Charge 2 battery is draining to fast and heart rate stopped

[Joycee501]

I've had my Charge 2 for 18 months, having received it as a Christmas present from my partner. The last 17 months it has worked flawlessly, always tracking my heart rate, steps, activity, sleep, floors etc and always syncing and providing notifications. 

The last few weeks I noticed the HR monitor had stopped working, I tried resetting, changing the strap tightness, letting it die and recharging and nothing worked, I figured "oh well, I can live without it" but now I've noticed my Charge 2 battery being drained from 100% to nothing in a few hours. I've tried resetting 3 times, turning off all settings that use battery (silent alarms, notifications etc), letting it die and recharging again but nothing seems to work and now I'm left with a useless Fitbit. Ive also noticed a thin black line (almost like the pixels have broken) across the screen about 1/3rd way from the top since I reset the device.

Can anyone help?!

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[MarreFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @Joycee501! Thanks for already troubleshooting this inconvenience with your heart rate and the battery life on your Charge 2, nice way to go! 

As you may already know, your tracker can have difficulty finding a signal, typically due to the tracker's fit. For example, wearing your band tightly may constrict blood flow in your wrist and affect the signal. We recommend experimenting with how high you place the tracker on your wrist. When you're not exercising, wearing the tracker just above the wrist bone--as you would a watch--typically works fine. However, moving the tracker up a couple inches can be helpful during high-intensity exercises or exercises that cause you to bend your wrist frequently. I know you have done it, but please review our recommendations for wear and other tips shared by @SantiFitbit. 

If you're wearing the tracker correctly and the heart rate setting isn't turned off, try changing the setting (either Auto to On or On to Auto) and then syncing your tracker. The change won't take affect until you sync. If heart rate still doesn't appear after the sync, try restarting your tracker and wait at least 60 seconds before checking heart rate again.

If you're still unable to see your heart rate on the display, please let me know if you can see the green lights flashing on the bottom of your tracker.

On the other hand, you can also consider the following tips:

• If you use the Fitbit app, make sure All-Day Sync is turned off. 
• (Android only) Turn off the Always Connected setting. Similar to All-Day Sync, it can reduce battery life.
• If you don't need heart rate data, change the Heart Rate setting to Off. When you turn it back on, use Auto. 
• Turn off Quick View. Since it causes the screen to light up when you turn your wrist towards you, turning this setting off may prolong battery life. 
• Don't receive reminders to move every hour. 
• Turn call, text, or calendar notifications off if you know you're going to receive many hundreds of notifications. A large volume reduces battery life. 
• Use guided breathing sessions less frequently. Multiple sessions per day may reduce battery life. 
• If you have many silent alarms set, consider deleting some. Each alarm you add up to the maximum of 8 reduces battery life by a small percentage. 
• Don't charge your tracker in extreme heat or cold. 

In regards to the black line, I'd like you to please send me a screen shot showing this. Additionally, make sure that your Fitbit app is up-to-date (Android should be on 2.73 and iOS on 2.52). 

Looking forward to your response! 

[Joycee501]

Thanks for the speedy response @MarreFitbit

.



I've had the Fitbit a while and noticed sometimes the HR didnt work so i do
often change up the position, especially when I lost weight on my wrists.
I've tried all sorts but nothing seems to affect the HR monitor
now



With regards to the tips and tricks for battery life, I've tried
everything. Turned all the settings off and only get a few hours out of my
Fitbit whereas over the last 17 months I would only have to charge once
every 5-7 days at most.


Picture below showing the black line issue, as I mentioned, I reset the
Fitbit then this appeared.

[MarreFitbit]

Many thanks for your response @Joycee501! Since this sounds a bit more serious, I've created a Support Case on your behalf - you should soon receive an email from Customer Support at the email you used to register with the Community forums. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know. 

[mikjmill13]

I recently started having a similar problem. My Charge 2 was working fine up until a few days ago when it suddenly started having difficulty picking up my heart rate. I tried cleaning the sensor and turning off the HR monitor and turning it back on. It started working for a day, then after a while it started to show wildly inconsistent heart rate values. For eg, It would show my heart rate at 150 BPM even though i'm just waking up from a good night's rest and it would stay pegged there for pretty much the entire day. After a while it stopped reporting any heart rate altogether. Then it started draining the battery in like no time. This was due to the fact that the lights on the sensor would turn on at a steady full brightness, so bright that it would cause the device to get extremely hot. it would literally drain the battery while it's plugged into the charger. I tried to turn off the hr feature from the app but the device drains the battery so quickly that it doesn't even have time to get through the sync process. At this point I don't know what else to do with this thing. It's not even a year old yet.

[Joycee501]

I know the feeling, I tried cleaning the contacts too but that didn't work either. Very strange. I will wait to see what customer support say. Considering how well they are reviewed I expect a speedy and happy resolution.

[MarreFitbit]

Thanks for jumping in here @mikjmill13! Also, thanks for letting me know all the steps you've tried in order to solve this issue. I appreciate you've taken the time to troubleshoot your Charge 2. I have reached out to our support team and created a case regarding your inquiry. Someone will be reaching out to you within the next 24-72 hours with next steps. 

Please let me know what was the resolution after hearing from our support team. Good luck you both! 

[mikjmill13]

It looks like the solution was to give me 25% off a new one lol.

[MarreFitbit]

Thanks for getting back to me @mikjmill13! In regards to the 25% discount option as per our Warranty Policies please know that this is the best option to help you get back on track with the Fitbit family and I'm sure our Customer Support team will be more than glad to help you further with this. I understand you've invested in the Fitbit Family; however, we as any other company have policies to follow through.  While customer satisfaction remains our number one goal, the demands of running a global business require that we enforce our warranty consistently.   

If there any questions present, please let me know and I'll be glad to help. 

[Joycee501]

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@mikjmill13 wrote:

It looks like the solution was to give me 25% off a new one lol.

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I'm yet to be contacted. I really hope they don't just 'fob' me off with 25% discount on a new one as I wouldn't accept it. I received my fitbit as a gift from my partner and it holds significant sentimental value

[MarreFitbit · Accepted solution]

Thanks for letting me know you haven't received any email yet @Joycee501. I'll update your case with our team. Please keep an eye on your inbox, someone will reach you out shortly! 

[ldelapaz]

Hello!

My Fitbit also has lines across the screen about 1/3 of the way down for the past week. I also noticed today the battery went from 25% to 0% and shutoff completely! This has never happened before; all in the period of 2 hours, of which I was sitting in the dentist office chair, no physical activity. Is there anything I can do to remedy the Fitbit? I have been a loyal customer since 2013 through various Fitbits (Fitbit Force customer back in the day!). 

I have connected the Fitbit to charge for 9 hours, and the battery was only at 80%. I then reset the Fitbit as described in these posts, and the streaks of dead pixels are still on the top 1/3 of the screen. I don't know what else to do! Please help 🙂

[mikjmill13]

At this point I'm not even sure if it's worth getting another Fitbit device, even with a 25% discount. This is actually my 2nd device and the first one didn't make it much past a year either. I'd much rather spend a little more for a more reliable device from another company than to be wasting money replacing the same device every year because it just breaks on its own. The HR sensor on my device is locked at full brightness like a flashlight and kills the battery in minutes, and you're saying the only solution is to toss it and buy a new one? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice,.... Btw, my girlfriend also had the same devices as I did. Her previous one fell apart in similar fashion. At least her current Charge 2 seems to be doing ok. for now. But we're moving on. I'm not buying another disposable device from you guys for $160.

[ldelapaz]

After charging all those hours, I am wearing the Charge 2, and the battery
has gone down from 100% to 35% since I wrote the last post (maybe 1 hour).
Also the HR monitor is not working. I have been with Fitbit for almost 5
years, but it may be time to hang my wearable tech hat, because I can't
afford to buy a new device every 1.5 years... I love it when it works, but
when it breaks down, there's no repairing or helping it 😞

[krisnay23]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who has been having the issue with the battery draining far too quickly.  I actually contacted customer service a few days ago due to condensation build up under my screen.  I was told to put it in rice for 24 hours and see if that resolved the issue.  It didn't, but I was told they would essentially "come up with other ideas" for me.  I noticed that same day my battery was dying.  However, I could not recall the last time I charged it so I allowed it to fully charge before using.  Well upon waking up yesterday I noticed it was already at 10%, which is extremely out of the normal as just like you my battery usually lasts at least 5-7 days before needing to be charged.  Yesterday I again charged it fully, but last night before bed I noticed it was completely dead.  I am unsure as to when it exactly died, but it definitely should not have within the day's span.  I again charged it this morning upon waking up—I thought maybe giving it a break from charging for the night would help, but it didn't.  When I put it back on around 11am it was at 100%.  I checked it around 1pm and it was at 70%.  By the time I am writing this post (9:53pm EST), it is at 24%.  The most activity I have done today is to go out and drive to get food.  I am very confused as to how all of a sudden the battery is dying after being so reliable since I received this as a Christmas gift in 2016.  It is very peculiar, especially since it occurred right after I spoke to customer service in regards to my condensation issue.

[mikjmill13]

Yeah I'm beginning to think that condensation is the culprit. Mine stopped picking up my pulse and I guess the little green lights get brighter to compensate. Well mine turned super bright and got stuck that way. Everything else on the device works. It syncs, counts steps all of that. But the hr sensor kills the battery in no time and there's no way to shut it off. It would be nice if the good people at Fitbit could simply allow me to force a firmware update to the thing or something instead of trying to selll me another one. And furthermore, maybe they should just give me a new device as compensation for helping them solve this problem for them. 

[Joycee501]

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@MarreFitbit wrote:

Thanks for letting me know you haven't received any email yet @Joycee501. I'll update your case with our team. Please keep an eye on your inbox, someone will reach you out shortly! 

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Thank you for pushing the CS team, they've been in touch. Also thank you for your support during the process.

Whilst there is no explanation to the issue I've experienced, (which is a shame) the team have managed to provide a satisfying resolution.

[ldelapaz]

Could you share the results? Many have this issue.

Sent from Linda De La Paz's iPhone

[Joycee501]

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@ldelapaz wrote:
Could you share the results? Many have this issue.

Sent from Linda De La Paz's iPhone

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Hi @idelapaz, as I was within warranty I was offered a like-for-like replacement device or a discount on a new device. As the original device was a gift from my girlfriend and holds sentimental value, a new device didn't appeal to me and so I opted for a replacement. Luckily, I get to keep the defective device, which makes me think they know what the issue is, but can't actually fix it. . 

[eanewsom]

I'm having a similar problem.  The heart rate monitor is not picking up and hasn't for a month (this is the first moment I've had to sit down and look into it).   There are two dashes under the HR, the green lights are on,  I've done through all the suggest troubleshooting.  I've adjust different fits, restarted three times, switched the HR setting from auto-sync, then off-sync, then on-sync. Also noticed just in the last day that battery was dying within a few hours.  Any other suggestions?