Effects of charging Versa daily

[CPK-Chantal]

Does charging Fitbit Versa daily (or even more than once a day) bad for the batterie life/it?

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[SunsetRunner · Accepted solution]

Let's put it this way.  Lithium-Ion rechargeable batteries like the one in your Versa are life rated by number of charge cycles. So, the more charge cycles you have, the sooner it will wear out. I recommend using your Versa down to about 10%-15%  charge left and then charge it. Sometimes, the situation requires you to do otherwise and that's okay too.

[CPK-Chantal]

Thank you cbwilsha, that was a very quick and super helpful response to my question. Have yourself a good day and a great weekend.

[SunsetRunner]

There is a table in the article below that shows the number of times you can expect to be able to charge it, depending on the charge remaining when you charge it. The higher the charge it has when you charge it, the more often it can be charged, if you follow me. (On the other hand, you don't want to be charging it too often when it already is 90% charged.) A full discharge cycle is usually described as 100% charged to no charge, from what I read. So one discharge cycle would be two discharges from 100% to 50%, for example.

From the article: "Cycling in mid-state-of-charge would have best longevity."

http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/how_to_prolong_lithium_based_batteries

There's another article I found that could be helpful, too, at The Conversation. It's about phone batteries mainly, but has some good tips (phone batteries are the same technology):

http://theconversation.com/explainer-how-to-extend-your-phones-battery-life-80958

[CPK-Chantal]

Thank you SuzyZhen, that was a very informative and timely response to my question. I actually was putting my versa on the charger when it was 90% or even higher the last few days. The batterie charge goes down much quicker with the Versa than my previous 3 Fitbits and about a week ago I had to recharge it at a very unpractical time and I’ve been trying to avoid that happening again (maybe a bit too aggressively in hindsight LOL). Thanks again and have a good day and a great weekend. Love evidence/research-based answers.

Moderator edit: format

[SunsetRunner]

Hi CPK-Chantal. I only got the Versa a few days ago. With all the discussions about battery life, I've been monitoring it. (I can be a tad obsessive and have it all plotted out in Excel ha ha )

It looks as if with moderate use my tracker will last at least four or five days before the battery zonks out completely. (It's been almost three days since it was fully charged and is now showing 42% charge.) I'll probably just try to remember to charge it every second or third day when it's about 40% or 50% charged.

The reminders come when it's about 25% charged, but I don't think it's necessary to wait that long.  Like you, I'd rather err on the side of caution.

[CPK-Chantal]

SECOND REPLY TO SuzyZhen

I just got my Versa recently also (on June 24). In all fairness, the Versa batterie charge goes down quicker than my Charge 2 but it does last more than a day or 2 like some have said in the comments/forums. I use it to track my workouts and not for phone related notifications, plus I turn off the “all day sync”.

PS

I also like making excel charts and worksheets to track stuff. You can’t consider it obsessive or a waste of time if in the long run it makes things more efficient.

Shout out to EXCEL 2016 LOL

[SunsetRunner]

Yep, mine ran down quickly at first. It's probably because I was checking it and syncing it all the time, and loading up music and stuff. It might also be benefiting from calibration. (I let it run down to about 20% then recharged it.)

While I'm checking the battery life this time around, I'm not using it as much. Plus I've unfortunately had to take a couple of rest days so it's not working as hard to monitor steps etc. I got into workouts with a bit too much enthusiasm at first 😞

I expect with normal usage it'll easily last 3 days, and with moderate to light use (e.g. syncing only once or twice a day) it will last 4 or 5 days if I let it go that long.