Fitbit Versa battery draining after latest update 1/9/19

[ejsafdeye]

I am experiencing my battery draining very much since the latest update on or about 1/9/19. I took it off the charger last night, about 1:30. By 7;30 am it was at 64%. I then put it back on the charger and removed it about half an hour later. It was at 92%.  Now at 2:00 pm, it has 52%. What is happening? Why is the battery draining so much? This didn’t happen before the update. 

[Marrrmaduke]

@ejsafdeye Not normal. Are you using any 3rd party clockfaces or apps? If yes, which one? Is your tracker syncing without issues? When was the last sync? What's your phone model and OS? Are you running 2.84 Fitbit mobile app? Have you tried rebooting your tracker several times by pressing and holding the left and bottom right buttons until Fitbit logo flashes?

[ejsafdeye]

I am using the Weather Pro Watch Clockface. I am not running any other apps that I know of. My tracker is syncing fine. I am using an Iphone XS. I am using Version 32.33.1.30 on my Watch and the latest version on my iPhone.


Thank you,

Moderator edit: removed personal information

[Marrrmaduke]

@ejsafdeye Took a look at that watchface. It's very stats heavy. I can almost guarantee that refreshing all these stats (e.g. steps, heart rate, battery etc.), which happens in the background, will consume your battery like crazy. Depending on the refresh rate, you can be down to 2 days. Only developer knows what the refresh rate is. They mention only weather refresh (between 1 and 4 hours which is very reasonable), but nothing about the stats. From my experience those are battery hogs. So, there are several things you can do to test it:

1. charge your Versa to 100% (let's say keep it charging for minimum 4 hours)
2. turn off 'Run in the background' permission for the clockface, though it may malfunction. To do that, go to Fitbit mobile app, tap on Versa icon, tap on Clocks, tap on your Clockface image, More details and Permissions. Toggle Run in the background Off and sync your tracker.
3. alternatively, instead of #2 you can simply change the clockface to one of Fitbit originals just to test the battery life.

Report back. Also, how long does the battery last right now, with the current clockface?

[ejsafdeye]

Ok.. I will try one of those things. I took my watch off the charger this afternoon at about 3:00pm. It was 92%. Now At 10:50 it is at 48%.
Thank you,

Moderator edit: removed personal information

[Marrrmaduke]

@ejsafdeye ouch. it's like 5.5 % per hour. At this rate it's not gonna last more than 18 hours. Ok, please change your clockface now to one of Fitbit originals, for example Layers. Then, reboot your Versa several times by pressing and holding the left and bottom right buttons until Fitbit logo flashes, and place it for charging (4 hours or so). It needs to be 100% when you tap on it when it's still in the dock. Remove from the dock and use as usual. Let's see how battery behaves. 

[ejsafdeye]

ok. I will try this. I changed the clock face to Layers. Rebooted 3 times. Now I’ll put on the charger.

Thank you,

Moderator edit: removed personal information

[Marrrmaduke]

@ejsafdeye great! 🙂

[H3rocketman]

How can Fitbit justify destroying someone's device with a forced firmware update and refuse to replace it?

[Marrrmaduke]

@H3rocketman forced? If you were running 2.2 then you had to tap install to update to 3.0. Fitbit can't force you to update. If you get a new device out of box, it's a different matter. The watch will update automatically during setup. If that's your case, you should be able to get a replacement. 

[ejsafdeye]

I wore the watch over night. It started out at 100% at 1:30 am. At 7:15 it was at 62%. This is after doing all that you told me to do. Any other ideas?

Thank you,

Moderator edit: removed personal information

[Marrrmaduke]

@ejsafdeye something is brutally chomping on your battery. At this point, factory reset is recommended. This will wipe your Versa, so please sync first. You will also need to delete your tracker from the Fitbit account (in the Fitbit mobile app) and your Paired Devices list in your phone Bluetooth settings. Reboot your phone. You can perform factory reset by going to Settings on your Versa, scrolling down to About and tapping Factory Reset. Once Versa resets to factory defaults, you will need to set it up again by adding it as a new device in the Fitbit mobile app. Good luck!

[H3rocketman]

Factory reset loads the most recent firmware. Doesn't give you a choice.

[ejsafdeye]

I did a factory reset last night. Charged it till 99%. Then I wore it over night. 1:30-7:15. When I woke up, it was at 69%. Now what?

Thank you,

Moderator edit: removed personal information

[H3rocketman]

Better than me. I charged to 99%. Put it on at 10PM. Got up at 6am to a dead watch. Battery totally depleted.

Get Outlook for Android

[Haleyaltman]

Mine has been doing the same thing

[H3rocketman]

Keep an eye out. This morning, I saw firmware version 32.4.0.20 in the app. I chatted with Support and was told this is the new (intended) release coming soon. Hopefully, this fixes the battery issue. I tried to load it but it failed.They withdrew it before I could. I'm told they are still making fixes to it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[Haleyaltman]

Awesome! Thanks for the info!

[Marrrmaduke]

@ejsafdeye sorry missed your reply! i would contact customer support for a replacement device. not sure when a firmware update will be rolled out to everyone.

[KtStowers]

I am having the same problem and switched the face of the watch to be minimal but I have to manually tap it to come on. Very disappointed.