Versa battery suddenly dying

[MrGlenn]

 Has anyone else experienced this issue: the battery is charged almost fully, let's say between 80-100%, and then suddenly you notice the watch has turned itself off and shows 0% when trying to reboot it.

This has happened a few times to me over the last few weeks now and it's starting to become annoying. This does not seem to be not a case of battery drain, I don't notice any drops in % it just suddenly switches off. When this doesn't happen the device easily lasts 4 days, with the exact same usage. So I cannot tell what is causing this.

Looking for some input before I contact support about this.

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[CT39]

I usually take my versa off  at night and put it on the charger when I take a bath, then when I come out it is usually fully charged. I wouldn't normally have to charge it every night as it is usually around 75% or so at the end of the day, I just like to have it up to 100% before I go to bed.   I have had it for about four months now.  Last night when I put it on the charger, I noticed the fitbit symbol come on the screen which usually indicates that it is off, but then it just came back up with the current percentage on the screen and continued to charge.  When I got ready to put it back on a while later, it was fully charged, nothing wrong.  It worked over night, but around 8:00 this morning, it just completely shut off, battery 0%.  I tried putting it back on the charger, but nothing, just a black screen.  I left it on there a while and finally just took it off and when I did, it was very hot.  I called fitbit right away and they told me "it was not a common problem", but they were aware of it and sent me a return label and said they will send me a replacement of the device only.  I was told not to send back the box or any accessories, just the fitbit and they would send me just another fitbit, so I do not know if the replacement will in fact be a "new fitbit" or a refurbished situation, but hopefully it actually works because they also informed me that it would only remain under warranty until the expiration of my original one. So, this one will only be under warranty for less than 8 months.  I have a friend whose daughter has the exact same model "versa" and she has had hers for about a year now with no issues at all, so hopefully the new one will work. Fingers crossed.

[LiliyaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @CT39. It's nice to see you around @Lydibug. I am sorry for the delayed response. 

@Lydibug thank you for sharing your experience. I understand your concerns and appreciate your feedback. We're constantly working on improving our devices and user experiences. I could see that you got in touch with our Support team about this and that they were able to help you. Thank you for your time and efforts. 

@CT39 I appreciate your participation in the Forums and providing the details of the issue with your Fitbit Versa. Thank you for taking the time to get in touch with our Support Team. I'm glad to hear that you had a great experience with them and now you'll receive a replacement! Depending on available inventory, we sometimes issue factory-certified refurbished products as warranty replacements. These are typically products that were returned to Fitbit unused for reasons like wrong size and wrong color. This product is tested and determined to work like new, with minimal wear and tear. 

Don't hesitate to get back if you have any questions. Keep on stepping!

[SweetLaLa1024]

My Special Edition is out of warranty by 2.5 months!  Battery goes from 100% to 0 in 4 hours!  I was at 70% at 1:30pm and here it is at 2:28pm and I am at 53%!  I spoke with Customer support and even though this is CLEARLY an ongoing issue and a KNOWN issue, because I am 2.5 months out of warranty I do not get a replacement!  Not even a refurbished replacement! They tried to give me 25% off, and I balked!  I don't want that!  I want a replacement!  They in turn gave me 40%.  That's great, but how about sending me a replacement for your faulty product????  I don't want to give you MORE money for another faulty product, as this seems to be a known problem with the battery of the Versa!!!  Super pissed and will be looking into other products!

[Jcoprasm]

So the replacement versa that I received approx 2 months ago is already starting to show battery issues. The charge lasts half a day and dies if I wear it overnight so I can no longer log sleep patterns. 

I 100% agree this is a known issue and if it is not affecting ALL versa watches then several lot#s have been affected. Fitbit should do the right thing and declare a voluntary recall. I’ll be contacting customer service again, but in 2-3 months time I too will be out of warranty and therefore out of luck. I WILL NOT purchase another Fitbit again if this is not properly rectified and will move to a new platform. Sounds like I am not alone. 

[bookiewookie]

This is the EXACT same thing that’s happening to me now. I also got the Special Edition Versa that’s a couple of months out of warranty and all they can do is offer 40% off another one of their terrible products. I’m definitely going to look into Garmin. I bought a Garmin Vivofit 3 a few years and my husband is still wearing it. 

[Mamasgirl38]

Or just get a cheap from Amazon that way if it goes out just throw it away.
I don't know much about Garmin. At any rate they seem to be pricey.

Moderator edit: personal information removed

[SweetLaLa1024]

@bookiewookie I am now looking into the Garmin Vivoactive 3!  Warranty is WAY better and does not seem to have the battery issues unless you are on GPS.  I spent $250 for a piece of junk Versa!  I could have spent around the same amount and still had my tracker!!!

[Mamasgirl38]

Cool

Moderator edit: personal information removed

[Jcoprasm]

I just received a second replacement for my Versa, the original unit being approx 9 months old.  The first two had significant battery issues, the first unable to turn back on after completely losing its charge and the second holding a charge for at most, half a day. I was discouraged to see I was sent a “refurbished” unit. I have zero confidence in this replacement and fully expect the battery issue to show itself, possibly even sooner this time than the last two times, and likely just after my warranty runs out. 

To the Fitbit moderator, there are countless posts about battery issues. Every single one of them the same. Do the right thing by your customers and declare a voluntary recall. Clearly there is a problem with the VERSA battery. 

[CT39]

Within 2 weeks I received a brand new versa from fitbit. It came in a box with all the accessories, etc. I had to uninstall and reinstall the fitbit app to get all the features to work after updating it, but everything seems to be fine with it. I noticed on my first one that when charging it would get up to 99% pretty fast then it would take a long time for it to go to 100%. With this one it goes to 100% pretty quickly so I'm confident it was just the device I had before. This one seems to be great. Fingers crossed it is good for a long time.

[Mamasgirl38]

Absolutely, stated very well, I returned mine within the warranty period
and haven't heard from Fitbit. I have reached out to my Law Firm for
action. These people believe they can take and gain from our hard earned
dollars, like others on American Greed. This seriously needs addressing and
refunds given for bad product!!!!
You read story after story of this it is a issue...

Moderator edit: personal information removed

[Mamasgirl38]

Good luck! I have no confidence in this product any longer....

Moderator edit: personal information removed

[Jcoprasm]

I feel the exact same way. 

[Mamasgirl38]

Understood!

Moderator edit: personal information removed

[bookiewookie]

I FINALLY FOUND A REPAIR SERVICE!!!

https://www.joesge.com/pages/repair-services

It’s free shipping there and back. They’ll tell you what’s wrong and how much it costs to fix. If you don’t go through with it, they’ll send it back and if it costs more to fix than the cost of the Versa, they’ll just give you a new one. 

I’ve sent them my Fitbit today. I figured I had nothing to lose. My Versa is out of warranty and battery issue is horrendous so makes it pretty much useless. Hopefully they can fix it.

Otherwise I’m just going to buy the Garmin Vivosmart 4. Or the Samsung Galaxy Fit. Basically, ANYTHING EXCEPT FITBIT. 

[Mamasgirl38]

That's great hopefully it's able to be fixed! Sounds good! Thanks for
sharing...

Moderator edit: personal information removed

[tennis1627]

I was happy Fit bit Versa owner from pre-order time over a year ago and now my Versa is completely DEAD.

Started with fast draining battery for a couple days and full unresponsive device now. 

All that time I was free great advertisement for Fit bit showing and explaining features and options of this use to be good device who replaced my nice swiss mechanical watch on my hand and was with me on all advantures

Now it is history and looks lIke i'm not alone.

My daugter Versa jus floded i  the pool a couplemonth ago too.

This is too expensive for just one year and no action from Fitbit. 

With all my love - i'm out of being loyal Fitbit customer.

Time to look for relaible product and company standing behind their product and customers.

[Waynes-World]

Oh dear, now I very worried about mine.

Long story short - I'm on Versa no 2.....well....WAS (it's currently sitting in the back garden cooling down because it seriously overheated......AGAIN!)

Versa no 1 lasted for 3 months before the screen went wrong (another known issue). Replacement sent out and told to responsibly recycle the original (which I did).

Versa no 2 arrived on Wednesday. Took it out on the bike a couple of hours later with a 75% charge. 20 mins later it's too hot to touch and has turned off (well...actually it's drained to 0% battery).

Did the same again on Thursday , and again this morning.

Called support last night and they expect me to send it back and wait for a replacement (from what I was told....I'm looking at about 2 weeks without the watch).

1. I'm not prepared to wait whilst you change an obviously dangerous battery and return the same tracker - heaven only knows what else has fried inside with the heat coming out of it

2. I'm not prepared to put a potentially dangerous battery into the hands of a courier who then runs the risk of it catching fire en-route. Happy to have it correctly recycled (there's a centre at the end of my village that handle this type of waste).

As for the 3 replacements and then no more - FitBit might like to look into UK consumer law. You have until the final day of the warrantee to keep replacing/repairing it - there are no maximum number of times on a faulty product.

IF I choose to return this one (I'm currently considering a 3rd party assessment on it by Trading Standards to see what's wrong and will decide on what action to take then), I'm dreading it going wrong again.

Afraid I've lost all faith in FitBit after just 4 months of owning one. My previous Apple Watch ran for 3 years without fault. Might have to look at getting a new one of those instead I'm afraid.

[Waynes-World]

Okaaaay....

I've heard back from my solicitor. It appears that I don't have to accept FitBit's offer of replacement (again!), and can instead insist on a full refund from Amazon (where it was purchased from) under the UK Consumer Rights Act 🙂 

Just need to somehow contact Amazon and get it safely back to them now (even a dead LiPo battery as fitted in these things when faulty can be dangerous!)

Bye bye FitBit!

[Mamasgirl38]

Awesome, do that, let us know how that goes for you....curious...

Moderator edit: personal info removed