Versa 3 battery is draining quickly

[VirtualVersa]

Hi Support,  

I have a Versa 3, been a brilliant device over the last 3 years and needed charging once every 5 days, but for last 10 days or so, it now needs recharging everyday (lasts < 24 hours only). 
I have not made any changes to settings. 
Have since read other posts about settings to minimise battery use etc , but what has changed is not clear? Version upgrade? It’s version 36.128.6.17. 

Any advice appreciated but I have already tried suggestions posted in other tickets. 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Rickyneil]

I, too, have the Versa 3 and the latest version.  I did notice my battery life was next to nothing only after a few hours probably because my Clock was on all the time.  The clock changed after the update.  I went into setting, on the actual watch, and touched "Display" and then scrolled down to "Always on Display" and then turned it "Off".  I did this last week Friday and have yet to charge my battery.  Maybe try this and see if it works.

[Guy_]

Hi all, if your watch has developed a fault it can use a lot of battery all of a sudden. The most common reason is moisture getting in.

However to make sure it is the watch and not due to the Fitbit App try this.

Turn off the phone's Bluetooth overnight and / or logout of the Fitbit App and fully charge and restart the watch so it is running afresh.

Swipe the watch face to the right to get to Quick Settings and don't use the Always On setting, optionally turn off Wrist wake and do turn on Sleep mode at night.

In this standalone mode you can monitor battery life of the watch itself.

As a last resort you can factory reset (not without risk) but if the watch has a fault it won't fix it but merely confirm it has a fault.

During this standalone test you won't get notifications or be able to sync for as long as you run the test. The watch will retain at least 3 days of data.

If you don't notice an improvement unfortunately the watch has a fault.

All the same here is a common list of things that can affect battery life just in case one got missed, when you are not running in standalone mode mostly.

How to resolve the Major issues causing short battery life

[VirtualVersa]

Just to report latest. Within few weeks of battery life degrading without obvious reasons other than big coincidence of a system update for some us who have reported it above, my Versa now will not even charge!!  It gets quite hot after few minutes but now will not charge at all. 
Very frustrated and ripped off user that it went down hill so quickly, ultimately now will go in recycle bin. 
Shame FitBit/Google. 

[Guy_]

@VirtualVersa - thanks for your feedback, unfortunately it seems to be a hardware fault as originally suspected, and not fixable once it gets hot while charging.

[VirtualVersa]

Thank you Guy. Wonder how many more users will report same ? 

[Ctinamoran]

I just got a new Fitbit less than a month ago and it only stays charged for 24 hours. My Fitbit Sense lasted 3-5 days. Sense 2 is 24 hours. I’m beyond frustrated as I’ve worn a Fitbit for 7 years and the products seem to advance in tracking accuracy, but regress when it comes to the actual hardware.  

[DrHelga]

Hello Guy and all the others 😊

I followed your advice and checked what you said. It did not change anything and my watch did not become wet in any special way. It did not improve the situation. My watch is also not becoming especially warm while charging. Now I charge it twice per day and I switch it on night mode before going to bed.

Please do not tell me that it is a watch problem. It is more than unlikely to be.

Last night, 18/04/2024, I read the reviews in the Play Store, and again this morning, 19/04/2024, and I noticed that the scoring went from 3.6 to 3.5. Considering there are over 1 million reviews, that is very significant. The complaints go from how bad the new interface is, especially the sleeping charts, to massive sync problems. I can only agree about the interface. It is not user-friendly at all anymore. The sleeping charts are barely legible because of the colours used and over-written with the time spent in each sleep phase. Many stats are hidden now and one has to search for them.

I had already started to look into a Versa 4 but I will most likely rather look for an alternative to Fitbit for my next watch. 

I am very disappointed as I really loved both my Versa 3 (and before that the Ionic) and the app. But now the quality is such that I just wish I could go back to the previous version and deeply regret that I downloaded the new one. From what I could see from the reviews, many customers have exactly the same feeling. It is a shame 😡

[Kay-Evans]

I’ve tried everything too and it hasn’t made a difference to the battery! I’m looking into getting a Garmin in the next couple of weeks as unimpressed with Fitbit now, I’ve had 4 since 2015!

Kay

Sent from my iPhone

[Yardimatt]

 Mine just recently started really weird battery behavior. When I charge it to 99 or 100% it drops down to 85% almost immediately.

[ChicagoBob]

It is truly sad to see Google kill another purchased brand. Sad.

Their arrogance is too much.

I will move away from them with my next purchase. And, it hurts…

[ChicagoBob]

Kay, I agree. I have had 3. Google killed the radio star… Fitbit.

[zemiriii]

The same is happening with my Versa Lite! I thought it was the battery itself that was giving up after almost 5 years, but it started overnight which makes me think it must have something to do with an update on the mobile phone app. I did some tests and turning off bluetooth, the battery lasts for 5+ days as before, with bluetooth on, it drops to 85% almost immediately after being charged and doesn't last 2 full days. Apart from the fact that with the new update, the whole app is total crap now, they also are ruining the watch performance. Way to go! I don't want to get rid of a watch that is still working but the ridiculously low battery life and the "improved" application make the decision to switch to any other brand other than fitbit very easy. I'm super disappointed.