Just to give you my short history with Fitbit and its build "quality". I bought my first Charge 2 in June of 2017. After a solid 4 months, a botched firmware update made it randomly unresponsive to user input (pressing the button or touching the screen). Enter Charge 2 #2, sent to me by the reseller as per warranty. This one lasted a whopping 1 year and 6 months until, out of nowhere, the heart rate monitor lights became incredibly bright, heated up the device and drained the battery in about two hours. Another year, another Fitbit, right? As the Charge 2 was unavailable by that time, I had to pay 10 Euros extra to get a Charge 3, also in warranty. Right from the start, the physical button wasn't the best, but hey, nothing serious, right? Until the screen started to dim without explanation after about a year. Meh, I thought, stuff I can live with. Until the screen died completely after 2 years, 2 months and 15 days. My longest living Fitbit almost made it to preschool, but not quite. The year is 2021, and Fitbit has wasted petroleum and lithium on three devices whose reliability is sub-par to say the least. By now, I'll take a Ford Pinto over a Charge 2/3 anytime.
Oh, and just in case you're wondering: no, I never put them through gruelling below-zero multi-day winter hikes, nor the Hawaii Iron Man, or even an ordinary shower. Apart from the occasional bump into a door or desk, I handled them quite carefully.
Alas, now the time has come to part from Fitbit for good. All I can say is: I hope you're having better luck with yours, and if not: I hope they break down *during* the warranty period.
All the best
JJN
