Battery flat within 24 hours

[FrozenViking]

Hello,

I purchased my Versa on the day it was released and was very happy the first month, but for the past week it has been a nightmare. It used to last 4-5 days per charge and without changing my usage, any settings, or downloading any apps (or even changing the clock face), after doing a firmware update, the battery now drains in less than 24 hours. Very very irritating.

I've done a complete factory reset, but to no avail. I contacted customer support, per email, 3 days ago, but haven't head anything back. I've seen the suggestions, and to change daily sync and do everything else to "dumb" the watch down is not the answer I'm looking for, because it was working perfectly fine up until the last firmware update.

When are you going to fix this problem, because this is a show stopper? ... If it isn't fixed ASAP or I at least get an indication on when it will be fixed, the Versa will be returned along with an honest review and a warning posted.

Best regards,

A frozen and irritated viking

[Suikoden]

Exact same thing happened to me.  Fitbit will now have you jump through hoops, turn everything off, and do some "tests" so they can figure out what's gone wrong.

This is why they're slowly rolling out the update, we're the test dummies for their firmware updates.  There's a reason why you don't see other companies slowly rolling out updates like this.

[Feebes723]

Same thing here.

[smlatt]

HATE my new Fitbit Versa. The battery doesn't last an entire day. I like tracking my sleep patterns, also, but that is not even an option if you even attempt to wear it all day. I am a techy, so I've tried every combination of every suggestion in the forum and I would not recommend this watch to anybody. It's awful. I'm definitely in the market for something else and will tell others to run from this product as fast as they can.

[Suikoden]

It's the latest update that's the problem. Myself and many others were getting the 3-4 days advertised, and since the update - lucky if I get a day.  I'm expecting some sort of announcement at the end of the month how the update rollout has been postponed because a "select few" devices (all of them) have had inadvertant battery drain on the .15 update.

[Gaurav_347]

Facing the exact same problem . I bought mine on the 8th of May. I don't have any sync or notifications on. I have had them off from the very first day.. The brightness is set to dim. The vibration is set to medium. I don't use my fitbit for Music. I had even removed all the third party apps from my fitbit the very first day . I Don't have any alarms. The battery dies off within 15-16 hours. It was perfect buy for the first few days . I did get an update in between and I believe that's what caused the battery drain problem . I have since reset the watch atleast 5 times  and have tired all possible things mentioned on the forum but the problem still presists. I have emailed the support team I think I have got a defective item and I definitely need a replacement! 

[AmongGumTrees]

Same thing here too. Now that you mention it, I am sure it also started after the firmware update for me too. I also haven't changed anything about my usage, apps or screen settings. At the moment I'm charging my fitbit daily and it always seems to be flat or about to go flat. My husband doesn't seem to have had the same issue with his though. 

[Suikoden]

The update only went out to ~10% of users.  Check the settings app on your Versa (swipe left), scroll to the bottom, click "about" and you'll find yours says version 32.32.10.15.  Your husband will be on an older version.  That's why his battery life isn't awful.  We're just the lucky few alpha-testers that got a half-baked update forced onto us.

[FrozenViking]

I'm also on the version: 32.32.10.15

At least we know what the problem is: that last version, now Fitbit needs to take charge and either roll it back or come with a new update.

The radio silence on the support ticket is what really irritates me: When you buy a product and contact the support team, you expect an answer, even if they try to stall by making you run through all the hoops. I've heard nothing. I'm guessing it is because they have been overwhelmed by irritated Versa owners and rather than acknowledge that they've screwed up, they piss me off further, by ignoring me. That's where this forum is good, because you feel like you're not alone, when you see others having the same problem.

[AmongGumTrees]

Yes that's the version I have however my husband has the same version and
doesn't have the same issue. Maybe it's a female health tracking related
issue since that app didn't appear for him.

[FrozenViking]

I don't think that's the case, because I'm in the same camp as your husband and am definitely not using the female tracking, and I have exactly the same battery issue.

[Gaurav_347]

So nobody cares about it?? Where is the support team ? Why don't they reply to the emails or on this thread ? This is was my first fitbit and I am so disappointed!

[Suikoden]

I talked with their customer support - they'll get you to turn off all the features, sync it every hour for them, and then they'll do "tests" on their end.

Basically they read you the user manual and then don't get back to you. It's just something to keep you busy and think they're doing something about it.  

[Gaurav_347]

I have all the features turned off from the very first day! I have all day sync off . I have the notifications off. Even the fitbit is now off. I have stopped wearing mine. I don't want to go through the hassle of charging it every few hours. Will try another reset today. It's already on zero . Will let it die completely..

[POHB]

It's more subtle than just having 32.32.10.15 installed.  I've had the update for ages now and have no battery issues, it lasts at least 4 days.  All day sync and notifications are on.

[Gaurav_347]

---

@POHB wrote:

It's more subtle than just having 32.32.10.15 installed.  I've had the update for ages now and have no battery issues, it lasts at least 4 days.  All day sync and notifications are on.

---

The others have probably got a defective batch then. 

[FrozenViking]

It's interesting to note that it appears not to be a problem on all the Versa, but for me the triggering factor seems to be the 32.32.10.15 firmware update. It could be that I'm part of a few selected that received a watch from a faulty bunch. It's now been 5,5 days since I contacted customer support and I've still not heard anything back from them, except for this automated message when I contacted them:

"We know every step counts, so we make every effort to reply quickly. However, due to high contact volume, we may need 2 or more days to respond."

I'm definitely part of the "... or more days to respond". This is perhaps the most frustrating part, because when you purchase a product and it is obvious there is a problem with it, you expect the company to want to remedy the problem. Instead I get complete radio silence from Fitbit, they don't even comment it on this thread, when they are commenting on other threads. This is not the way to build brand loyalty.

[Gaurav_347]

I am sailing in the same boat boat as you are . Sent them a message 3 days back and still no reply from their side . I should have given the 200 usd to charity instead! 

[AMIGrAve]

Hi there, sorry to do a cross post but I found out the following thread was related: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Versa/Versa-Firmware-Release-32-32-10-15/td-p/2690045

I was about to buy this device until I found your messages and that's frightening.

Some users reported that changing the background theme to another official one solved their battery issues after the update. (note it seems the theme should be changed even it the current one was supposed to be an official one).

I don't own this device myself but I would be curious if the users affected with the issue could try to change the theme/background or whatever it's called on their device and report if it fixed the issue.

Thanks.

[FrozenViking]

Today my Fitbit lasted less than 18 hours.

On a positive note Fitbit support just got back to me with the following message:

We are sorry for this issue and will be glad to assist you and provide you with a resolution as soon as possible.

Upon reviewing in our system, we can confirm the following information:

1. the features that can impact battery's life such as notifications/silent alarms/sync alla day, are disabled;
2. the only active feature that can impact battery's life is the reminder to move;
3. the battery of your smartwatch recently drains in 1 day or less.

While it is a bit creepy that they were able to check all of this, at least they're not making me jump through hoops to prove that the Versa isn't working, like others have been asked to do.

They also asked me to confirm where I live and where I purchased the Versa. Now I'm very curious to see what happens next and how fast they resolve it.

My display has also gotten some problems: it looks like tiny lines on it, kind of like interlaced TV used to look like, so it appears that my Versa isn't doing too well. I tried changing the face/background, but it did not change the situation, nor change the quick battery drain.