How long does a Charge HR battery last under normal use?

[jt_stl]

I am on my second Charge HR. The first one lasted about 8 months. The replacement has done better, it is 14 months old. However, I noticed this week that it was no longer holding a charge well. It was very reliably holding a charge 4-5 days. But then I needed to charge it after 3 days, then 2 days, I charged it yesterday and it was dead this morning. When I plug it in, it charges, but the charge drains very quickly.

Is this normal? Is a Charge HR only expected to last about a year in daily use? Is there some way to replace the battery? It's a rather expensive heart rate monitor if I need to buy a new one every year.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hey @jt_stl, nice to see you around. Thanks for sharing the feedback of your Fitbit experience.

I'll do my best to help you out with your replacement. With normal use, your fully charged Charge HR should last up to five days before needing a charge. You can check all these details on the manual page 6. What you're describing doesn't seem to be a normal behavior of the battery. 

Fitbit trackers are meant to last for a extended period or life, it will depend on different factors. You can follow the suggested steps in this article: Why isn't my battery charging? 

We recommend plugging your charging cable into a USB port on your computer or other low-energy device. If necessary, you can use a UL-certified USB wall charger. Don't use a USB hub or battery pack to charge, and only use the charging cable that came with your device. Make sure you've followed the suggested recomendatorios here. 

Hope it helps.

[jt_stl]

Thank you for replying to my question.

Up until last week, my Fitbit would last about 5 days between charges. As several others have mentioned discussing their Charge HRs, this behavior changed quite suddenly and now I am only getting a few hours between charges.

Also, as has been mentioned by others, when I plug the Fitbit into the USB port on my computer, it does charge. It will reach 100% in an hour or two. So the links to "why doesn't my Fitbit charge?" are a bit annoying, it makes the response seem generic, rather than a reply to my specific problem.

For the few hours when it has a charge, my FitBit Charge HR behaves just as it always has. So also as mentioned by many others, it is unfortunate that the Charge HR does not have a user replaceable battery nor does Fitbit offer a service to replace the battery.

When you say "Fitbit trackers are meant to last for a extended period or life" how long is that exactly? Certainly your engineers know approximately how many charging cycles to expect from the battery. I would guess I've recharged it about 100 times, which seems short.

[jt_stl]

I got an e-mail from Fitbit that read in part:

Hi @Theresab4961 ! Thanks for coming back and for doing everything suggested on @FerdinandFitbit's post. I'm sorry for the delay on this response. I appreciate also the image that you attached. Please note that the bar that you are seeing on the display is the firmware update progress bar, this is the reason why you have syncing issues and battery draining. I will advice to follow this steps to update the Charge HR, if this doesn't help unpair your Fitbit, and set it up again, the update will be done automatically. As for the band issue, I have created a case for you on our support department, they will be in contact shortly, please keep an eye on your inbox. 

Hello @jt_stl Sorry to hear that you are experiencing the same thing with your Charge HR, please follow the same steps and let me know how it goes.

If anyone is following this post. I am not seeing the firmware update progress bar that Theresab4961 is seeing. My Fitbit is back to syncing, if charged. I still have the same problem I originally reported that the battery is now only lasting hours rather than days. I am not seeing how following advice to solve a different problem could possibly help my situation.

I have reset my Fitbit several times and have had it charge for days. Even after a few hours, it claims it is fully charged. But the battery drains quickly. I have checked my settings. They are all default. I have no alarms set and heart beat is auto.

[jt_stl]

Tried cleaning the contacts and resetting the Fitbit Charge HR. That did not have any effect. I had found that if I charged it all night (12 hours) it would last a full day.

Until today. I unplugged it from the charging cable and it said 100% charged. It is now four hours later and the Fitbit is completely dead. I cannot even get it to show me the time.

[jt_stl]

Let me also add that it had been saying the battery charge was at medium at the end of the day. I checked the last sync (Had been off the charger about 3 hours) and it was already back down to medium. An hour later it was dead. I can press the button to reset the Fitbit, a green light flashes- but nothing on the display. I suspect if I charge it long enough it will work, but I would guess not more than a couple hours.

Even though I've not seen Fitbit formally acknowledge that the hard-wired battery has a limited life, what I am seeing would indicate that it does and I need to switch to a different fitness tracker that has a replaceable battery. I have a simple $35 step counter from WalMart that has outlasted both my Fitbit Charge HRs- and it has a replaceable battery! Though admittedly, it does not track heart rate.

[jt_stl]

I am totally confused now. My Fitbit app has disappeared from my PC.

[JohnH1453]

Yojana, can you answer the question? 

What is the expected battery life under normal, everyday usage? The technical people at Fitbit have the answer, but for some reason known only to the management team, are reluctant to publish it.

I've had my Fitbit for about two years. The battery life is now nearing an end. It requires much more frequent charging. Can the battery be replaced (without specialized tools like soldering irons)? What is the suggested plan of action for users when their battery has reached the end of its useful life?

I would hope someone at Fitbit has considered this scenario, if not please do so.

Thank you.

John Haggerty 

[BuffaloBill1]

Buy a Samsung tracker.  They work great!

[JohnH1453]

Thank you. I just may do that.

[juliej767]

when mine suddenly began holding a charge for much less time, I did a firm ware update and  it went back to holding a charge for several days

[Kuber]

I’m having similar battery dead problem with charge HR and Alta aswell

[LZeeW]

Hello @Kuber and welcome to the Community.  Both your Fitbits are older model trackers (2015-2016).  Rechargeable batteries have a lifespan, often reported to be 3-5 years.  I think both of your Fitbits are at their end of life.