope that the fix would be similar for anyone using a Mac.

[cocoabunny19]

Thank you so much for detailing that out for us. My Charge HR had been hung up at the 50% mark since yesterday afternoon, and I had an experience that perfectly matched yours, all the way up to the completed fix.  Keep up the good work!

[bunker6]

Awesome, I'm glad the fix worked for you.  I'm hoping others on the forum can find this post and have the same success.

[KarDer13]

Half Bar Error - I couldn't describe my issue very well in another post, but this is it! Will wait until my device charge dies down and follow the steps you've listed with fingers crossed. Thanks!

[bunker6]

3/28/2016 Update:

TLDR: Got half bar error for the 3rd time.  Tried to fix it without luck.  Started to draft a long rant about it, then I looked down and it was working again.  

~~~~~

The Half Bar Error is back with a vengeance.  I've managed to conquer the error twice, once on 3/21/2106, and when it returned again on 3/24/2016.  The Charge HR appeared to be working fine since the 24th, but this morning I pulled it off the charger, slapped it on my wrist then went to work.  It gave me a greeting message and appeared to function normally when it was taken off the charger.  When I arrived at work and looked down at the band, the familiar half bar appeared once again.

I tried my usual fixes: synch through phone, synch through laptop, run-pair, re-pair, removing the iPhone Fitbit App, uninstall, re-install the Desktop App, and nothing worked.  Removed the device through the Fitbit Dashboard and tried to synch as a new device and all I got was the Desktop App telling me to check for an update followed by a screen saying that the device is up to date.

My next thought was to let the battery drain itself and try to re-synch to the computer again.  I saw the green flashing out of the corner of my eye as the Charge HR sat on my desk.  I figured it was going through the usual cycle of trying to synch and update unsuccessfully.  A few minutes later I grabbed the Fitbit and I looked at the display, it showed me the time:

The Charge HR came out of its coma by synching with the Desktop App.  So now, I'm slightly less frustrated, but this is also the 3rd time I've experienced the half bar error.  I'm going to leave the iPhone app uninstalled from my phone for a while to see if that may be the source of this issue.  I'm thinking that the iPhone app is trying to synch and potentially force an update and things just get screwy from there.  I have successfully synched the Charge HR with the iPhone app previously, but I'm going to test this theory for a while to see if the issue returns.  

I'll continue to post updates to this issue as time goes on.  To date, I've had the most luck bringing the Charge HR back to life through the desktop app on a Windows 7 and Windows 10 machine.

[KarDer13]

Thanks for the updates. I've had the same experience... it's like Groundhog Day 😞 I will try the approach of just syncing with the Windows app vs. the iPhone. My Alta seems to be working fine, but prefer the HR charge for my actual workouts.

[Lorijenk]

Thank you so much, I have the exact same problem, it's been driving me mad for a week!!

[smj34]

Thank you for your solution. It is the most complete I've found. Unfortunately mine is still stuck. I contacted CS. This was a replacement device so they offered 25% off. I'm disappointed because I really want another Charge HR and they're no longer available. Also I don't think I should have to pay for something that's an issue on their end. Physically there is nothing wrong. They told me this is the perfect time to upgrade. Well I already have an Alta and a Charge 2.  I like the Charge HR. I can see the display better and feel safer with it during yard work. So disappointed now.  

[bunker6 · Accepted solution]

I've been meaning to update this post since it turned out that my fix was only temporary.  My Charge HR returned to the half bar state a short time after coming back to life in March 2016.  It has been over a year since the half bar error returned and I've given up all hope on any solution appearing.  I tried all the proposed solutions including un-pairing, re-pairing, reinstalling apps on the phone and computer, holding the button, etc and all have failed.  

Based off my experience, once a Charge HR displays the half bar error, that's the sign that the device is broken beyond repair.  Fitbit never stated if it was a hardware or firmware issue making me think that even they do not know the root cause.  This experience has tarnished Fitbit's reputation in my eyes.  If I decide to purchase a new fitness tracker, it will not be a Fitbit product.

[AlliL]

Thank you for the instruction. Unfortunately, this did not work for me. My progress bar has a an exclamation mark in the middle. I have tried many different tips I found online but nothing worked. It is very frustrating.

[Sevilon]

I am experiencing the exact same thing.  My first HR fell apart- literally- a few months after I bought it.  They replaced it.  Now I am 6 months out of warranty and I have the "half charged" icon on all the time.  If I plug it in, it flashes green lights constantly.  It will not restart.  It will not sync with the dongle.  It syncs with my phone but shows no steps.  This is my third- and last fitbit.  I will be looking at other brands now.  I refuse to pay another $150 for a rubber bracelet that can't even count my steps for a year.  And the complete lack of customer service response here tells me they just don't care.

[Yawal]

I am also facing the same problem and I tried your instructions but it's now working for me. I am unable to update the Fitbit charge HR device. Still it's showing the half full bar and error symbol. Can any one help me on this. 

[bunker6]

@Yawal, I posted a follow up recently stating that there is no reliable fix if the half bar error shows up.  If your unit is under warranty, have Fitbit customer service replace it.  If it's out of warranty or you bought a second hand Charge HR, then you are out of options aside from trying to sell a broken Charge HR on eBay.  

[Yawal]

@bunker6 Thanks. 

The Half Bar Error in my Charge HR appeared to be working fine since the few days back,

Based off my experience, once a Charge HR displays the half bar error, that's the sign that the device is broken beyond repair.  Fitbit never stated if it was a hardware or firmware issue making me think that even they do not know the root cause.  This experience has tarnished Fitbit's reputation in my eyes.  If I decide to purchase a new fitness tracker, it will not be a Fitbit product.

I tried the all scenarios but its not working .

I tried my usual fixes: synch through phone, synch through laptop, run-pair, re-pair, removing the iPhone Fitbit App, uninstall, re-install the Desktop App, and nothing worked.  Removed the device through the Fitbit Dashboard and tried to synch as a new device and all I got was the Desktop App telling me to check for an update followed by a screen saying that the device is up to date.

Whoops!

!

I tried all the proposed solutions including un-pairing, re-pairing, reinstalling apps on the phone and computer, holding the button, etc and all have failed. Based off my experience, once a Charge HR displays the half bar error, that's the sign that the device is broken beyond repair. Fitbit never stated if it was a hardware or firmware issue making me think that even they do not know the root cause. This experience has tarnished Fitbit's reputation in my eyes. If I decide to purchase a new fitness tracker, it will not be a Fitbit product.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[different_one]

Fitbit is very frustrating to setup and use.

I have so much trouble I think the best soluton will be return it to th store.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[different_one]

I have so much trouble I think the best soluton will be return it to the store. Can anyone recommend a tracker that works?

Just got this message,"We no longer support Internet Explorer v10 and older. Upgrade to a newer version or use a different browser. " I don't think there is a newer version.