Defective of Design Sense Charger Cable - your formal response is long overdue

[white60ld]

I challenge the Fitbit Design Team to explain why the weak pins on the charging connector keep failing?

You must recognise that offering to replace the connectors under warranty DOES NOT constitute a solution to this issue. There are thousands of your customers dissatisfied with this situation, and it it is clearly damaging the reputation of your brand.

[SunsetRunner]

I would ask that you please point to the thousands of customers dissatisfied. I have the Sense and the Versa 3 (same cable) and have not experienced any failures with either cable after 2 years. There are always random failures in any product. Offering a free replacement under warranty sounds like the perfect solution. And if you are out of warranty, you can get a genuine Fitbit cable on Amazon for less than $20. Frankly, of all the Fitbits I have had, this so far has proven to be the most convenient cable to date.

[DMHENT]

Since the bottom post asks for these so called thousands of bad chargers, let’s give him what he asks.  If anything he is probably the first person since 2021 that I have seen with no issues from the defective charger.  If anything I would love to know how you manage to have your cord not break. Ive owned Fitbit for years and this watch is by far the worst product I have encountered. The device itself is amazing if you can get past the charging part. Fitbit needs to learn from the Ionic. I owned that product for almost 4 years until they forced me to return it due to a” recall”. I urge those with the same charging issue to please post on here so it doesn’t get forgotten how horrible this design really is 

[CB809957]

I received and started using my Sense on December 5, 2021. As of today (July 12, 2022) I am currently on my SEVENTH charger. Three of those chargers were Fitbit brand, and four were less expensive off brands (because it's expensive to keep buying something for $20 bucks a pop that you know is just going to break in a month).  All of these chargers have failed the same way--one of the charging prongs falls into the magnetic base. If one prong fails, the charger no longer works. Fitbit support is less than helpful. Their job is to post on social media that there's nothing wrong with the charger, this is just a "me" problem. They keep trying to get me to continue my complaint privately so others don't see that they are doing nothing to fix the problem (and likely so they can keep saying it isn't a problem). Then I have to jump through hoops to get a replacement charger.  

I'm planning to cut my losses and buy a different watch. Right now there isn't much out there with the features I want. The Sense itself is a great watch, and I want my new watch to have all of those same features--but with a charger that works consistently. I see that there are some promising options being released in the fall, so I'll just have to buy another half dozen inexpensive chargers to get me through until then.

For the person who says there aren't thousands of broken chargers out there, I challenge you to do a simple Google search for "Sense charger won't charge" or "Sense charger broken pin." Then go to Amazon, search for Sense replacement charger, and read the customer reviews. They are full of complaints about the pin. 

[Guy_]

Hi @CB809957 - yes the charge cables aren't reliable from the number of problems posted but it is possible usage has it's part to play which agreed shouldn't be an issue either.

To see if you can make a charge cable last longer for you have a look at these tips, it may help prolong them.Main charging tips 

[RickardR]

Yeah, got mine around may 2021. Gone through 3 cables so far (3rd started failing like 3 weeks ago, been able to jiggle it out by hitting it on a hard surface but now it's completely stuck inside). Just ordered 2 extra ones. For me it has been the same pin every time also (the "northwestern" one if you look on the pins) that sinks back in.

[Big_Norm]

It is always the same pin that fails, while holding the charger up by the cord, the pins facing you, the upper left pin furthest from the cord fails during long charges, I have had three chargers fail. I took one appart (This voids the warranty and is destructive) after disassembling the failed pin, I noticed discoloration, caused by overheating. Does not look like fitbit is willing to rectify the issue. The fitbit sense is, in my opinion, still a great watch but one must accept to buy a new charger once or twice a year.

[DMHENT]

What I find unique is that the only solution is to offer you a new charger at no cost until your warranty is out, then you are stuck paying out of pocket.  While it seems great receiving a new “OEM “ product, it does not solve the issue that should be considered a recall IMO. What I see happen is Fitbit will come on these forums and just offer bandages instead of long term solution. I love the Fitbit products but I feel they don’t return the love to our customers.  

[white60ld]

Hi, thanks for your reply - and I'm just responding to your request to provide some evidence of thousands of dissatisfied users.

Please scroll to the top of this page, where it says  - Search all content - and type "Sense Charger" (without quotes, of course).

When I did this search just now, there were 460 results, pretty much all concerning a failed charging lead, and most of the posts picking up #Ihavethesameissue from multiple users, many of whom report sucessive failures, with no resolution.

As another poster has mentioned, checking the Amazon reviews for any of the numerous 3rd Party cables will have large numbers of fitbit users complaining about failed cables.

Chances are that the 3rd party cables are cloning the fitbit design fairly closely, and it's this faulty design that is causing the problem.

[bevsc10]

Hi there

my sense won’t charge. I’ve looked and I too have one pin that is flat instead of raised. I’ve  tried to do a live chat and contact customer services to no avail. Do Fitbit send out a new charger my watch is only 7 months old. 

[Guy_]

Hi @bevsc10 - yes - they send out replacement chargers under warranty.

Try logout of the Fitbit app, clear the storage cache and force stop it, then restart the phone.

Login and click profile photo, Help & support, Contact Customer support, it should work.

[bevsc10]

Thanks I shall have a go . On my phone ap. 

So annoying it the top left one as you look at it with the cable going down. 

[bevsc10]

It’s sorted Thankyou. After managing to get on the customer service chat I’m being sent out a new charger free of charge.

Sent from my iPhone

[Clove6060]

I’m on the same charger since I bought the sense on 11/3/2020.

Those who are several chargers down the road should stop complaining, wake up, and buy a robust one on line.  Solve the problem. Why you wanna keep punishing yourself?

[CB809957]

Point me in the direction of a "robust charger," and I will gladly buy it. I'm tired of all the failed chargers. I am definitely not hard on them--quite the opposite, actually. I clean the back of my watch before putting it on the charger. I bought little jewelry brushes to clear the gunk out of the holes before charging. When I put my watch on the charger, I line the pins up with the charging holes and set it straight down so I don't have to jiggle the pins to get the watch to charge. I'm traveling now, and before I left, I bought a hard plastic case to store it in so that the pins won't be disturbed during travel.  I have purchased or been given three authentic name-brand chargers (all failed within a month or two), one expensive off brand desk charger (I got the longest use out of this one--three or four months), and two different off-brand charger two-packs that were really cheap (2 for $10). I'm on the second one of these now. The chargers in the first two-pack each failed in under a month. They've all failed the same way, with the upper left pin going flat. While I'm extremely careful with my chargers, I do use a lot of energy-zapping settings that require me to charge the watch every 24-36 hours.  So if using the charger on an almost daily basis is what causes it to fail, then I say again that the design is the problem.

[Guy_]

@CB809957- did you check the main charging tips posted earlier -  as @Clove6060  says the charge cables can work - my 2 charge cables still work after 175 charges in 22 months because I only charge about once every 5 days. It may be how it is operated or the number of times.

Note How do I clean my Fitbit device? 

[bevsc10]

Hi there
It’s definitely the charger pin that’s faulty . You can see when you look at the charger. The top left one is flat , instead of raised up, so it’s not making a connection . I only charge mine up once a week too and the charger is kept in a fabric pouch in my drawer. So don’t know how one of the prongs have become damaged. Looks like it’s a common fault. Fortunately it’s still under warranty and I am being sent out a new one FOC.

Sent from my iPhone

[Guy_]

@bevsc10- do you ever plug in the charge cable before adding your watch or remove the watch before disconnecting the cable?

If so it may be possible to create a short circuit and fuse the pin in question.

See the first tip in Main charging tips 

[bevsc10]

I won’t now Thankyou for that 👍

Sent from my iPhone

[MntGrl]

Same here.  4th charger in less than a year.