Fitbit One Will Not Turn On

[RickOneFit]

I did an update to Fitbit One Firmware 6.64 per the instruction of Fitbit due to an error I was having turning the fitbit on. After I did the update, the fitbit will not turn on at all. Occasionally when I connect it to the charger, it will say 6.64 and show a full battery level, but every time  I take if off the charger it will not even turn on at all.  I have tried the reset process and endless amount of times and off the charger it will never turn on and it will only turn on occasionally on the charger. I followed the instruction of fitbit and totally deleted the application, created a new profile and started from zero, which they advised me to do to ensure I have the most updated firmware. Well, after that the device will not work at all and I cannot get anywhere with customer support who advised me to follow their process. Anyone with any suggestions would greatly be appreciated.

[Ckallio13]

I have this issue as well, but mine shows an empty battery no matter how long I charge it. Resetting does nothing.

[Williger]

@Ckallio13 Then your battery is probably dead 😞 LiPo's last ~3-4 years.

[Ckallio13]

Any idea if the batteries are replaceable?

[Williger]

@Ckallio13 Unofficially, absolutely! I replaced mine and it's working great. It's not as simple as sliding out a battery door and replacing it though. I used a heat gun to warm the glue on mine to open it, got a replacement battery from eBay, and warmed the solder on the circuit board to replace the wires. Sounds harder than it is actually, it was my first soldering attempt 🙂

If it's already dead, I recommend DIY, whatcha got to lose?

[Ckallio13]

Thank you! I'm gonna try that, because I love my fitbit.. But cant afford a new one (this was a gift) 

[Williger]

@Ckallio13 TW, I totally relate! 😄 Hope you get it working. Mine was doing the same thing (showing the battery occasionally when pushing the button in charger) for over a year and I figured a $10 battery was worth the risk. Now, it lasts almost 3 weeks between charges, and hopefully will last another 3 years 🙂 

[scchou5]

Hi Williger,

I am not able to find the replacement battery on Ebay.  Can you share your secret?  How about considering a replacement battery service for all of us? I'm sure you'd get alot of business. 😉

[ForeEverYoung]

Can you tell me what battery the One requires?  I think mine just died and I'd gladly try the DIY repair.

[Williger]

@scchou5 Funnily, I was thinking similarly 🙂 Thought popped into my head that if I sourced a number of One batteries and maybe some replacement clips and chargers, I could start a mini refurbishment business! LOL without a little start-up capital for supplies, I don't see this happening soon 😉 Meanwhile, I'm happy to lend my guidance to the community for free, it'd be great to see others enjoying a new DIY upgraded One as much as I do! Unsure why you can't find them on eBay, the search term I'm using is just Fitbit One battery and it's showing me two right now from China. It appears the one I bought from California isn't available but the two for sale right now are around the same price, $12 with shipping. Installation was fun and easy; warming the case, prying it open, replacing the wires, turning it on. Seriously, I was just checking my case fitting when I bumped the power button and the half-charged battery brought my dead tracker to life and put a big ear to ear grinning smile on my face. Cheers!

[Williger]

@ForeEverYoung Fitbit doesn't make replacement batteries, you can find two different styles of them on eBay and AliExpress. The larger one I purchased (below) required removing the battery clips on the circuit board (easy), the small one likely doesn't require the removal and might have less power. Mine gets over 2 weeks between charges and works better than when it was brand new. I just checked and there are two for sale on eBay that looks exactly like the one I purchased. They're all around $12 with shipping. I'd recommend doing what I did and open your tracker before ordering to make sure you're able to, as otherwise, you'd be buying a battery you couldn't use. I used a heat gun to warm mine. Cheers!

[Williger]

@Ckallio13 curious if you were able to successfully resurrect your One?

[scchou5]

@Williger  thanks so much for the replies back! you're so generous to take the time to reply back to everyone and offer advice. Too bad there isn't a way to answer everyone with just one post.

Maybe people can buy the battery and send it to you for your expert installation for a fee. I'd seriously consider it.

I spent some time trying to open it but to no avail. I used a blow dryer for a bit and then a swiss army knife but can't seem to make an opening-only scratching it up. I even stabbed myself with the knife. I tried my glue gun but it's not every hot.  How were you able to pry it open? 😕

And yes, I was able to find the battery on Ebay and purchased one. Thank you for the info!

[Williger]

Hi @scchou5 you're welcome 🙂 I'd like to see more people resurrecting their beloved One trackers with this quick and easy upgrade!

Agreed, a comprehensive post would be great, though it'll likely be deleted. I'm hoping to get a blog set up soon where I can share more specifics. I wished I'd video recorded the process, but hadn't considered it useful to others until afterward. I did manage to take a couple of photos along the way, as I was rather excited. OK, onto the case opening ... Abracadabra! Will try to describe this in detail and hopefully not too boring LOL

I used a heat gun on low, likely similar heat to a hair dryer on high. I held the tracker in my hand to sense heat and rotated the tracker, so the heat dispersed around the case side, as there is a thin layer of glue. The total was probably around 15 seconds or so, you don't wanna heat up the internal components, just warm the glue. The new battery from eBay was larger than the original (See pic), so I had to remove the metal tabs which held the original in place. As you'll see in the picture, it fits actually better into the plastic case. Now the knife part. Be careful, sorry you got cut. I'm surprised I didn't, but here's what I did. I did it incorrectly, and it still worked! Commit to one area so you minimize scratching other parts of it and keep prying. I must've held the knife pulling for 20-30 seconds slowly and then it opened perfectly. Turns out there are two different One cases, one opens along the grey line on the back, it separates, where mine, was one plastic piece. Prying it from that point and only that point, I kept the blade in place, slowly prying, and it slowly opened up. From this point, the glue was tacky enough to close and open easily. You can see the thin glue in the picture above. Once inside, there are two large (compared to the circuit board) solder points for positive and negative. *CAREFUL* make sure to trim the new battery wires, including some exposed wire before installing. It's why I put the battery in the case to see how much it needed (there isn't much room in there for extra wire). I just warmed them up for half a second to pull out the old ones and warmed the new ones on top of the existing solder, held it for a second and the seal was solid. I'd merely begun reassembling to make sure everything fit, when I hit the power button and was back in business. It came with half a battery charge, and it completely charged in under an hour.

TL:DR = Warm tracker, pry with a knife from near the 2 charging dots, keep prying slowly. Battery wires color coded for an easy installation.

Hope this helps. Be patient. My attitude doing this was "well, it's not working and it's not replaceable under warranty" and kept prying. Eventually, it opened. Cheers!

[ForeEverYoung]

Williger, I did a little more investigating and it appears my battery is still alive. My One just needs to be reset almost every time I take it out of my pocket. If I’m moving it keeps working, it just shuts down when I’m inactive. Thanks for the battery info though. 

[Williger]

@ForeEverYoung YW! WOW, that's fantastic 😄 Tracker works when you're moving and stops when you don't? What a motivational system! Sounds like possibly the battery wire is loose and connects when in a particular position? Regardless, keep stepping and smiling!

[scchou5]

@Williger, you are brilliant!  thank you so much for taking the time to provide those great detailed instructions and pictures! they were so great i was able to get mine open!

many others will benefit from your post! if it does get deleted, please do consider a blog or a youtube vid. when i searched for anything on how to replace the battey, only one result came up and it was a vid on the tear down of a One. 😕

thank you so much again!

[NavyNurse91]

Same issue as above only the update occurred the MOMENT I plugged in my bran new device. Now it will not turn on off the charger. To complicate it, I am active duty stationed on Guam and have low access to replacements. Please assist.

[azubes]

I have the same problem my One will not turn on other than showing me battery and ver 6.64 when it's in the charger. Otherwise nothing. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks.

Hi all,

I kept putting my One on the charger and trying to reset and finally after multiple times, it worked. Keep fingers crossed hopefully it will keep working.

The wonders of technology

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Jeri_D]

I have the same problem. My one won’t come on at all. Did the steps to reboot it nothing works. I love the one. Really don’t like the Alta hr I got to replace the one.  Please help

[ForeEverYoung]

I finally gave up on my one. It actually started losing steps if it didn’t sync before it shut off. Fitbit gave me 25% off so I broke down and bought the Inspire. I’m pleased with it so far.

Sent from my iPad