Fitbit Charge 3 Lifespan

[ACheung22]

Hey everyone,

I got my Fitbit just over a year ago (Christmas 2018) and the battery just died 3 days ago. I've been resetting, charging, and doing everything I can but the battery is just out. I contacted support and my warranty is expired (just barely!). I was not able to get any help from customer support.

I wanted to ask how long other Charge 3s have lasted? 

Thanks,

Alex

[Rich_Laue]

This depends on how the battery is maintained. I received my Charge 3 a month before released and it still is going strong. 

[ACheung22]

I've always charged at around 20% battery remaining. What are your best practices for maintaining the battery?

[Rich_Laue]

The best practices for any lithium battery have not been my best practice. It often drops below 30% but I try not to charge to 100%. 

Ideally it gets charged about 30% and not much above 80%. Mine usually gets to 90. 

Note that Tesla tries to set up charging stops and times to keep the charge within the 30 - 80 rule. 

[wonggeo]

Mine lasted exactly 1yr 1 mth.

[Bluegrassgr03]

My Charge 3 just died at 1 year 2 months (from normal use) and Fitbit is not being cooperative giving me a replacement, despite being only 68 DAYS out of warranty. Ridiculous. I spoke to a supervisor and he told me there was absolutely nothing they would do for me (other than a 25% discount, which is less of a discount than my company's employee wellness program offers), and there was no way to escalate to a higher decision maker. I told him that was a terrible way to treat a customer that has been a loyal Fitbit user for over 7 years - still would not budge. I still have two Charge 2's that are alive and well (used daily) after more than 3 years, and Fitbit Ones that are still alive from seven years ago, so this Charge 3 was obviously faulty.  Very frustrated. 

[ACheung22]

I had a very similar experience with customer service. It was super frustrating. They don't care about their customers at all. 

[Cor_Swe]

I bought my Charge 3 when it was released in Oct. 2018. In January this year, pulse measurements started to get crazy. A few months ago, the display went black, and nothing would revive it. In the last few days, the battery gets low rapidly - within hours. So I guess it has reached its end of life. After 1.5 years. That's very disappointing. I'm done with Fitbit. 

[Bluegrassgr03]

I'm happy to report that after 2 online support chats (2 days ago and today, the first of which was supposed to result in a follow-up email from a supervisor the next day, which did not happen), a phone conversation today with a Customer Service supervisor, a post of frustration on the Fitbit Facebook page, and a Facebook Messenger inquiry (which Fitbit requested in response to my Facebook post), another Customer Service supervisor just sent me an email granting a 1-time replacement of my device (although it only has a 30 day warranty,  so I just ordered a $35 2-year warranty from Square Trade for it). The squeaky wheel method worked.

#callmekaren

[jamesod147]

I’ve had mire or less the exact same experience. I can barely see the display and I’ve only had it since November 2018. Not impressed. 

[ChrissiFi]

I got my first Charge 3 in Autumn 2019 (a partial warranty replacement for my Charge 2 that failed just outside warranty - I pushed and got a 50% discount on an upgrade because I was just outside the 2 year UK warranty).  The battery died within a few months and I was sent a replacement in November 2019.  In the last few days the screen on that one's developed lines across the top half (unreadable) and has dimmed considerably (hard re-boot etc haven't made a difference - this happened on my first Charge 2 after a couple of years).  In the UK I get a 2 year warranty so have just gone through contacting Fitbit and sorting out the replacement as it's under 18 months old - they were really helpful (especially as ideally they need the old one back but due to covid restrictions and them only using DHL pickup locations that I can't get to at the moment I can't send it off right now). I'm actually really happy with the Charge 3 for what it does, just not so with the lack of longeivity and so far I've not had anyone from Fitbit confirm the life expectancy of their devices.  If they say I'll be lucky to get past the warranty then fine - although they'd be making a loss if they had to replace every device a couple of times and deal with the bad reputation.  I'd rather know that it's designed for say 2 years 1 month as I can figure if it's worth the cost when purchasing.

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello everyone. @ChrissiFi, welcome to the community forums! 

Thank you very much for the information and for taking the time to provide your feedback! At this time, I'd like to let you know that our engineering team ensures that our Fitbit devices go through rigorous testing to ensure that they meet the high-quality standards expected. However, due to some factors that are beyond human control, materials that these devices are made of also reaches its limitation. Same with other devices, it may encounter a manufacturing issue that we can only determine once the customer has experienced it.

On a side note, our Support Team also confirmed that you have reached out to them and they have provided assistance. Since you have received assistance from them, I suggest you to update your case if you require further assistance or if you have any additional questions about the outcome of your case. 

See you around. 

[Sierra_L]

I got mine at the same time. After 2 years and 7 months, my display is acting out, and (so far) I haven’t been able to fix it. I looked online, and it said that Fitbit kid expectancies are typically 1-2 years.

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @Sierra_L. Welcome to the community forums. 

Thank you for the detailed information. If you haven't done so, I recommend performing a restart to your Charge 3. You can complete the restart by following the steps here.

If that doesn't work, please reach out to our Support Team for further assistance. You can contact them through chat or over the phone. Click here to get connected. 

Hope this helps. 

[lsagirl]

Just got off the phone with customer service and had the same experience. So disappointed that they are unwilling to help. I purchased a new watch band at Christmas and my tracker died after 2 years. The will not allow me to return the unopened band which is now adding to the pile of Fitbit I now own. I have been loyal to Fitbit for many years but am now no longer a customer. I suggested they make a product that lasts rather than create cheap products that contribute to electronic waste.  I am so very frustrated and disappointed.

Moderator edit: format

[SunsetRunner]

I have a Charge 3 that I purchased in December 2018 to replace my Alta HR with a dodgy wristband. No issues with battery sorry, but the same issue as Cor_Swe where my heart rate monitor has gone mental and frequently has me in cardio or peak even while at rest.

The Facebook chat was helpful and they opened a case where I got an email straight up saying no replacement. I wasn't expecting nor even asked for one, but wanted to fix this obvious hardware problem for a device that's barely 2.5 years old. So I received another email thanking me for my feedback but not actually confirming there is more troubleshooting/nothing that can be done and I now own a glorified pedometer. I've sent another email trying to confirm this, but although they say they value their customers I certainly don't feel like it if I can't even get a simple answer to a question.

All in all, pretty disappointing and I wouldn't have wasted my money if I knew I would not even get 3 years out of the device. Now I have to save for a few months to get something else.

[Varrick]

I've been fairly happy with Fitbit & my Charge 3, but from reading these posts it looks like I'm on borrowed time. Not a fun pun to be in. I wonder what will be next, or if Google will be able to engineer things for the good going forward?

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @lsagirl, @SunsetRunner, @Varrick. Welcome to the community forums. 

I apologize for the inconveniences experienced and thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. I'd like to let you know that our team is always working to enhance your experience and your feedback is a big part of that process. 

Your comments definitely help to continue working on improvements to our services and products. Thanks for your patience. 

See you around. 

[joy_darlene]

I bought mine on June 30, 2020 from Amazon.  It died on June 2, 2021.  I just squeaked by, under the warranty.  Customer Service offered either replacement (new or refurbished), or 50% a new one.  The warranty will expire July 2021 on the replacement they send.  I really liked it, for the year I had it, but the prices have all gone up, and I don't know if they are worth $200 (for an adult) to only last a year. 

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @joy_darlene. Welcome to the community forums. 

Thank you very much for the detailed information and for your feedback. Please note that our team is always working to enhance your experience and your feedback is a big part of that process. 

I was able to see that you have reached out to our Support Team and they provided information and assistance. If you still have any questions about your replacement or the warranty, you can reply back to your case and they will be glad to continue assisting you. You can also get more details about our warranty here: https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/legal/returns-and-warranty. 

See you around.