One battery draining quickly after 2.41.1 iOS update

[KateFitbit]

Update 3/21/2018: Hi Everyone - it has taken the team longer to identify the root cause of why some users are experiencing rapid battery drain with while syncing One to an iOS device. We will continue to investigate, but I don't currently have a timeline for fix. Along with turning off all day sync, we do suggest syncing to a computer or Android device if possible. Thanks for your reports and patience. 

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Update 11/25/2017: We are still aware that some users on iOS are reporting rapid battery drain and are working on the issue. Once I hear further, I will update this thread. Thanks for all your reports. 

I've been notified that there are reports of One battery draining quickly on iOS version 2.41.1 and our team is currently investigating. If you are experiencing this, we recommend disabling all-day-sync for now. I'll update this post once I hear more. Thanks as always for your patience and understanding. 

[SantiR]

Hello everyone! Thanks for your continuous participation and for your reports on this thread regarding the One's battery draining quickly.

If you have not contacted customer support as of yet, I'd recommend the following:

• Update your One to its latest version.
• Make sure you are using the latest Fitbit app version.
• Check these tips to maximize the battery on your One.
• Perform a restart on your One. It is always good to try. 

Also, if you'd like me to create a case with customer support for you; please reply to me.

Keep me posted! 

[SunsetRunner]

Turning off All-Day Sync in the iOS app, and not using the Mac app (which hasn't worked since Black August 2017) has returned my battery life to normal.

I don't dare install the firmware upgrade because of all the problems I've seen reported here. The only way I would do so would be to livestream a tech support session with Fitbit where they told me exactly what steps to take, and if my One was bricked or battery life was killed, they would reimburse me for an Apple Watch of my choice. 😉

[SharonRD]

I don’t have a Mac so that’s not a problem. I’ve turned off the all day sync now and will see if that helps. But we shouldn’t have to do that.

Sharon Smalling

[SunsetRunner]

Agreed. We should be able to leave All-Day Sync on. It worked fine for years until August 2017 when Fitbit pushed out an update and killed the One's battery life. Fitbit's response to this was—how to put this delicately 🤔—not stellar. While I could try turning it back on, and installing the firmware update, I'm happy with the status quo because it works.

[SharonRD]

Santi,

I just spent about 10 min on the phone with Regina concerning my battery lasting no longer than about 12-15 hours.  The fix she just told me about was to not open the app on my phone or ipad and only sync through the computer. 

I asked her if the engineers are ACTIVELY working on a fix, which she really could not answer.  I asked her how we would be informed when a fix is made.  Also she could not answer that.

My feelings are, after 5 months of people reporting this and with the version prior to 64 stating it increased the battery life to 2 weeks, that there is no one ACTIVELY working on fixing this.  I am sure you have engineers smart enough to fix something like this in less time than the 5 months people have been reporting it. 

What's the truth?  And if there is a fix, I urge your company to send an email to everyone with a ONE telling them if should be fixed.

I am going to try not using the app.  It is charging now and will see if that really works.  But if not, and I have done all the other 'fixes' you mention above, then what is our recourse? 

Appreciate you responding to this community.

(PS  may I suggest that the post be listed in order of the most recent instead of having to scroll down and select the last page to find the most recent post?  Never seen it done like this before)

[SunsetRunner]

@SharonRD After working as a software developer and manager for several companies, I can say that there is no technical reason for this problem to persist this long. It was working great. They broke it. They can fix it. The problem has been ranked as a low priority by Fitbit and is getting no attention. Since Fitbit is discontinuing the One, they are not going to invest resources in fixing it. They've moved on to other products. I would be ecstatic for Fitbit to prove me wrong after 6 months of waiting.

The fact that many One users were early adopters of Fitbit products and influenced countless others to purchase a Fitbit, well, this holds no sway. If Fitbit can abandon me as a One purchaser, I see no reason to continue buying their products knowing that they can break and abandon any other product I buy.

A long time ago I asked for the CEO of Fitbit to come on this board and explain the situation. It was met with silence. The invitation is still open.

[Poodlepants]

I forgot to unsubscribe to this thread, but I left Fitbit. I started out with an Ultra. I tried to limp along with my Fitbit One. Then, I asked for help re-linking my Fitbit One to to my Weight Watchers account and I got a snotty, one sentence answer from a mod or admin. Whatever. I took my money elsewhere. I don't like being treated like a nuisance and I don't like being forced up the value chain. Like I said, I bought my first Ultra in 2012. I've lost over 50 lbs on WW and I have been at goal for nearly a year. When people ask me what  fitness tracker I recommend, it's not Fitbit!

[sandybeatty]

I agree 100%. I refuse to put anything on my arm and will not be purchasing from Fitbit again. I’ll find another product.

[phv]

I faced many battery issues since the IOS upgrade of July 2017. The workaround was to disable the background sync but even then there was a residual issue of the One Bluetooth connection being "stuck", draining the battery. Eventually, end of 2017, the matter was fixed through the IOS FitBIt pp upgrades. I could even reactivity the background sync but I must admit the sync is now less frequent that it used to be in the past. So there is a kind of functional degradation, but an acceptable one.

The second issue, more important imho, was the firmware upgrade for the One device. I was terrorized at the idea of doing it given the numerous report of people "bricking" their devices when proceeding. I eventually managed to upgrade to v6.64 and was at first happy. Until I had to charge for the first time after the upgrade: the device very quickly reports to be duly charged but the charge wasn't even sustained for a single day!!! I suspect that this relates to the firmware  but I cannot be 100% sure: it could be a pure coincidence and maybe my 2 years-old battery was suddentely not able to provide the expected voltage/power hence a sudden decease of "capacity" in appearance.

As a solution, I purchased an (expensive) replacement device that I decided *not* to upgrade in terms of firmware. and I must say everything works fine now with that new device.

The only major issue that remains is that Fitbit decided to abandon the One which is not on sale anymore: FitBit focuses on wrist-worn devices which are not at all matching my own taste and habits. So the perspective is not very good once my new One device battery will probably also perish in 2-3 years... /(

[SantiR]

Hello everyone! Thanks for sharing your experience and feedback on this thread.

The Fitbit team appreciates this a lot. If after trying the tips to maximize the battery you keep experiencing the same, please report that to customer support. If you would like me to create a case for you with them, let me know in your replies.

Keep me posted! 

[SharonRD]

I talked to customer support Friday. Regina told me to stop using the app. I did that and the battery still runs down after <24 hours for the past 2 days. All day sync is off as well

Customer support is simply opening up a case and nothing happens after that. Many cases have been opened based on the responses in the community and yet the problem still exists.

It would be nice to have an honest answer. Which I assume is that you are no longer supporting this product. An experienced engineer would have fixed this issue within days.

As a dietitian I have recommended Fitbit to many patients. With my experience now I can no longer do so and in fact will relate the poor customer support many of us have experienced.

I would appreciate having an honest answer to our problems with this product and I know others on this community would as well.

Thank you for considering ‘honest as the best policy’.

Sharon Smalling
Sent from my iPad

[phv]

@SharonRD The main issue for support is to figure out whether the problem is due to the device age ...or to an actual problem.

My experience indicated the IOS app issues were resolved. There could however be a side affect of the firmware upgrade v6.64 (stopping charge too early). However, it could also be very much a pure coincidence.

Scientifically, the battery "energy storage capacity" is slowly decreasing the user experience by reducing the charge time. However, there is also a gradual decrease of the "peak power" that the battery can sustain and once this goes below a certain threshold corresponding to the needed power for keep the device stabley running, it because a "sudden" defective device for the user. This is the reason for which Apple is decreasing its "CPU speed": to prevent sudden 'failures' for the end users.

Apple provides cheap battery exchange (29€ for an iPhone 6) but I can understand here is no battery exchange program for the One device (it would cost more in logistics than in the actual purchase of anew device!). So the recommended option would actually be to repack the device every 2-3 years. Unfortunately, fitbit stopped manufacturing/selling it last September 😞

[EASnider]

4 months after post at top, what is the planned fix?

Battery drops to nothing often, then fitbit stops tracking and syncing - very challenging to get this to sync again.

Is there a fix in the works or is the answer to toss this in the garbage can?

I wear an Apple Watch and am not interested in plastic on my wrist which appear to be the only newer fitbit options.

Very disappointing ...

Moderator Edit: Format

[SharonRD]

Good evening all,

After many emails with customer support (after an initial phone call) and each time asking if they were still supporting the ONE or telling them, after they offered me a 25% discount, that is appeared they were not supporting it and that I wished someone would just be honest and say so or if they are tell us what they are doing, this is the response I got back today.  Seems to me after several months smart engineers would have determined the fix but they have not. This states they are working on it.  So for now I will just charge mine daily as none of the ‘bandaid’ things they told me to do have worked.  I too do not want a wrist band or smart watch and want more than the Zip provides.  Agree, so sad they are discontinuing this product.  But this is the best explanation anyone has given thus far and hopefully it is truthful.

Hi Sharon,

Thanks for contacting us back. We appreciate the prompt response.

Before we move any further, we'd like to clarify how our recent updates affect the behavior of our Fitbit trackers.

The Fitbit One firmware update version 6.64 was released to allow customers to turn off real-time data tracking. This option was enabled by default but now you have the option to turn this feature off. This release includes bug fixes and stability improvements that should not impact the battery life of the tracker.

We have received reports from customers that experienced battery draining issues after updating the Fitbit app on their iOS mobile devices to the latest version. Our engineers have identified a software bug which affects some trackers making them under-perform in the battery department when an iOS device is used for syncing. This is an ongoing issue, and although it has been reported by several customers, they represent a small percentage of all our Fitbit users. Since it is not a hardware issue, receiving a replacement unit will not solve it. We continue working towards a solution, which involves many complexities in software development due to the proprietary iOS platform. However, once a patch is ready, we'll release the corresponding update for the Fitbit app.

Begging for your patience and understanding, please let us know if you have any additional questions. We remain at your service.

Sincerely,
Roland P. and the Fitbit Team

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Reply directly to this email to update your case. #23902450
Join the growing Fitbit Community! Get answers. Stay motivated. Find Fitbit friends.

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[SunsetRunner]

@SharonRD Sorry, but I'm not buying that explanation from Fitbit. This problem started in August, long before the firmware update that Fitbit sold as a Bluetooth security fix. Turning off All-Day Sync worked for many. Then the firmware update was released rendering some devices useless. I've held off "updating" for that reason.

As for the proprietary nature of iOS, well, there were no iOS updates released last August when Fitbit introduced the bug. As for being difficult to fix, every respectable development team uses source code management tools that tell them exactly what lines of code have changed for each release thus allowing them to pinpoint the bug much faster. As long as you don't rewrite everything between releases, it's relatively simple to identify the bugs. Even if they did a wholesale rewrite, they always have an option to roll the software back to the working version. Fitbit has chosen not to do so.

And just how are we supposed to know when this miracle fix finally arrives? Fitbit's iOS update release notes only state, "Bug fixes and performance improvements." That's just laziness. Customers want to know if the issues they see have been fixed. Instead, each app update leaves us wondering if this bug has been fixed.

I'm not making any plans for Fitbit to finally fix this over 6-month long problem. With new products being released, you've got to know where all their effort is being spent. It's not with a product they've declared obsolete. I don't care if they claim they'll continue to support the One. That's a specious claim when the bug is 6 months old.

[KellieMac]

Hello,

   My One battery has been dying very quickly since I updated it. It seems to be getting worse daily. I am already charging it for the 4th time today! It also doesn’t seem to be tracking my steps, I watch it periodically while I am walking around and it doesn’t always track them.   Any help is appreciated. Thank you. 😀

[SharonRD]

Kellie,
I suggest you call customer service. keeping the app off and turning sync
off helped mine to last a full day now! WhooHOO!
They have told me they are trying to find the solution. Doubt they are
trying very hard since it has been discontinued.
Many of us feel you pain...

[KateFitbit]

Hi Everyone - it has taken the team longer to identify the root cause of why some users are experiencing rapid battery drain with while syncing One to an iOS device. We will continue to investigate, but I don't currently have a timeline for fix. Along with turning off all day sync, we do suggest syncing to a computer or Android device if possible. Thanks for your reports and patience. 

[suefit5]

My ONE will only be a year old in June, had it for about 2 months before it started not keeping its charge. As I posted previously, I sync to my iPhone and not my computer. As someone had suggested I rebooted my ONE, turned off all day sync, downloaded all the new updates and set it for just Steps. I am getting 15 days out of each charge now since end of December. Hopefully it will continue. Thanks for the help from those who made suggestions because they worked. 😄

Take care,
Susan

[neilTrembley]

Thanks!. I'll try this and see if it helps keep my battery from draining. Here's hoping. I love my One