Fitbit One Not Working While Unplugged from Charging Cable

[jrm27]

Hello all, my one is all of the sudden having issues. It is fully charged, and when I go through the reset process I can get it to respond while it is in the charger. When I pull it from the charger I cant get it to respond, light up, sync, etc... are there other alternatives to reset this thing?

Moderator Edit: Updated Subject for Clarity

[SantiR]

@Gazeng Welcome to the Fitbit family! Thanks for taking the time to share all of the details about the situation you are currently experiencing with your One not turning on when unplugged from the charging cable. Thanks for performing the restart steps in order to sort this out.

I went ahead and created a case with customer support in your behalf. Please keep an eye on your email inbox for next steps. 

@tkelley11 I hope you're doing well! Thanks for sharing your help on this thread.

Keep me posted! 

[AKF1982]

This same issues has suddenly happened to me in the last hour. I have tried the reset multiple times, however as soon as I remove my Fitbit One from the charger it goes completely black. Sometimes even when it’s on the charging cable. When the display does appear, it sputters. I need a fix for this (that is not “try restarting it”) ASAP as I am training for a 10K. And no, I do not want a new one that goes on my wrist. Last one I had made me break out in hives.

[jrm27]

I think you're unfortunately in the same boat as all of us. There doesn't seem to be a fix... it's just how the One dies, and there's no suitable replacement. I abandoned hope and bought an Alta HR, which didn't work out of the box. after contacting Fitbit they told me I should try restarting it. Since that is the only support I've received from them on two broken fitbits, I returned it and have left the fitbit camp. I've had to move to a wrist-based (unfortunately) unit from Garmin, but I'm still on the lookout for a pocketable solution that did everything the One could so I can switch to that platform. Best of luck, but I wouldn't hold out too much hope for a fix.

[Rescue141x]

No.. it's clearly a software issue. Nobody's FitBit One has the SAME problem that close to each other.

My Fitbit One is doing the same thing. The Fitbit does not work perfectly, hold a charge for 6 days and then the battery dies all of a sudden. We aren't stupid.

It seems like Fitbit did this on purpose or they have a software issue and don't want to fix it. Such a shame.

[RivieraBigsby]

It's the battery.  They're at end of life and won't hold a charge.  There's a DIY hack/replacement procedure in another thread on this board.

[Rescue141x]

No it's not lol.

So you're telling me that like 20 people all had the same battery problem within a week of each other? 

When people say their battery was fine, it lasted 7 days, then all of a sudden after an update, it's dead.

lol come on.. use your head dude.

[RivieraBigsby]

Yes.  It's been happening for well over a year now.  They're all failing as they get to a point where they can't supply the required voltage.  Someone proved it by finding a replacement battery, replacing it in his unit, and it all of a sudden works fine again.

[tkelley11]

My brand new one didn’t work after opening it and plugging it in to charge. I believe this was caused by a firmware update not battery life. I was able to resolve it by sending the new one back. They sent me a new one tat works. And the One does work better than the Alta or the flex. I tried both alternatives.

Tina Kelley

[PlasticRat]

I am having the exact same issue with my Fitbit One straight out of the box. Granted it had been in a cupboard for a year, but still... When plugged in it shows the fitbit version and when the button is pressed while plugged in it shows a full battery. Unplugged, no response. Dead. Restart steps tried several times to no avail. Please help. Thanks

[Williger]

@PlasticRat unfortunately, if a false "full battery" indicator only displays when in the charger, your battery is likely dead and unable to charge. because of the type of battery used in the trackers, if you're not using one, it's best to store at 50% charge, because when they do run out, the charging circuitry is unable to be revived. you can either replace the battery yourself (see my detail about this in other thread) or purchase another tracker.

[jcprouty]

Bought a one recently and just took it out of the package. I am having all of the exact issues as everyone has stated above. i have researched and tried the resets multiple time to no display unless it is plugged in. i figured it would be a good one considering what we pay for it? HELP!! 

[Williger]

@jcprouty, in this case, sounds like you have a dead battery. either you purchased it from Fitbit, in which case, simply click https://help.fitbit.com/ and enter a warranty exchange request. if however, you bought it from a 3rd party, such as eBay, you likely bought new old stock, meaning it's likely sat unused, while the battery slowly drained past its usable life and you'll have to contact the seller for return or exchange. Cheers!

[tkelley11]

No. This happened to me on an old and new one. The firmware update is killing them is what I think. I did talk to customer service via this thread and provided them with info. I sent them the new one and they sent me another one in replacement. Unfortunately I’ve lost that one and they don’t sell them anymore.

[Williger]

@tkelley11 I've got a bit of a technical background, could you please explain to me 'how' and which firmware is "killing" batteries? I'm running what I've found to be the best version yet, 6.64, which extends my battery life over two weeks, and syncs faster than before. Several One users have 3+ year old trackers with original batteries way past their usable life, as the One hasn't been manufactured for years.

Glad you were able to resolve yours with a new unit from Fitbit support. What firmware are you running and is it "killing" it, or are you enjoying a longer battery life?  You're the first person I've seen post any issues with the firmware 'killing' the battery on a brand new tracker which has me genuinely  curious what's happening! 🤓

Surely others enjoy the firmware 6.64 update like me, but since it's working for them, they aren't on this support forum and are out stepping? LOL

Thanks in advance for details ... 

[K-Turk]

I am having the same issue.  Got it to sync while in the charger,  but unresponsive once removed.  And it's not recording steps. 

It becomes suddenly blank despite it's fully charged.

I tried many times to reset it but without any success.

Hoping Fitbit to fix it very soon since I believe it's a software issue.

[Akf76]

@Williger before you insult folks, please read the comments.

Many of us had FitBit Ones that were working just fine until after a firmware update. There may have been some decrease in battery performance, but they still worked. After the update, suddenly the only time the units work/held charge was while they were in the actual charger. I am glad it didn't happen for you -- maybe you're a lucky one, or your unit skipped one of the updates, or who knows -- but that doesn't mean that isn't the case for a large number of people who commented with the exact same problem here. 

We all here know that they haven't manufactured the One in many years. It is truly unfortunate as not everyone wants to wear something like a bracelet or watch, but were still very loyal FitBit users.  We hoped FitBit would do one last update to the firmware to help us loyal users and advocates, but unfortunately that is not to be.

[tkelley11]

They have released a new Fitbit, Inspire, that you can order a clip accessory for. I maybe trying this out as I lost my One shopping and have not been able to find it. The Alta HR and the Zip just do not work the same. And I do truly believe it was a Firmware update that killed my two Ones.

[Williger]

Hi, @Akf76 It's nice to meet you. I'm unsure which part of my guidance was perceived by you to be insulting, it'd help me if you'd outline specifically what you're referencing, so I may understand. Thank you! Nope, I didn't skip any updates. My battery died around the same time as everyone else's. Many of these 3-4-year-old One trackers died around the same time which was also past the most recent firmware update. Correlation? Certainly. Causation? Not necessarily. Mine sat dead on my desk for months, only occasionally picked up by me to optimistically place in the charger, only to continuously encounter the same darn thing; showing the firmware only when in the charger. Recognizing it's out of warranty and unable to be fixed by the manufacturer, I'd opened it up, ordered a sub-$10 battery from eBay and promptly installed it. Since replacing the battery, the new firmware version which was previously installed works wonderfully and gives me over 2 weeks between charges. If you read the firmware notes, they mention changes to how the battery charging works but they don't share specifics. YES, I was in the same boat as you and everyone else, I just chose a different path to resurrect mine. While correlated with the time our batteries died, I don't associate their death with the firmware. These types of batteries only last around 3 years before needing to be replaced. Good luck fellow One fan. Cheers!

[Williger]

@tkelley11 many people here speculate the firmware was somehow maliciously written to destroy our batteries but nobody has theorized how it'd even be possible. I personally experienced my battery dying around the same time as everyone else's which happened to be following the most recent firmware. However, in my case, and everyone else who's tried DIY'ing, it was the battery which was at fault. Replacing mine with a new one gets over 2 weeks between charges using the 6.64 firmware update. Regardless, the firmware won't help you without a tracker. You'll probably enjoy the inspire. From what people are saying, it's got most of the same features except floor tracking and adds waterproofness. Cheers!

[kellyinbaja]

This is my second Fitbit One directly out of the BOX and BOTH have failed exactly the same as everyone else describes. Will only display Fitbit or battery charged, then goes blank. Won't do anything unplugged. I live in Mexico and I had to pay 30% to import, so definitely I am not happy.

After reading the reviews about customer service I think I'll pass with the complaint process. Shame that they get away with this.