Charge 4 says battery not charging

[Tpdale]

Hi,

The last two times I’ve been out for a run (with the Fitbit using my phone gps) after about 10 minutes I’ve got a message on the Charge 4 saying ‘battery not charging, check charger’. There’s no issue with the battery or the charger as far as I can tell as I had only just taken it off charge and it was at 100% prior to my run.  Shortly after this message I then get another saying gps not available, so I’m not able to track my route.  Everything else seems to be functioning normally.  

any ideas?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Tpdale, welcome to the community, I must say I've not come across the "Charging" issue you mention, allowing it is fully charged this may not be something of concern. If you keep seeing it you might like to "reboot" your device, see the second part of this video for a demonstration. 

GPS loss of signal depends on your GPS settings, the default setting for GPS is "Dynamic" which looks for your phone's GPS but if not found goes to the Built-in GPS which can use 40% of your battery reserve in 2 hours. I use the "Phone" GPS setting because I carry my phone with me when out for a walk. You may find this article How do I use GPS on my Fitbit device? of use.

Do post here again if progress escapes you.

Cheers

[platman]

I also have this issue. I’m pretty sure it is from sweat across the charge contacts. It only happens when I am sweating. I’ve had this Fitbit for maybe 9 months and it only started doing it after the 1.100.34 update. 

[Tpdale]

Hi, 

Since my initial post I tried cleaning up the back and resetting/restarting the device, but I still get the ‘battery not charging’ message (gps link to phone now ok).  Now you mention it, I think this also started for me only after the last update...

[BobCrout]

Yes same problem since last update, the message randomly appears regardless of wether I'm exercising or relaxing. Rebooting has had no effect.  

[Tinaghy]

Charge 4 of about three weeks old. 
I am getting the message “check charger. Battery is not charging” when the device is on my wrist and the battery is fine (even at 90%). 
Is this a known problem? What is there to do?

[steelrat69]

I also have this problem which seemed to start after last firmware update, and at same time my GPS has become highly erratic having worked pretty well previously.  Tried restarting/rebooting device but problem perists

[SunsetRunner]

I am getting the same message when I wear my charge 4 ouside in the sun. I gets quite warm an the message comes. This happened twice on last friday and then again today several times when sitting in the sunshine. The message disappears when the charge 4 gets colder, and I have no problem with regular charging. Can it be that this whatch is not suitable for wearing out in the sunshine?

[JenroseB]

Last weekend I got an alert twice that said Battery not charging check charger.  I reset my Charge 4 and it hasn't happened since.

Today (and a few times in the past) after getting a calender alert on my fitbit and dismissing it, I keep getting alerts that say the alert is expired and no longer valid.  It has vibrated with that alert more than 20 times in the last hour.  And of course, it started when I wasn't home near the charger to reset.

If this was a one time issue that restarting the fitbit resolved it wouldn't be a huge deal but this isn't the first time it's happened.  

[MrsNemo]

Me, too. Also since most recent update. It just randomly tells me it’s not charging. Well, duh! Its not even on the charger. And it hasn’t been low on charge either. 

[LizzyFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hi everyone. It's great to see you around the Community Forums. @Gr4ndp4 Thanks for stopping by to help our users.

@Tpdale, @platman, @Tpdale and @MrsNemo Thanks for bringing this to our attention, as well for the steps tried prior to posting. This is weird as you shouldn't get that message if your tracker isn't even charging. Is it possible to take a picture of that message? You can attach it to your reply with the steps described here.

Additionally, let's try reconnecting your tracker to your account to see how it goes:

1. Remove your Charge 4 from the Bluetooth settings.
2. Force quit the Fitbit app.
3. Restart your Charge 4 with the charging cable one more time.
4. Open the Fitbit app, tap your profile picture > Set Up a Device.
5. Select your Charge 4, choose Replace Device and follow the onscreen instructions.

[platman]

Photo of error 

I did not find a way to insert a picture, so attaching a link.  I hope this helps.  To be forthright, if I could go back to the old firmware version, I would.  Battery drains almost twice as fast.  1 charger per week was one of the primary reason when my Charge 3 died, that I purchased a Charge 4.  I was making it on 1 charge per week before the update.  There are some other annoying things that I wish there would be settings to control such as vibrating "active call" when I am on the phone.

[DD1962]

I have had numerous problems since the new update. Watch says it isn't charging while I am wearing it. I have to log out of and then back into app to see sleep score. It tells me it needs to be paired and connected to my Bluetooth even though it already is. Has none of these problems before the recent update

[BobCrout]

Well I sent a photo as requested but have had no reply, ironically the problem has now escalated to a point where the "battery not charging" message is a constant.

Perhaps time to review the options available on the market, this type of product is now common place and there is no need to be faithful to any brand.

If it don't work dump it.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @platman, @DD1962 and @BobCrout. It's nice to see you here again.

Thanks for getting back with the requested information, as well as trying the tips suggested in my post. @platman Thank you also for the picture. Because your Charge 4 continues showing that message, I've gone ahead and escalated your details to our team so they can investigate what may be occurring and identify a solution as soon as possible. I'm sorry for this inconvenience and your patience is appreciated. I'll update this thread once I receive more details from them.

Have a good day.

[BobCrout]

Thanks, but no need to include me in any further correspondence, I no longer have the Charge 4, I  was so feed up with constant hassle of what should have been a trouble free experience that a change of brand seemed the best solution.

[NSBob]

Thanks for escalating this problem as I am also having this problem. The Fitbit freezes when this message is displayed and the only way I can get it working again is to attach it to the charger for a second and it disappears and functions properly again.

Bob

[Tpdale]

Since my original post when I started this thread, in the last 2 weeks my Fitbit has also now unexpectedly started to shut down during my runs without any warning.  It’s as if it is out of battery, but on both occasions had more than 25% charge remaining.  I have been unable to bring it back to life until returning home and connecting to the charger for a few seconds (which then reconfirmed the battery was not flat).  I’m starting to get really annoyed with this unreliability and am now considering alternatives.  It had functioned fine for the first year of ownership but is now totally unfit for purpose.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Tpdale , welcome, you do not mention how long your run is or the starting reserve in your battery. The advice is to ensure you have at least 80% at the start. Where you are using built-in GPS (or Dynamic which defaults to built-in if the phone not found) you can use 40% of your reserve in two hours. The small form nature of the Charge 4 inevitably leads to limited battery capacity.

Cheers

[Tpdale]

Hi Gr4ndp4, On all occasions I had at least 25% charge, normally more, and was not using GPS.  It shuts down after approx only 10 minutes.  It’s not running out of battery as there is no warning (normally if it were to be running low on battery there are vibration alerts and battery low indicator on the display).  When reconnecting to the charger when I get home to bring it back to life it immediately shows it still has plenty of charge remaining.