Flex suddenly stopped working

[Julie50]

I bought my Flex 2 months ago and today it suddenly stopped working - when I tapped it, no display lights came up.  The battery was low so I recharged it (which appeared to be successful as all 5 lights were flashing after a few hours in the charger) but when I put it back in the band, the display lights still aren't working and now it won't sync with my iPad either.  I have tried resetting the Flex several times, following the website instructions, but without success.  I even tried resyncing it following the troubleshooting instructions, but that didn't work either.    I noticed when I put the Flex into the charger, that a pattern of 4 solid lights appears (the one in the middle doesn't come on) before it starts charging.  The same light pattern appears briefly after each reset attempt as well.   Has anyone has this issue where the Fitbit has started working again or did you have to get your Flex replaced?

I bought it from a retailer here in Australia who is now in voluntary administration, and am worried that I probably have little or no chance of getting the Flex replaced by them.  I have emailed Fitbit Customer Support, so am hoping they will be able to help.  

[SunsetRunner]

Awesome troubleshooting @Julie50

Hope you hear from the support team soon.

Feel free to check out the Fitbit Help Article:

URL: Click to go to the Fitbit Help Article 'My tracker's battery isn't charging'

How to clean the tracker? YouTube Video (By Craig)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezvXy9mKoGQ

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[Julia_G]

Hi, @Julie50 , sorry about the trouble with your Flex!  The light pattern you are seeing (**_**) usually indicates that your Flex has become stuck in a bad state.  An update for the Flex was issued fairly recently and if you are able to get the Flex to retry that update, it may solve your problem and get you going again.  Try following the instructions here .  Try with both your computer and your mobile, if possible, and do also take a look at the troubleshooting instructions linked in the article.

If none of this works, then following up with Customer Support will be your best bet.  Good luck!

[Julie50]

Thank you for your reply Mystique - I read the articles you suggested earlier today, but have just gone through them again in case I missed anything!  The Flex appears to indicate that it is actually charging, as only 1 light came on when I inserted it into the charging cable, and over the next couple of hours, it progressed until all 5 lights were blinking, so it appeared that it was fully charged.  However when I put it back into the wristband and tap it, nothing happens 😞  

I've had an email from the Support Team already, which is great, and have just sent a reply back to them confirming that I have followed the various troubleshooting steps correctly, so will wait to hear back from them.  

[Julie50]

Hi Julia G

Thank you very much for your detailed reply!  I have tried following the instructions for the update, but unfortunately without success.  The Flex will not sync via either the Fitbit App (on my iPad) or Fitbit Connect (on iMac), both indicate that they can't find the tracker (although it synced correctly with my iPad this morning), therefore I can't retry the update.  I followed the other troubleshooting instructions at the bottom of the update article, such as turning off all notifications, restarting the Flex (which I've tried several times already), but nothing seems to help, so hopefully Customer Support will be able to help.  

[SunsetRunner]

Awesome @Julie50

Hope it be fixed soon.

By emailing them again, there's a chance your message keeps being pushed back. Would avoid further sending emails, until the support team contacted you back.

Wishing a wonderful day / weekend

[Julie50]

Sorry, I should have been clearer! The Support Team emailed me and asked me to reply to their email to confirm the various troubleshooting steps that I'd already taken, so I've just sent the reply directly back to them.

[Julie50 · Accepted solution]

I'm very pleased to advise that, after an exchange of emails with Customer Support, Fitbit are sending me a replacement Flex   I must say, I'm very impressed with their customer service - less than 24 hours and the issue has been resolved.    Quite a different experience to the customer "service" (or lack of!) I've received from other companies in the past.  

[Bossco7775]

Hi Julie,

Good post. The malfunction that you described is exactly what mine just started doing. When im on my treadmill, I like to watch my step count on my Android screen, and it suddenly stopped counting the steps. No lights upon tapping, but the same light pattern you described when I plugged it back in the charger. Did Fitbit know why it is doing this?

Bossco7775

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@Julie50 wrote:

I bought my Flex 2 months ago and today it suddenly stopped working - when I tapped it, no display lights came up.  The battery was low so I recharged it (which appeared to be successful as all 5 lights were flashing after a few hours in the charger) but when I put it back in the band, the display lights still aren't working and now it won't sync with my iPad either.  I have tried resetting the Flex several times, following the website instructions, but without success.  I even tried resyncing it following the troubleshooting instructions, but that didn't work either.    I noticed when I put the Flex into the charger, that a pattern of 4 solid lights appears (the one in the middle doesn't come on) before it starts charging.  The same light pattern appears briefly after each reset attempt as well.   Has anyone has this issue where the Fitbit has started working again or did you have to get your Flex replaced?

I bought it from a retailer here in Australia who is now in voluntary administration, and am worried that I probably have little or no chance of getting the Flex replaced by them.  I have emailed Fitbit Customer Support, so am hoping they will be able to help.  

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[Julie50]

Hi Bossco7775
Sorry to hear your Flex has done the same thing - mine had synced with my iPad earlier that day and seemed to be working properly, and then sometime during the morning it just stopped recording anything and wouldn't sync any more. I'm assuming the light pattern we've both seen is some sort of "error indicator". No, Fitbit didn't give any indication as to why the Flex was doing it, but as they've agreed to replace it so quickly, I assume it must be an issue that they're aware of. Does yours look like it's actually charging when it's in the charger? One of the things Fitbit got me to check was that it had been inserted into the charging cable correctly and wasn't loose or anything (which it wasn't) and also that I'd followed the restarting steps correctly. As Fitbit have agreed to replace it, I guess that if several reset attempts etc don't work, then the Flex must indeed be "stuck" (as Julia G suggested in her post above) and can't/won't reboot.

[henry.zanden]

Received my flex fitbit for my 60th birthday on january 15 but it has now stopped a day or two after it had been fully charged. No lights, nothing. Tried recharging. Nothing. Tried to see if would synch. Nothing.

looked at the trouble shooting. Decided to clean the terminals as per u tube instructions. Watched 3 different videos before buying the rubbing alcohol, Cetaphil, tips and make up rounds. 

It did not work so I rpeated the process. 

It did not work. The Fitbit does not work. I now have an expensive handband.

Happy Birthday!

[Triciapop3]

As did mine, but luckily it started working again...for now. There is alot of good advice on the forums about overcoming some of the technical issues, but none really account for this behavior. Technical mysteries bother me. I racked my brain as to what was happening when my flex stopped responding, but I had another thought. At the time, all in the same room, the dongle was connected to my PC, the bluetooth connecting with the fitbit. At the samevtime my PC, over bluetooth, was streaming music to my stereo. At the same time my phone was connected to the flex also through bluetooth. Both devices were also syncing to my fitbit account on the same Wifi network. Im wondering if the fitbit somehow got stuck in a syncing loop of some kind, if thats even possible. It might not respond to a manual reset. Im just dartboarding here. Mine did snap out of whatever the problem was, but I had disconnected all of the devices trying to communicate with it while I was recharging it. When yours failed, was the bluetooth continuously syncing with one or more devices? It might be worth a try in your case if fitbit cant help you, to try a different approach. Turn off the bluetooth radios on your phones, computers, tablets etc. Dont charge the fitbit, and leave it until you are sure it is completly drained. Remove the dongle from your computer. Turn off all of the autosyncs in all the fitbit apps you are using. Make sure the fitbit data you do have is backed up, then turn off all internet access on all of your devices when you are sure the fitbit is completly drained. Power down all of your devices. Plug the dead Fitbit into the charger and plug into your PC, as well as the dongle. Fire up your PC and see what windows does when it scans for new devices, and take note. Does windows detect the device? Did any lights on the fitbit come on? Turn your internet access back on, then fire up the fitbit app. If it prompts you to turn on bluetooth, then do so. Hopefully it will detect the fitbit, and attempt to sync. Its worth a shot. I am curious to find out if this brings your fitbit back to life.


Bossco7775

[Triciapop3]

Hi Bossco,

No. The PC was not on wireless and I have nothing else connected wirelessly to my computer.

Regards,

Henry

[Bossco7775]

Hi Julie,

Its wierd what happened.. For about ten minutes after it stopped counting steps, my phone continued to sync with it, but no count and no lights from the fitbit. I rebooted my phone, difficult while running and sweating lol, and after rebooting it wouldnt communicate at all. The battery was at medium before the crash. I plugged it in, and the same light combination that you experienced appeared. I left it overnight on the charger, and today it seems to be working. Wierd.

Kyle

[Bossco7775]

Yikes. Im wondering if the charging source makes a difference. Ive used cell phone transformers, my PC, my playstation, and my truck. There might be something to that. What do you use?

[henry.zanden]

I use my laptop. However, it is not the charging problem, as it has recently been fully charged. The Fitbit just stopped working. I’ve tried cleaning the connections and recharging. There is absolutely no response.

[Julie50]

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@Bossco7775 wrote:
Yikes. Im wondering if the charging source makes a difference. Ive used cell phone transformers, my PC, my playstation, and my truck. There might be something to that. What do you use?

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It is weird what's happened with your Flex, especially as your's is now working again - mine's still as dead as the proverbial dodo.  

We have a couple of small powerboards/outlets/surge protectors with USB ports so usually used one of those to recharge or occasionally one of the several USB adapters that we have that plug straight into the power outlet.  

[Julie50]

Doesn't sound good Henry  - looks like you'll need to get in touch with Fitbit to see if they can sort it out for you.  

[henry.zanden]

Thanks Bossco for your detailed reply.

No my flex was not connected to the PC. It stopped while I was wearing it. There should have been plenty of battery charged as I had only charged it a day or two before.

I’ve cleaned it several times and followed the advice offered by Fitbit.

No luck

Henry

[henry.zanden]

Thanks Julie,

I have done that. No luck.

Regards,

Henry