Charge 2 won't hold a charge anymore

[buildintechie]

Hey all-

  I've got a Charge 2...it's my 3rd fitbit in almost 5 years.  I had a Charge, Charge HR, both of which lasted at about 2 years.  This Charge 2, I've loved, however I'm 42 days outside the warranty period and last week the device suddenly stop holding a charge for more than 10-12 hours.  Prior to that it would still hold a charge for at least 3-4 days.  Support offered me a 25% off coupon ($35ish off another Charge 2).  But I'm concerned that my next device is going to do the same thing after a year.  Wanted to get ya'lls feedback and see if anybody else has had trouble?  I'm also disappointed that 25% is all Fitbit would do for a multi-device, multi-year customer, but I guess keeping customer loyalty isn't what it used to be?

Thanks

~Jeff in NC

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[MarreFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @buildintechie! Thank you for the thorough feedback for the Fitbit devices. This has not gone unnoticed and be sure that I will pass this along.

We don't want to create frustration in our customers. Fitbit has been designed to provide motivation and help you to reach your daily goals to success. Please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on that feedback.

The warranty in most of the regions is only for 365 days. (In Europe due to the law, is extended for 2 years). This mean that your tracker will be cover for a full year and in this period of time you can received any replacement is require in case of a defect. But this warranty does not apply to that 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 apply until the stipulated time of the warranty has expired.

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.   

Personally, I have had my Charge 2 since 2016 and my battery has been lasting as expected. Keep in mind that the battery will last depending of the usage, take a look at the article: Can I improve my Fitbit device's battery life?

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

[skonthebass]

I am currently experiencing the same problem.  I've had my Charge 2 since May of 2017.  I've had to have a new band sent to me, but not the fitbit itself.  Now in July 2018 it seems to only hold a charge for a short period.  I put it on the charger all night last night and at 2pm today it says it is dead.  I like others have grown to really love the Fitbit software and community but the hardware and it's implementation (e.g. crappy wristbands that fall off or apart in under a year) really really sucks!  Take note FitBit when you stood on the cusp of being a great name in the fitness witness game and instead took the short sighted approach and lost all your customer loyalists.

[SunsetRunner]

Could not agree more! I had even bought stock in the company because I had been so impressed but now my Charge 2 won't hold a charge, I've had two bands break...the last time, they basically told me to go and buy a cheap replacement. And now the unit itself isn't working. Wow.

[buildintechie]

That’s why I’ve switched to a garmin vivioactive 3.

Much happier.

Sent from my iPhone

[whereshegoes]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but Fitbit screwed me for 3 devices back in 2013-14. I quit them back then when they pull this exact crap on me. Have been using Garmin for years and LOVE it and their CS who I haven't really had to deal with because their stuff works. 

[rosgre]

Is your Charge2 syncing properly?  I have found that when the Charge 2 is constantly trying to sync and failing, the battery life drops to less than a day.  If you can, turn off your auto syncing in the app and see if your battery life improves

[MawMawJ2]

I'm having the same issue. I've had my Charge 2 for seven months. It held a charge for 5-6 days to begin with, then dropped to 3-4 days after a couple of months, and then finally a day...maybe two. I took it off charge around 3 pm yesterday after letting it charge for a couple of hours, but it was completely dead by 12:30 am.  I've got the all day sync set to off, so I'm wondering if there is something else that I might be doing to shorten the battery life. This is truly frustrating because I really do enjoy my Fitbit.

[Holly23]

The same thing is happening with my Fitbit Charge 2, which I love.  A few weeks ago, the heart monitor stopped working.  I tried the "trouble shooting" suggestions and reset it and also went in to make sure heart monitor tracking was "on", which it was.  I had no luck.  I've had it for about two years so after contacting Fitbit support, I was also given a 25% discount on a new one since the warranty on mine expired.  Sadly Fitbit no longer makes the Charge 2, so I ordered a Charge 3 and received that last week.  Since I love my Fitbit Charge 2 was still keeping track of daily steps and everything else except the heart rate monitor worked, I continued using it.  It needed charged yesterday and I charged it.  This morning the battery was completely dead, so I recharged it.  Just now, I went to see how many steps I needed for my "hourly step" goal and saw that the battery was almost dead, so it's recharging again.  I did an internet search on that and came to this message.  I'm only commenting since others seem to have the same issue and for something as expensive as Fitbit are, I think this is an issue that may need some looking into to prevent this from happening.  I love the Fitbits, but if this happens with my Charge 3, which I will now obviously need to use, I won't be replacing it and will just go back to using a wrist watch in the future.  I really do like the Fitbits but they aren't worth the price for something that seems to only last 1 - 2 years. 

[EZO320]

I am in the same boat as Holly23 and others. My Charge2 will no longer hold a charge for more than 5 minutes. I am in a weekly competition and have 1200 steps after 2 days after averaging 20-30k per day. After several resets and cleaning the contacts with toothpick and alcohol I remain frustrated.

Fitbit Help

[JRcan]

Me too!

I just had my fitbit Charge 2 turn on me  - 6 months after the warranty expired. This is my third fitbit that has died within the year following the warranty expiration. I also fell for the "coupon come-on" twice now but I am done that built-in obsolescence loop.

I actually loved my Charge 2 and extolled its virtues to others (probably a dozen or more) to get them into it too. I apologize to them.

I am switching to the Apple Watch Series 4 with the EKG feature!. My Apple products have been way more reliable from both a hardware and software experience and I cannot say the same about Fitbit. Too bad. Not sad. Just mad.

[Beka13]

Same boat. Mine stopped holding a charge for more than 2 days tops, for 2 weeks wouldn't track steps, and sleep it is now showing I am only getting 3 hours a night when I have slept through the night. There are many times it wont even be low and I will wake up and my Charge 2 will be dead. This is my 3rd FitBit since 2014 (the other 2 were replaced because of broken bands and were lost, different styles though with no issues). I have had the most trouble with this one, have gone through the suggested rest steps, and nothing is working.

[rosgre]

Yeah, I have now replaced mine with a Charge 3 and so far no problems. I only charge it once a week!


Sent from Mail for Windows 10

[Duncan22]

Same problem with my Charge 2. Battery lasts around 12 hours. Done the resets, reinstalled software, disabled all day refresh, notifications but stull runs down very quickly. Had it probably a couple of years now. How do I contact customer services direct?

[JRcan]

I would say you are where I was a week ago- and now I am no longer part of the Fitbit community. I will miss the app and my Charge 2, but not the feeling I have now had three times with Fitbit as a company: they are great at getting you in but after a year they are awful at keeping you there. It feels like they either are ignoring these long eerm issues or they planned on sucking us in to replace these expensive items way more often than we should - and that is despicable.

JRcan

[Beka13]

What did you switch to (if you dont mind my asking)? I am looking at my options, but there are so many to choose from now...Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S8.

[EZO320]

Charge 3

[JRcan]

I bought the Apple Watch series 4(i wanted the EKG option - otherwise I would have been content with the less expensive Series 3 I bought my daughter).

I love the Apple Watch - I am already an Apple user but had started with the Fitbit a long time ago. The available apps are amazing and the info/data I get is superior to Fitbit

I do not miss Fitbit one bit - especially what I have concluded is their intentionally designed breakdown after warranty. I never want to again be offered a silly coupon to pay them more money just to repeat the cycle.

Good luck on finding your new device



Moderator edit: personal info removed

[cclc]

Same problems. 

[EZO320]

Thanks for the info