Charge 4 battery dying extremely fast

[ally223344]

My charge 4's battery lasts for 3 hours at most before dying, even after it's been charged fully. I've already made sure that the GPS settings are at 'Phone GPS' as opposed to 'In-built' GPS, but the problem persists. Not sure of what to do - it worked fine for the past few months (bought it in early 2020) but has suddenly begun acting up. I have also updated the tracker, but this has not changed anything. Please help!

Moderator edit: subject for clarity 

[Gr4ndp4 · Accepted solution]

Hi, @ally223344 , welcome to the community, I have to admit that faced with your battery drain symptom I would assume it's due to the GPS setting. I suggest you double-check your GPS setting ensuring it is on "phone GPS" and not on built-in or Dynamic GPS (which defaults to the built-in GPS if the phone is not found). I'm sure you know using the built-in setting drains about 40% of the battery in 2 hours. Try "rebooting" your Charge 4, this video demonstrates the process in the second part. Does your Charge 4 heat up when you are charging it or using it? if this is the case it would indicate an unusual hardware fault and you should talk to "Customer Support" here 

Let me know how you get on.

Cheers

[AZbirder]

Where do you find the GPS settings?  While my Charge 4 is not draining that quickly, it's certainly not lasting the 7 days that Fitbit claims.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @AZbirder, welcome, from the clock face on your charge 4 swipe left to settings, swipe up until you reach GPS. If you have just set up your Charge 4 you will be waiting for an update 48.20001.96.29 with this feature and other significant features to download. The update arrives in segments in your Fitbit App when all are present you will get a banner on your phone app with instructions.

Cheers

[AZbirder]

Thank you!

--
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better --
Albert Einstein

[Takoh]

Hallo ally

Genau dein Problem mit dem Akku habe ich auch. Jetzt im Winter ist mir zusätzlich aufgefallen, dass die Charge 4 bei Kälte einfach abstellt, auch wenn der Akku noch fast voll ist. Ist das bei dir auch der Fall?

[AZbirder]

No, it hasn't been that cold here yet. It sounds like you need to contact
Fitbit for a replacement. That shouldn't be happening.

--
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better --
Albert Einstein

[ally223344]

Hi, thanks for your response! My GPS setting is definitely on 'phone gps' and I've tried rebooting it + clearing all data, but unfortunately it still dies after about 4 hours. I will contact customer support as you've suggested. Thanks for the help 🙂 

------------------------------------

Hello! I think you might have to contact customer support too - that's what I'm going to do! Seems like there might be something wrong with the hardware in our watches.

[4000Nelken]

Hallo an Alle,

seit der Vorwoche entlädt sich der Akku recht schnell. Ich bin etwas besorgt, jetzt hält er nur noch 6 Tage. Davor waren es zumindest 7 Tage. Ich verwende die Charge4 immer gleich viel/lang. Was kann ich tun? Abgestellt hat sich die Charge4 jedoch nicht, auch nicht bei kalten Temperaturen.

Vielen Dank für Eure Hilfe!

Liebe Grüße, Roswitha

[Dave8]

Did this ever get resolved for you? My device got briefly wet (should be waterproof), then went bonkers on battery for a week. Then it resolved, but I was recently putting up Christmas lights in a light drizzle, and my Charge 4 returned to full battery depletion in 4ish hours. I tried customer service but that was super frustrating. 

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Dave8, welcome, your Charge 4 is waterproof, I swim with mine. You do not mention how long you have had your Charge 4, very old devices inevitably start to show battery problems. Also, check out this article Why isn't my Fitbit device's battery charging?   I would suggest you check your Charge 4 for any damage that might allow water ingress, though if this has occurred I would expect total failure. Note my point about GPS in the earlier post. If charging is slow clean your device with warm soapy water, make sure it's dry before attempting to charge it.

I hope this helps but if you are still stuck please post here again.

Cheers 

[Rockprof]

...but Nature will not fix the battery drain on your Fitbit.

[Rockprof]

How the heck were we supposed to know this???

[robie_c]

their watches are typically useless after a year.  disposable fitbits.  i was warned prior to my purchase but i still bought their watch for me and my wife and learned the hard way. ours lasted for only one & a half years

[Dave8]

Yep, I'm on my third, all have died around 1.5 years. I'm almost at a year
on the Versa, and it just shut itself off for the first time with an 80%
charge.

[Ainsdale]

Me too. I tried checking GPS, rebooting,  cleaning, and battery drains after 2 hours. This is my 3th fitbit in 5 years. It appears fitbit is designed with a built-in obsolescence time frame of 1.5 years. While I like the functionality, it's time to move on to a different brand.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Ainsdale talk to "Customer Support" using the chat facility or phone for a prompt response, note when & where you bought your device before setting up the call.

Cheers

[Ainsdale]

Thank you.

[ally223344]

@Ainsdale All 3 of my fibits have had the same issue, and I've finally given up on fitbit as well. If you're looking for alternatives, Garmin's watches have pretty good reviews - I'm currently using a Venu sq 2 watch and it has more features than fitbit's charge 4 and 5. It also syncs to the app much faster than fitbit. 

Make the switch! Fitbit is not worth the money at all. 

[Ainsdale]

Thank you. I'll take a look.