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.

[Sparkytwo]

I too have noticed a remarkable drop in battery life, down to just one day, today from being apparently completely charge this morning 11 hours ago. I just assumed that it was getting old.Sometimes Fitbit one won't turn on. I have reset it several times and 6.64 is showing. I have not been able to find out what this means. Can anyone help please? Sparky two

[neal2zod]

Sparkytwo, the "6.64" is the version of the firmware, ie the software installed on your Fitbit itself. I looked around and it looks like this version was pushed onto our fitbits around last year. This sounds about right - I definitely haven't updated the Fitbit itself in quite a while, though I updated the app on my phone in September which is when my battery life went down the tubes.

[ejjsinsights]

Hi...both syncing and battery life were affected by the app update. I have emailed Fitbit and am not getting very much from them...just how to test my battery.Please email Fitbit and report what is going on...

[Sparkytwo]

Thank you for the info.

[dlorde]

I've just tried my own Fitbit One fix - my old One's battery life died to the point it was unusable, so I bought a replacement battery on eBay for less than £12 and fitted it myself (two wires to solder). I was quite surprised when the display lit up, but now it's got a new lease of life.

Only difficulties were opening it up - it uses tacky elastic-like glue which needed warming up for easier prying, and re-gluing the case back together afterwards - it's fiddly removing the stringy old glue. It's probably less water-resistant than it was, but meh...

Good value for money, though!

[Sparkytwo]

Goodness me, that is really interesting and well done on achieving the change of battery. I would not have thought it possible! Thank you so much for the information.

[Williger]

@Sparkytwo @dlorde this is what I did as well, very easy install (my first solder job). The replacement battery is slightly larger than the original. I used a heat gun to briefly warm the outside of the tracker and it opened easily with a pocket knife. Photo attached in case this helps anyone. Cheers!

[dlorde]

@Williger - that's interesting; the replacement battery I got was identical in size to the old one, but the little circuit board at one end wasn't quite as flush-fitting. It didn't seem to matter as the case had enough room for it.

I didn't think to photograph the operation...

[annettelillyrus]

I am new the community and don't know how to ask a question is this thread....sorry.  I got a fitbit one in 2017 and haven't used it in a couple of years.  Now I can't get it to charge.  The chat rep-bot wasn't helpful, just offered me a discount to buy a new one. I see that other people are having battery issues.  Is there anything I can do?

[annettelillyrus]

Re battery....when I press the button, the picture of the battery is dotted...Does this mean it is charged and my phone isn't paired?  I have the app on my iphone...obviously I'm a senior who needs a little help.  lol

[ejjsinsights]

Email Fitbit support...Sent from Samsung Galaxy smartphone.

[michae1a1ee]

Well, my experiment with using an old version of the Android app didn't produce any results I'm happy with... The Fitbit One lasted about 3.5 days off a full charge while running the old Android app, so the app didn't make a noticable difference on the One battery life.  I've switched back to the current version 3.7 of the Android app.

To those of you who swapped the battery out with an eBay replacement, can you comment on how your One battery life has been since and which Fitbit App version you're running?  I'm guessing most people on here are running One Fitbit firmware version 6.64 which appears to be the latest pushed out some time ago.

[dlorde]

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@michae1a1ee wrote:

To those of you who swapped the battery out with an eBay replacement, can you comment on how your One battery life has been since and which Fitbit App version you're running?  I'm guessing most people on here are running One Fitbit firmware version 6.64 which appears to be the latest pushed out some time ago.

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I'm using version 3.7 of the Android app, and firmware 6.64. I only fully charged the replacement battery this morning, but I'll post back when it needs recharging.

I've got it set to All-Day Sync, one Silent Alarm every day, and Always Connected, so using all the bells & whistles.

I've already noticed that it syncs much more easily than it did when I open the app and 'Refresh' or hit 'Sync Now'. I don't know why that is, unless the old battery had dropped its voltage as well as its charge life...

[Walks222]

Same issue, last month - September, my One battery lasted a week. In October 2019, I am lucky to get two days.  Fitbit, you have an issue, please fix it! Last night, the battery was at 35%, it was dead this morning....

[JessMN]

I have exactly the same issue and I noticed it happened right after the last app update - I'm going to see if I can get the old app version  as having to charge it daily is ridiculous.

[Sparkytwo]

That is more than a coincidence then, so many voicing a similar problem. Please do let us know how you get on, I wouldn’t even know how to get The old app version.

[JasonOne]

Count me in as another who is having this same issue that just recently started happening. My Fitbit One was lasting up to a week without any issues and now unless I charge it every morning it will either be dead before I get in bed or it will die during the night while tracking my sleep.

Clearly, something is amiss if so many of us are having issues, it would be nice for someone from Fitbit to chime in here.

[neal2zod]

Good news - I just finished my own experiment and came up with a "fix". I fully charged my Fitbit One last Wednesday, October 9th - and then uninstalled the app from my phone. I've only synced once, last Sunday night using my Windows desktop PC and the USB dongle (remember that thing?) I finally got the low battery symbol today - so yeah, 10 days battery life is excellent and not something I ever thought I'd see again.

Now, of course this isn't a real fix. We shouldn't have to keep uninstalling and reinstalling the app. I'm assuming you can get the same results by turning off the bluetooth on your phone, but then again I use bluetooth to listen to headphones all day and I'm not going to do that. (Plus as others said, the app seems to have problems syncing with the Fitbit now anyway, why is it even communicating with the tracker and draining the battery if it's not syncing??)

I'm going to contact Fitbit Support and see what they say. Obviously if they try to say my Fitbit is too old and the battery is on its last legs, I'll have proof otherwise. I'll let you guys know what happens.

[neal2zod]

Just finished a chat with Fitbit Support - fortunately the agent took my claims seriously and said they want to do a battery drain test - she had me reset and fully charge my Fitbit One, reinstall the app, and then contact her in a few days and reference my case # when the battery is dead so they can look at the data. I know it's a pain and not an instant fix, but it's a step in the right direction.

The more of us that open a case with them, the more data they'll have to make a fix, hopefully.

[ejjsinsights]

Yes, I have an open case as well. I am draining my battery and reporting when it is drained. I have repeatedly said it is a software problem. I have been emailing but may call.Sent from Samsung Galaxy smartphone.