Fitbit Sense shows "Slow Charging" message

[WehuttyWanker]

With every power source I've ever hooked my Sense up to, I get a "Slow Charging" message. What do you do here plug it into 120 AC outlet or something to satisfy its demands?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Irish57]

Good luck with getting them to recognize the issue!

Tried that, still slow charge! What charging cable did you purchase?

Moderator Edit: Merged replies

[Fittobittied]

I went on Amazon and entered Sense charging cable and picked the Maledan 2 pack compatible with Sense and Versa 3 and ever since have not gotten the slow charging message or any other charging issues.  

[jce48]

About two months ago my Sense charging cable had a pin that would not spring back out of the connector.  I contacted fitbit customer service and they sent me a new Sense charging cable. That worked for a while but the slow charging issue came back. I guess my post got the attention of Customer support as they contacted me and suggested: 

1. I turn off "Display always on" mode

2  Restart my Sense

3 Let my FitBit battery fully discharge then recharge my Fitbit.

I am in the process of completing step 3. My Sense is at 38% so it may be another day or so before it is fully discharged.

This recommended solution to slow charging issue, suggests the real issue is the battery. It has a memory like issue mudh like the first rechargeable batteries which required full discharge to reset the battery.

Time will tell.

[jce48]

While trying to find the fix for my slow charging problem, I tried over ten different chargers. That did not correct the problem. 

Agreed. the adapter does have a design flaw. 

About two months ago my Sense charging cable had a pin that would not spring back out of the connector.  I contacted fitbit customer service and they sent me a new Sense charging cable. That worked for a while but the slow charging issue came back. I guess my post got the attention of Customer support as they contacted me and suggested: 

1. I turn off "Display always on" mode

2  Restart my Sense

3 Let my FitBit battery fully discharge then recharge my Fitbit.

I am in the process of completing step 3. My Sense is at 38% so it may be another day or so before it is fully discharged.

This recommended solution to the slow charging issue, suggests the real issue is the battery. It has a memory issue like the first rechargeable batteries which required full discharge to reset the battery.

Moderator edit: merged posts. 

[jce48]

Fitbit CS finally contacted me and suggested the following fix:

1. I turn off "Display always on" mode

2  Restart my Sense

3 Let my FitBit battery fully discharge then recharge my Fitbit.

I am in the process of completing step 3. My Sense is at 38% so it may be another day or so before it is fully discharged.

This recommended solution to the slow charging issue, suggests the real issue is the battery. It has a memory issue like the first rechargeable batteries which required full discharge to reset the battery.

[down_and_out]

I wish you well  recharging.  When my Sense completely died - fully discharged while being in charge status and cable connected - I set it aside and after buying a new cable (warranty exchange would cost as much as a new cable) the Sense recharged.  I have not had an issue with the new cable.

Every now and again I get the slow charge message.  However, the Sense recharges at roughly the same pace with or without "Slow Charging" warning, so it has become one more thing with the Sense that I ignore.  That and stairs: actually recorded 2 stairs last week before getting out of bed.  

Remember to carefully clean the contacts on the back of the Sense on a regular basis to avoid problem of dirty contacts interfering with your charge. 

[jce48]

down_and_out, I agree with all you said. The first thing I do when I get the slow charge warning is to clean contacts on both the cable and the watch. Still discharging my Sense. I hope I am as successful as you with this charging fix.
Thanks for your reply

Jack

[AndreaFitbit]

Hi there, thank you for sharing your Fitbit Sense slow charging message inquiry.

Please confirm that you're charging your Sense properly:

• Hold the end of the charging cable near the port on the back of the watch until it attaches magnetically. The percent charged appears on screen.

If this still doesn't work, can you let me know if tried different ports. Have you tried a wall plug? 

If you're experiencing charging cable issues, please contact our Support Team. 

Keep on visiting the forums. 

[mdavidw86]

Yes - exactly how I connect it.

[jce48]

I didn't know the was another way to charge the fit bit. Occasionally I Heald the fitbit upside down but connector quickly jumped out or our would not seat. So yes I have been connecting t the charging adaptor correctly

Jack

[Irish57]

Thank you I am quite adept at charging my Sense!

[down_and_out]

I think that with the complaints on the forums, and likely more directly to Fit Bit, that the Support Team's would have pro-actively reached out to customers long ago to first inform all Sense owners of a potential issue with both the cable and either the battery itself or the S/W and secondly lay out clear steps to replace a faulty cable and how to re-set the battery and/or software to enable proper charging once Sense cannot either read the current entering the battery correctly or the act of charging the battery drains it.

Seems straightforward as the corporation does have our contact information.

Contacting the Support Team seems hit and miss on whether help is provided, which is discouraging when contemplating just how much time must be invested on the phone.  For others, like myself, it seems I would have been required to ship the cable back and then wait for a replacement - if in their judgement it was a problem with the product and not user caused.  Cost of shipping is about the same for me as buying a replacement cable which took little effort or time.  Has there been a solution to that problem? (cost to return exceeds cost of replacement)

A small suggestion: when people have been using the Sense for months before the issue arose for them and have for the most part completed a degree of research suggesting that they don't know how to attach two magnets together might not be well received.

Suggest starting with:  "For those reading these posts who have not reviewed the procedure for attaching ...."  "As a courtesy I have included a link to the relevant FitBit instructions related to charging and battery life for those who might read these posts...."

Otherwise the inference is that FitBit thinks the people who bought the Sense and ran into a very common issue(s) are not the sharpest tack in the drawer.

[jce48]

Sadly Fitbit puts all their time and money into marketing and leaves it to this Fitbit community to do tech support. Only to get involved when they absolutely have to.

[jce48]

Glad to hear your are not having any charging issues, yet.

Jack

[jce48]

Well, this did Not work completely.

Now the issue is my Sense charging connector/adaptor. I found one of the pins on the connector is now recessed or flush with the plastic surface. This is the second time I have had this issue and customer support is sending another charging cable.  The Sense is my third fitbit in 4 years. each one started to report slow charging after about 6 months to a year.  Purchasing three Fitbits in four years due to a design flaw is not acceptable. If Fitbit does not fix the design failure I will never buy another nor will I recommend Fitbit to anyone. They are just too expensive.

[Casual-User]

Together my wife and I have owned two Charge HRs, four Versas (two versions) and two Senses, and some accessories. The Charges worked fine, no issues. The Versas worked fine, no issues. The Senses, less than 6 months old, have been nothing but trouble - software issues, and unreliable charging hardware. My $300 Sense has been relegated to a drawer, after 5 months. I’ve gone to Garmin, and am very happy with their Venu 2, which charges reliably and has robust features and polished, working software. My wife’s $300 Sense is also going in a drawer. She’s going to use her Apple Watch. $600 write off on (Un)Fitbits. I’m not sure if Fitbit or we should be more embarrassed, but it’s all been very aggravating.

[jce48]

Thanks for your reply. I am not far away from following you. I am looking at a Samsung watch but have not made a decision. I am adamant that Fitbit should be total embarrassed by this design and function failure. I will keep hammering Fitbit to fix the product for the near future, just because I am so angery for paying $300 for a product that Fitbit wants to put so little effort into keeping their customers happy and returning.

Jack

[kittrav2]

what is a charging brick plse?

[down_and_out]

A power bank.  Portable batteries of various sizes that can charge electronic devices or used to power various devices: popular application re-charging cell phones.  Less common but as popular boosting car batteries. 

[jce48]

The charging adapter that plugs into a wall outlet and converts the electricity to charge a portable device like a laptop, or in my case my fitbit watch is commonly referred to in my geek circles as a "charging Brick" or "wall wart"

Jack