Charge 2 switching notifications off/on randomly

[Shanna19]

My charge 2 is going hay wire... turning notifications on and off all on it own. 

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[Acbaez]

No help at all. I will not buy another Fitbit device so I’ve decided to finally move to the Apple Watch! 

[Mairharper]

I will seriously consider changing myself when this new one fails. As many of you note, by my language, I think that it is inevitable. I really love my Fitbit, but too many people have issues and the time will come to move loyalties

[Rich_Laue]

If your triggering to notifications turning off on the Charge 2 itself, this is usually because the button was accidentally held in for two seconds .

If notifications get turned off in the app. this is not a charge 2 problem. 

[Acbaez]

Yes. For them not to offer a replacement at least one replacement or try to find a software fix when so many people are having the issues makes me skeptical that the problem wasn’t intentionally caused to push people to buy their new product. So I refuse to give them any more money! Apple Watch it is, it does more than the Fitbit anyway!

via iPhone

[Khxor]

Rich, people have been very clear here:  None of us are complaining that we are holding the button and notifications are switching on and off.  We are not stupid.  This thread is about the Fitbit itself malfunctioning, not the App.  Tell me how your theory causes this:  Put the fitbit on the table, with the button UP so it can't be pushed by accident. Then watch as it randomly starts it's little dance.  This is what happened with mine.  It's been well established in this thread that the things you say are usual causes are not the problem.    

[Mairharper]

Rich
You appear to be missing the point that users are stating that the Fitbit is the item at fault. Not their use of it. Clearly, pushing a button has an effect. We users know this.

But in the cases here, the switching/ cycling is nothing to do with the owner pressing anything. It is a random fault and for many of us, the watch never recovers. Offering a new one at a discount does not go any distance to explaining the fault

[Neet4]

Rich, not sure why you are choosing to ignore what everyone is saying about the notificationss.  I don't know if you are  part of tech support or just here because you know how to troubleshoot all the devices listed in your signature, but you are not representing yourself nor Fitbit very well based on your responses. 

The Fitbit is malfunctioning. Why is that so hard for you to believe or understand?

[SunsetRunner]

I have a 2 year replacement plan on mine that’s still good and hope they
consider that. I have a feeling they are gonna say whatever is wrong isn’t
covered! But filed last week and haven’t heard back so I’m hoping to get
this straightened out. And no I’ve never had one of those watches. May
consider if this doesn’t work out. I’d just like to know what’s wrong with
it to cause it to do this and if there’s any fix at all. I’ve read till I’m
blue in the face and am no further than when I started. If anyone finds a
fix or what to do please let me know. I’ve reset/ restarted and that
doesn’t do a thing.

[Acbaez]

I hope they replace it for you! I’ve learned nothing new. I’ve let it be dead for weeks now tried again today hoping for the best and it went right back to the on/off notifications so it’ll die again soon. I’ve given up. Just getting a Apple Watch! It’s clearly a software issue not a device issue and they aren’t fixing it or even trying to by the looks of it!

via iPhone

[davidgarzon98]

Fitbit clearly doesn't care about their customers enough to provide a solution to this issue. That's why it's better to switch to another device that doesn't die within a few months for a known defect. Has anyone tried Polar M430 or Garmin Vivoactive? 

[MarreFitbit]

Hi everyone! We totally understand where your concern are coming from, believe me. 

As it has been mentioned in this thread, the warranty in most of the regions is only for 365 days. (In Europe due to the law, is extended for 2 years). This means that your tracker will be cover for a full year and in this period of time you can receive any replacement in case of a defect. But this warranty does not apply to the new tracker extending the time. The period of warranty would be only applicable on your original purchase until the 365 days have expired.

Also, if you received a replacement within the warranty (365 days) it does not mean it won't be valid after this. So, if your tracker fails again and your tracker still is between the time of the original warranty, you might be eligible for a replacement based on the resolution of our Support Team, this applies until the stipulated time of the warranty has expired.

I understand you've invested in the Fitbit Family.  While customer satisfaction remains our number one goal, the demands of running a global business require that we enforce our warranty consistently. The 25% discount option some of you have received as per our Warranty Policies 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 truly appreciate your feedback in regards to this topic, don't hesitate that the feedback has been passed to our team as it helps us to give our customer a better service over all. 

See you around until the next one.

[Khxor]

Not all of us are asking for a replacement under warranty or even a discount on another one...How about some acknowledgement that you guys know what the problem is and that it can be fixed?  Why would I buy another one if there is no indication that you guys are doing anything to prevent this from occurring over and over?  All we are getting is scripted responses.

[captainmp]

Mine started this morning.  I am very upset because I am pretty sure my warranty just expired.  Has there been any resolution from fitbit themselves?

Moderator edit: Removed caps and format 

[HeydyF]

Hey @captainmp, welcome aboard! If the Charge 2 is turning on/off the notifications randomly, I'd like you to follow this steps to try to fix this inconvenience: 

• Make sure that your Fitbit app is up-to-date (Android 2.74. iOS 2.52)
• Restart your Charge 2
• Turn off the Bluetooth
• Shut off your phone and turn it on after 1-2 minutes
• Turn on the Bluetooth

• From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap the Account icon >  your device image.
• Tap Notifications.
• Turn off all notifications
• Restart your phone.
• Open the Fitbit app and turn notifications back on
• Sync your Charge 2

@Khxor, I hope you are doin' fine! We have acknowledged this problem and after a complete analyse, our team determines if your Charge 2 needs to be replaced or not. We are mentioning all this information about warranty because there is a limit of time to get a replacement in case that yours isn't working, but other options are always taken into consideration to get our users back on track. 

And you don't have to worry, our team is always investigating emerging issues, and looking for workaround, so please be patient while a definitely resolution comes up.  

Keep us posted guys! 

[Mairharper]

Back in May, I did get my Fitbit to start again following this process and can confirm that it worked. But the joy was short lived. It let me down absolutely not long after.
You may be lucky and perhaps yours will recover but many of the users on this site have determined that once this fault kicks in, the Fitbit is on its way out.

It’s not good enough to say that the fault is being investigated when so many of us have got a defunct failed device in our hands. We are a loyal bunch of users in the main, but we are frustrated.

[HeydyF]

I hope you are doin' good @Mairharper! I'm sorry to hear that these steps worked out just for a little while for you. Please note that, when we say that our team is investigating this issue, is because they are taking the time to find out what is happening with our devices and try to find a solution as soon as they can. In the meantime, we try to offer tips and workarounds that have been given positive results. If yours still giving you this issue with the notifications, please let me know, and I will continue assisting you. 

Keep me posted! 

[Live2BKind]

So, any suggestions for notifications NOT working at all? I’ve checked and double checked the settings and everything is turned on and they still don’t work.

[Acbaez]

Well my device hasn’t worked for almost a month! But it seems people have been talking about this problem for some time! Any updates on what has been done to figure it out? What’s causing it? Any real solutions?

Xibara via iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

In the end I had a 2 year replacement plan and sent it in and they finally
sent me a e-gift card for $200 and ordered me another one. So I guess it’s
not fixable. - Thanks to everyone that helped and responded!

[blue_Jan]

Update on my Charge 2:

After encountering the cycle of message on/off I just left my Charge in the drawer for a week. The battery was completly empty and I gave it another try. During charging I was greeted by the message "www.fitbit.com/setup". I was quite happy that the memory of the Charge seemed to be on factory default and hoping that a new setup would get me out of trouble...during establishing the bluetooth connection the Charge displays a 4 digit PIN code to verify the connection. Unfortunately the PIN disappeared after less than a second. During a second try I was able to memorize the PIN in this short period of time and entered the PIN into the app. Unfortunately the PIN was not accepted, several tries later I gave up.

Conclusion:

I have the feeling that the PIN code can be deleted/invalidated by the push of the button. It seems that this problem and the cyle of the messages have the same cause, something inside the Charge is broken and the button sends constantly the signal that it is being pushed. I think that a hardware defect around the button is now more likely than a firmware problem. Something around there is not engineered to last.

Another problem:

Beside the weakness of engineering around the button I found another point of failure. The golden contacts for charging are not hardened. I used to charge the Charge everyday during my shower time (let's say around 400 charging events so far) and the gold contact on one side is nearly gone. Another thing that is not ment to last. I get the strong feeling of planned obsolescence. If it was planned then it is quite clever engineering to introduce these points of failure that work as long as the warranty lasts but then the likelyhood of failure goes way up. If it is not planned then some engineer needs more lessons in reliability