Is the Versa 2 battery replaceable or interchangeable?

[Michelleohio]

I've been told that the battery on Versa and Versa 2 cannot be replaced.  Recently on YouTube.com, there were a series of demonstrations showing how to remove and to replace the battery.  The company that did the demo sells the battery for about $15 and also will install it for a fee.  I was wondering if anyone has replaced their battery and how effective it has been.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[SRN3]

Hi @JRWelton, yes it is still holding its charge. Having the display
always On it lasts 3 to 4 days depending on how much exercise I do. I
recently turned off the Always-On display and it’s lasting between 5
to 6 days…

So I believe it doesn’t have the performance from the original battery
but I’m happy so far.

[Florida54]

Since you have nothing to lose, I would suggest taking it to the place that will replace the battery.

While you do not recommend replacing the battery, if the watch is not use able and it is beyond the warrant, she might as well try replacing the battery. As long as it is not too expensive, she has nothing to lose but the cost of replacing the battery.

[B_Tucker_19]

I’ve had my Versa 2 for not even 2 years and the battery drains so quickly that I need to charge it twice a day. Overnight it drains before I get up in the morning. I cannot see purchasing another Fitbit if the company doesn’t support this issue except under certain circumstances…it’s obviously a serious issue and I’ll be happy to inform my friends on Facebook and Twitter of Fitbit’s unwillingness to support their product(s).

[Guy_]

Hi @B_Tucker_19  - have you tried to isolate the cause which may not be the battery at all?

Like, did you

• sync and do a full Shutdown from the watch Settings About menu (wait at least 10 seconds before restarting)
• Remove any Spo2 clock face or change to another clock face
• turn off snore detection
• turn off phone Bluetooth for a day or 2
• Check pertinent features in How to change Temperature - for Weather, Centigrade - Fahrenheit, Sense

To see if it is a feature or function issue rather than the battery.

Also did the watch get wet at some point because if water got in and/or you had a problem at some point, there can be internal damage which may drain the battery.

[MayankLeo]

Yes, it's the same case with me. I bought it in 2019 and now battery doesn't hold it for 6 hours. I have stopped all services still the watch doesn't hold charge. it seems to me as versa2 product is faulty or low quality. It's pretty frustrating 

[PaddyIo]

I have the same issue - my Versa 2 does not hold charge for more than a few hours. I do love my Fitbit but am seriously considering the Apple Watch. I am the sole holdout amongst my circle that is not on Apple

[fromage9747]

If anyone wants to start a change.org I will sign!  I know it won't end up doing anything... but it's something! 

[TorontoP]

I switched to Apple Watch. I like it overall but one caveat: it has to be charged every 24 hours. (I miss the old days when my Fitbit charge lasted 5 days!). Likely for that reason the Apple has no sleep analysis, as most people will put it in the charger over night. 

I was an early Fitbit user and always enjoyed the product. The customer support (or lack of it) sent me away. Why not reveal the true battery life at purchase, and let the consumer decide whether they want to buy anyway? Or better yet, offer battery replacement. 

[PaddyIo]

I do love the sleep analysis. I’m going to order the battery - I’m past warranty anyway. 

[Suz1961]

Their CSR sucks. As well as the products. My versa was replaced twice with a versa. The third time it was a versa2 for replacement. Band had to be replaced by fitbit once on the 2. It broke again and I bought a metal mesh band. The v2 has problems too. Messages, calls and notifications are sketchy at best. Some days they work some days they don't. It just started  battery draining.  Full charge today dead tomorrow. Sometimes it charges correctly sometimes it doesn't. This year the front face of the watch fell out. I had to silicone it back in. BEST thing about this  problematic time piece is the pics of my dog for the watch face. When it works! Lol when it dies for good I will just go back to my trusty timex!

[Smith14]

I am just off chat with them..same answers out of warranty but surely there is some comeback if a product is not fit for purpose 

[PaddyIo]

My battery will arrive tomorrow. Let’s see how it works out …

My battery arrived and it is working very well. Last charged on 8/15 - today is 8/17 and it still has 40% charge. So I would say this is a success. IN the meantime I did buy an Apple Watch and am now in a dilemma trying to figure out whether I should stick with the fitbit or move to Apple Watch. It seems like the resting heart rate is more accurate on the Apple Watch. 

[Smith14]

Stick with Apple 🙂

[fromage9747]

Apple does not have continuous heart rate monitoring. It's periodic. 

[Guy_]

Ho @PaddyIo - Can you please itemise the steps taken to replace the battery. This may be helpful to others.

In particular:

Did you do a full shutdown or a factory reset before changing the battery or deciding to change the battery?  Did it not fix the problem?

If you actually replaced the battery, did you have to set it up as a new watch again?

Where did you get the battery?

How did you break and make the seal to keep it waterproof?

Disconnecting the battery would equate to a full Shutdown [or a complete crash] or even a complete loss of memory. So the following recovery is important to know.

[PaddyIo]

1. I bought the battery at ifixit.com for about $30 

2. No factory reset - just took out old battery and put new one in. did not have to setup as new device

3. detailed instructions on YouTube - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZeT1Zmbt9QE

4. Bought tools for about $40 and glue for $7 to make the seal

note: my Versa is old and past warranty. So this was more of an experiment to see what happens. I have since bought an Apple Watch and am using the Fitbit for a side by side comparison with the Apple Watch. 

[Guy_]

@PaddyIo  - thanks for posting the details, very enterprising.

Looks like the operation equates to a full Shutdown which also often restores things to normal.

It is a strange behaviour for the battery to only last a few hours, unless it suffered water damage.

What sort of battery life do you get now?

[PaddyIo]

Now I get about 4 days to a charge although I am transitioning to my Apple watch. I wore both for a week to compare but this week I stopped using the fitbit. I will give my fitbit to a friend who wants to try before they buy.

Not sure why the fitbit stopped holding charge - I think I tried a full shutdown but it did not make a difference. I still like the fitbit more than the Apple watch especially because I have to charge the Apple watch every single day! Batteries are the bane of modern life!

[Guy_]

@PaddyIo - thanks, that certainly seems a reasonable battery that someone could expect.

I'm sure the person you give it to will want to keep it!

Btw, my Nokia Steel HR goes about 2 months per charge, though I only wear it at night but don't turn it off during the day.

That is the sort of battery life which is what we should be aiming for, at least weeks, not days or hours. 

My Casio went 5 years on a battery, at least. Somewhere down the line the plot has got lost! IMHO 

[SunsetRunner]

Well, add me to the list of individuals who purchased a Fitbit Versa 2 (February 2021), consistently enjoyed  6-7 days worth of operations on a fully charged battery, and is now suddenly and inexplicably down to ~ 2 days, without having changed anything at all in the settings and usage of the device.

I mean, of course, I expected this to happen eventually, but not after not even two years! The battery of the Pebble watch I had before lasted four years before I finally had to ditch it (after trying to replace the battery following instructions posted on YouTube and breaking the watch -- you need to be a tech to do stuff like that and have the proper tools, btw).

What I don't understand are the people who post comments saying that it is not a battery issue but it has to do with how we use the watch. I swear they must be trolling or working for Fitbit (or, Google I guess). How is it not a battery issue if one has no problem for a year and a half and all fo a sudden the battery stops holding the charge, even though one is using the watch in the same identical way? Please, people, if you cannot be helpful at least don't make us even angrier than we are already....