Fitbit One rapid battery drain

[Madwill1957]

My Fibit One has suddenly begun to lose battery power rapidly. It lasts maybe a couple of days on a full charge.

Today when I plugged it in to charge, I checked it after five minutes and it had gone from empty to full. I can't believe that that is correct.

I noticed that the Fitbit App updated on 28/4/17 and am now wondering if the battery drain is real or is being 'misreported' by the app. This would seem to tie in with the sudden change of battery status I have experinced. Prior to this it would run quite happily for 7-10 days before I recharged it (well before it reached critical status).

Has anyone else had similar issues?

[WendyB]

Welcome to the forums!

Please clean the contacts
http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/My-tracker-s-battery-isn-t-charging/?q=not+chargi...

Then Do a Restart
http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1186/?q=restart&l=en_US&fs=Search&pn=1

If it doesn't help Contact Support
http://help.fitbit.com/?cu=1

Look around the forums and join in on some of the discussions! Lot's going on!
Hope to see you around!

[Rybecka80]

Yes! I am experiencing this exact same problem and the battery drain starting happening around the same time frame (04/28/17).  It's been driving me crazy! I chargemy fitbit one and it looks full but within a few minutes of taking it off the charger, I'll look at the app and it says my charge is medium to empty.  When I plug it into the charger, the indicator says the same despite being full just minutes ago.  However, I noticed yesterday that although the app says my battery was empty, the fitbit  itself was still on and working fine.  I have tried resetting it and cleaning it to no avail.  I hope it's an update issue!

[Madwill1957]

I have tried the recommendations from the previous responder - but so far no fix, the battery charge status seems to fluctuate. It said it lost about half the charge in one day - but will charge back up to full in just a few minutes. This makes me think it is an app / reporting problem rather than actually a battery draining problem.

[Rybecka80]

FYI, I was advised by support that based on my description, they think it is a hardware issue and not an app issue and thus would not be fixed with any future updates.  They offered me a discount on the purchase of new tracker since mine is past warranty.

[PureEvil]

Hello @Madwill1957 and @Rybecka80,

Welcome to the community!

Fitbit trackers in general (not just the Fitbit One) will drain quickly if they're persistently connected to the Fitbit App.  I did this once and it drained within a day.

Is there any chance that you're running the Fitbit app continuously?  It's relatively easy to do if you run the Windows 10 Fitbit App (just a window on my desktop while I work).  Also, I have heard that running the Widget on Android may also do this.  I haven't seen this myself, since I don't use an Android device.

First, do what @WendyB suggests...  Then you may try turning off Bluetooth on your syncing device (phone or computer) to see if that affects battery life.  If it does we may be able to help you narrow it down.

I hope this helps.

[Madwill1957]

I have the Fitbit app on my iPad and do not have it on any W10 computers and I have no Android devices. I have just turned off the 'All day Sync' option to see if this helps, but this has never been an issue in the past. I now have to go into the app to force a sync, whereas previously it did it automatically when I was in Bluetooth range.

I have been running this way since I got the device - so something has changed recently. If it is a hardware issue - then I will not be replacing it as I cannot afford another one!

I see the device is running firmware version 60 - is that something that gets updated automatically? If so could that have happened recently?

[Rybecka80]

Same here...I do not run the app continuously or turn on bluetooth.  I have actually have always opted to turn off "all day sync" or "always connected". I only manually sync once in awhile using the app/bluetooth.  So I don't think it's the settings and even if it was, why would it drain the battery suddenly when it never did before? 

I, too, am torn about buying a new device because it certainly doesn't explain the problem and prevent it from happening again.  The 25% discount they offered expires after a month so I have until then to research other trackers before deciding whether to get another fitbit.

[PureEvil]

Oh, I'm not suggesting that this is what you should be doing this going forward.  I'm just trying to narrow down the cause of the problem.

Version 6.60 of the firmware is the one that I'm running and I believe that's the latest.  Does the battery life improve if you follow WendyB's suggestions and turn off Bluetooth?

[Madwill1957]

Ok, as it stands..

I use bluetooth on my iPad for other devices (keyboard and speaker) so I can't stop using that. However, the Fitbit app is now reporting battery full and has done since I turned off All Day Sync. So things are improving and it apears not to be the device as if I plug it into the charger it shows as full too. 

I'll leave it for a couple of days to check the battery and then turn All Day Sync back on.

[LindaTrem]

Same issue.. used to last on a charge over a week. Now... a day or 2 a most. I charged it last night  - it showed fully charged and today it is at 50%.. crazy

[Clarkey71]

I've had exactly the same problem. The fitbit was working perfectly until a week or so again. Now it won't hold a charge at all. I've tried all of the 4 suggested remedies, but none have worked. I know the charging lead is ok, as the fitbit recognises when it is plugged in. I have charged it for a full day on a few occasions, but it still switches of after an hour or so, sometimes it is only a matter of minutes. I've tried call customer services, but the message says the number doesn't calls!!!! I'm starting to feel like this is one of those issues where I will chase and chase and chase and end up nowhere. The fitbit was a Christmas gift, so is only 5 months old.

Does anyone have any idea what has actually happened to my device or how I might resolve it. I've lost over a weeks worth of data already and I want to get this sorted. Cheers. Paul.

[Madwill1957]

Today the app reported the battery as 'medium' and a quick plug in to the charger shows the battery level around two thirds. So that is now three days since last charged. Seems that turning off 'All Day Sync resolved the problem. I almost don't want to turn the sync back on! Fingers crossed......

[Rybecka80]

I'm glad that worked for you, Madwill1957! I gave up on mine... I would plug it into it's charger  and it would fully charge but it got to the point that after taking it off the charger after 30 minutes, it would cut off altogether. So I stopped trying ot resuscitate it, some things are just a lost cause! But I was able to dig out a Fitbit Zip that I got from work that I threw into a drawer a long time ago because I had battery issues with it too (2025 battery drained quicky!  I'm using it for now and still thinking about whether to invest in another fitbit tracker.   I emailed support to ask if they would extend the 25% discount beyond 1 month and they were agreeable, I just have to email them back, I think, when I decide to buy again.

[Madwill1957]

Oh dear, sorry to hear your Fitbit is still not working @Rybecka80.

[LindaTrem]

I turned off All Day Sync.. battery is almost full today.. issue seems resolved

[SheralynB]

This is what mine is doing as well. I got it at Christmas, so it's only a few months old. I turned off all-day sync several weeks ago with no improvement. I tried restarting it just now--I hope this helps!

[Madwill1957]

It is now seven days since I last charged my device and the app is still reporting medium battery. Plugging into the charger shows the battery icon about half full. Still looking good.

[SheralynB]

Restarting the tracker didn't solve the problem, so today I called customer service. They answered promptly, were able to confirm the battery drain by looking at my synced stats, and told me I'm still in warranty. The replacement is supposed to be here in about a week--great service! It was a big relief that I didn't have to fight to get help!

[Madwill1957]

That is slightly worrying as mine is well out of warranty. At least my problem seems to have been resolved by turning off 'all day sync'. I am slightly concerned that it seemed to occur just after the app update on my iPad, and turning off this feature, that I have always had switched on, has stopped the battery drain.