Fitbit One Battery Life reduced since September 2019 change?

[michae1a1ee]

Do we have any verification that something has changed this month (September 2019) that is negatively impacting the battery life of our Fitbit One trackers?  I've also been having the sync issues other people have commented on, but but have been manually restarting my One using the charging cable connected to a PC USB port and holding the button down for 10-12 seconds.  I've been able to get the syncing working again for a day or two at a time.  That's still not good, but what is perhaps more alarming is the sudden severe drop in battery life.  Are you seeing this as well?  Has Fitbit acknowledged this?  I am only syncing the One with a single Android phone with an updated Fitbit app, version 3.6.1.

[neal2zod]

You clicked on the picture of the Fitbit itself under your profile which shows the firmware (the software on the actual tracker itself, not your phone). Mine is 6.64. If you scroll down and click on Help, you'll see your App version number. 

[ejjsinsights]

Thank You! Syncing is much better. I sent Fitbit an email and did hear back from them. They are working on the issue and will let me know. Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[JoeyMiz]

I have had my Fit Bit I since September 2013 and it is now 6 years old.  Two years ago I was experiencing trouble keeping the Charge.  My husband bought me a Garmin Vivoactive III Watch, which I am still wearing now.  But, my Fit Bit I got better and has held the charge for over a week.

But as you all have been discussing. September 2019 rolled in and my Fit Bit died once and that was after it had been charged two days earlier.  So, I plugged it in to my Mac and charged it holding the button down and it came on.  Since that happened, I have been plugging it in every other day, just in case.  I  also really like my Fit Bit I and I find wearing the two devices that their step readings are in a 10% range reading, which I feel is pretty accurate. Some days the Garmin has more steps and some days the Fit Bit I does, but they are very close together in amounts.

But the Garmin Vivoactive III cannot count staircases correctly and the Fit Bit I is right on.  I will hate it when my One Dies Totally!  It is part of me and I know it is very old for a Fitbit I.

HELP, what can I do?

[tdog21]

Hi

When I updated, I too found my One needed charging more often.  I went into settings and turned off the 'all day sync' option and that fixed it.  I think that because the device was having trouble syncing, the 'all day sync' would keep your device searching for the Bluetooth connection which wasn't there - and draining the battery in the process.

For the syncing issue, I found that once you've reset and synced, if you keep the app open (you don't need to leave your mobile data/wifi on), your Fitbit may sync without resetting for a couple of days - still not ideal but...!

Finally - anyone with an iPhone 11, check out the IOS Platform forum as there's a big thread going on there with some very specific fixes like making sure you've uninstalled the app from old phones and weird stuff like that! 

I'm 'fortunate' that because I have an old Android phone version, Fitbit gave me an app 'downgrade' so I'm rid of the syncing nightmare for now.  Can't see myself buying a new Fitbit once my One is gone unless all the app problems get fixed properly 😞 

[Jackie777]

My Fitbit is TOTALLY OFF when it comes to stairs! One day it said I did 27 steps! 😖

[VanessaJG]

Up until recently, my Fitbit One had been holding a charge for about a week.  Lately it needs to be charged every few days.  It was also just quit with no low battery warning.  I hadn't linked this issue with the crappy upgrade that was done.  Glad I found this forum as I think the timing is about right for the problems that I've been having.  I've looked for another clip-on tracker and they seem to be really limited.  If I need to replace my Fitbit One, it likely won't be with a Fitbit product -- why would I buy something that I don't know if it's going to sync properly.  Bad on Fitbit for discontinuing a great product and now do an "upgrade" that makes the existing product have issues.  Not good customer service!

[michae1a1ee]

I've been keeping a log of my charging and I'm pretty steadily getting 4 days between fully charged and low battery warnings.  I've disabled "All-Day Sync" and "Always Connected" in the settings and am still getting these results so I'm not sure those make any difference.  It really seems like a lot of us are experiencing the same sudden drop in battery performance.  Would be nice if Fitbit actually recognized this was happening.

[JoeyMiz]

Yes, I totally agree! I love being able to put this Fit Bit One in my
pocket or hooked on somewhere else! My One is six (6) years old and I find
it is very accurate. I have a Garmin Vivoactive III Watch that can't count
staircases at all.

I like having both trackers at the same time and I am hoping my One
continues to work. I have it plugged in right now. As I said, I charge it
every other day.

And I agree, Fit Bit should not have made the One obsolete. And created
that upgrade mess!

I like talking to everyone about this. Have a good night and stay fit.

[michae1a1ee]

I spoke too soon with my last post.

I just got TWO days on a full charge, not four like I had posted.  Fully charged Monday at 11am, low battery warning email Wednesday early afternoon.  That's pathetic.

[ejjsinsights]

Yes...I am going to email them again...Sent from Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

[LesterZ]

I too have had this problem. Until I came across this community I had thought that my Fitbit One was at the end of its life. Going from 100% battery to 0 in about 36 hours, no warning, and now fails to sync.

App is indeed at 3.7. I shall try to find an earlier version of the app, as suggested. I shall post again if it helps.

[LesterZ]

Hi theumpire,

Which website did you use to get the older version? I have found several offering these, but I am not entirely comfortable downloading from any. Eventually I tried one to get fitbit 3.5 (just to see how it went), but app seemed to ask for more permissions than I had expected, so I refused.

[AMAnacay]

I'm now charging mine EVERY DAY. It dies every day before I go to bed so I charge it overnight. It says it's at 100% each morning but doesn't last even 24 hours.

It shows 6.64 when I restart it.

[theumpire]

I simply put "download old version of fitbit app" into google, but this forum will not allow me to post the actual link I used.

[lisa_32]

I've been having the exact same issue since about the same time.  Until the end of August, I've always gotten about 10 days before needing to recharge.  Then, after the update, I no longer get notifications on my Android telling me my battery is low AND it just dies.  It goes from 70% to 25% in the course of an hour.  Even if I'm sitting still.  

This may be my last fitbit.  I had to give up my flex after replacement bands (bought from fitbit) caused the fitbit rash years ago.   really loved the One but I may be looking at options.

[ejjsinsights]

Please post if you find an option like the One...thanks...

[michae1a1ee]

Today I couldn't get the syncing to work no matter what I tried that sometimes worked before:  Fitbit One hardware reset, phone Bluetooth toggle off and on, Fitbit App restart, phone reboot, etc.

So I did a Google search and found Android version 2.57.3 off a website where the page creator had documented the removal of the current Android version and the installation of this modified version (which does not prompt or go out for further updates).  I've full charged my Fitbit One as of a few minutes ago (9:30am Sunday) and will monitor it to see if this software version will allow the One battery to last long and for the syncing to work consistently.  FYI, after installing this older version syncing worked again after a phone reboot in my case.

[lywilla]

Oh yes same issue and I have more than one One . I am trying to get another up and running and I cannot. Yet loyal custamer bought many products and some for family. Geez

[veener79]

I am having the same issue since the same time line.  Has anyone found a fix yet?  I am keeping my software and firmware up to date.  I have also done a hard reset of my One and that has not fixed it.  😞  

[Mario7474]

I've been having all kinds of problems with both the battery dying in a day (or less!) and constant trouble syncing.  It's just not worth the headaches anymore.  I just deleted the app from my phone and threw the tracker in the drawer.  I've been a Fitbit user for quite a while now but I'm done, time to move on for me.