Sense 2 Battery issue...Fixed

[LSQ]

I've been contacting Fitbit concerning a battery drain. It was almost like a full time job. My watch wasn't lasting ONE DAY.

My contact with Fitbit via chat support didn't involve ANY troubleshooting. I was told they believed I had a faulty device, which seems to be the trend response. Also, no one has finished a post updating how this battery problem was fixed for them (or if it wasn't). Support said my watch was faulty, and they would replace my watch, but they needed to receive the old one before they'd send it! I waited over a week to receive this watch initially, then I'd have to go completely without it for weeks due to this terrible policy. (These days most companies ship you the replacement, and upon receipt you are sent the packaging to return a faulty device. You are charged if the faulty device isn't received within 30 days.)

So....the fix...

Upon another web search to sort out this situation, I found multiple postings how the O2 app was the problem. Unfortunately, there is no disable function for this setting. You have to uninstall the app completely. So, this smartwatch cannot handle the O2 sensing, which is one of the selling points. And, Fitbit support is not telling customers to remove it. This O2 app needs to be fixed by Fitbit.

Now, I've seen postings on how the clock faces can cause battery drain, as well as GPS use, and stress sensors...

I shut off GPS (no improvement), changed my clockface (no improvement), and I uninstalled O2 app (MASSIVE improvement!). The battery is holding a charge much better. Looks like it will last about 4 days now. However, they are saying this watch lasts 6 days on one full charge! Yet, when we receive it, it's STOCK loaded with settings that the watch cannot function properly off using.

This needs to change. I hope there are updates to fix all of these problems. This isn't right for a $250 device. Train your support staff, and do not send out with apps and settings that kill the watch battery.

[Guy_]

Hi @LSQ - thanks for posting your analysis - see How to resolve the Major issues causing short battery life. where SpO2 is mentioned specifically, though things have improved since then and it is rarely a problem.

I have been running the similar Versa 4 watch in total standalone mode for some days with SpO2 enabled and surprisingly get an indicated 20 days battery life [current level is 85% since that charge].

Worn normally I can get anything up to 14 days using SpO2 and haven't experienced any issues in not getting the results, so it is working, but am using the older V3 Fitbit App.

This is to indicate that there may be a more serious watch problem for you.

What were the results of your standalone test with SpO2?

It would be interesting also to indicate what firmware level you are running, if different from 194.86.

[LSQ]

I know you're trying to be helpful, but this post is not even talking about the same device. It just confuses the situation.

And, that link listing all of things to shut off is a joke! Yeah, let's disable everything that makes this a Sense 2.

Are you qualified to be telling people there's something wrong with their device? If we all have problems with this STOCK device, maybe we should all return it for a full refund.

I'm not putting my watch is standalone mode. I didn't buy it to use it like that. And, sharing your device's battery time in standalone mode is comparing apples with stones. It's completely irrelevant.

[Guy_]

@LSQ - using the watch in standalone mode to verify if it has a fault is only a way to confirm the watch has a fault or not.

In your case it almost certainly has a fault and a good way to verify it is to get a refurbished replacement under warranty (or simply get a refund if you are not happy).

On a new watch with the default set-up without using any GPS you should get around the 6+ days.

[LSQ]

I already said with O2 off I'm getting 5 days! You're confusing my post. You also don't not own a Sense 2. Please stop.

[Guy_]

@LSQ - if you are happy with not using SpO2 that is fine but you should be able to get the correct battery life with it on normally if everything is working correctly.