Fitbit Sense won't charge

[Razorgirl88]

So I see some other people have posted on this problem.  I ordered my Fitbit Sense on January 7, 2021, directly from Fitbit.  There were some shipping issues and I finally got it at the end of January.  Since receiving it, I have had intermittent charging issues.  Sometimes this is resolved by cleaning the connections, other times I've had to resolve it by resetting the Sense by holding down the button for 10 seconds until the Fitbit symbol shows on the face of the watch.  On a few occasions I just had to keep trying plugging it in to different sockets on my computer.  However, this time it flashed "0%" the first time I plugged it in but then never charged.  It won't reset using the button, nor will it work after cleaning the contacts or plugging it into different sockets.  I haven't even owned this 4 months yet and I'm really frustrated with this problem. I keep my software up to date and don't know what else to do.

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[eezeepee]

@ripsword The Fitbit sense was developed in produced before Google acquired Fitbit. There hasn't been any changes to the hardware since it's original release.

You've tried cleaning both the back of the phone and the charging pins with a little alcohol wipe? Have you also tried changing charging blocks?

For me more than 9 times out of 10 it charges fine but once in a while I noticed that it's either not charging or charging very slowly. Usually I just take it off wipe and put it back on immediately and it starts working just fine.

Compression is terrible on uploading from a phone, but this morning I was able to charge for over 18 minutes and go from 15% to 55%. And my Sense is from August 2020.

[NickNJ]

I corrected the fitbit model to the Sense. I had the Surge as well.

[Bubbabighatt]

The real problem has nothing to do with the cleanliness of the contacts.
(That is easily fixed with a q-tip) The big problem is one of the little
pins that sticks out from the charging cord loses its spring and no longer
sticks out. You can feel 3 of them with your finger but the 4th one feels
smooth.
It doesn't matter how well you clean it, unless you can figure out how to
make that pin spring-loaded again its not going to charge.
Fitbit should be ashamed of such a horrible design/QC.

[Sunflower1945]

This is my second Sense Fitbit and am having the same issues with it not charging.  I submitted a report.  The person I chatted with was going to check with the warranty team, to date I still have not heard from them.

[Bubbabighatt]

They gave me another charge cord. So, I'm trying to be positive, but...

[Bodhisagan]

So I just got a replacement Sense.  The original worked a couple of months before failing to charge.  Bought after market chargers and no dice.  Worked with support and they kindly sent me a new unit (new Sense, not new charger).  It has worked merely 2 days and now won't charge.  I've tried all of the cables I have, I have tried multiple bases and USB ports on my laptops.  No dice.  No evidence of charging.  Not sure what's happening here.  For the record I got this as part of a study, so I'm only out the two purchases of third party chargers.  However, in contrast to my experience here my Garmin vivoactive4 is on my wrist as well and is more than a year old and never causes me difficulties with charging.  I've never experienced this kind of lack of reliability with a new product (remanufactured from Amazon occasionally this is the case too).  If I had paid $200 for this thing I'd be fit to be tied.  What do I do now?

[CrlTomkinson]

Hi Bodhisagan!

Well, I just gave up on my Sense. I'm going to break down and buy something different because (obviously) there is a major design flaw with the Sense. It's a shame too, because I like the watch. I'll have to take a look at the Garmin since you're not the first person who has talked to me about that one. I think Fitbit should consider going to a different type of charger. What's wrong with one that plugs into the watch? Why fix what isn't broken with something that doesn't work? I'm not thrilled about the money I wasted on my Sense, but that's life I guess. I kind of wish I had been part of a study instead of someone who purchased this watch that I can't use!

[Bubbabighatt]

I feel your pain. I want something new that charges properly and doesn't
cost $10 a month.

[Nelsonglo]

My new sense charger had already gone bad.  This so wrong for an item to only last a few months. What a design flaw!! I'm not happy about this at all.  And I am a long term fitbit user. This ladt Christmas my daughter bought me a galazy fitness watch and had her take it back and get me the newer fitbit.  Hope i wont regret that.  But I'm going to try and call support and see if I can get another charger. 

[BKD32]

Fitbit should be ashamed of this charging unit. I just threw mine away because one pin dropped so low the charger was worthless. Now I have a watch and nothing to charge it with. I have dealt with customer service before and they actually hung up on me. So Even though I have owned several Fitbit watches I think I am done with them. They have shown they don’t care for me as a customer so I will look else where for my next watch.

[Faron]

So this is the issue! On close examination one of the 4 pins is not elevated. A sharp downward rap of the charger onto the edge of the shelf got the pin out like the others, but it immediately dropped back. It is the spring that is broken or ineffective. Like someone else said, why isn’t this advertised as an issue to look for. Failure to charge is a big reason for failure of these watches. Failure to realise that the fault is in the proprietary and easily replaceable connector and visible on inspection is a bit sad. 

[melissalaninfa]

I've been experiencing the exact same issue. I bought 2 extra charging cables and now they've started to not charge as well. I contacted customer support via chat and they said they'd get back to me. Later, I received an email stating that my Sense was no longer under warranty and basically S*it out of luck. I've been a customer of FitBit for almost 10 years and they can't even send me an additional charging cable? That really stinks! I'm very disappointed in them 😞

[Outback_Storm]

Same **ahem**e different day here.
The prong on the charger is weak/tight?
No contacto.
Crap design.
Lasted three months.

😕

[BKD32]

The sad thing is Fitbit knows about this flaw and doesn't care. I called customer service once about the problem and they talked to me like I was trying to steal something from them. 

[montymessex]

Thanks for your post! 🙂 My Sense also stopped charging. Read the FAQs and contacted customer service. Nothing about the prongs. Customer service sent me a discount to buy a new watch, ugh and kinda insulting since my Sense is 15 months old. Until I read your post it didn't occur to me to check the charger prongs. Turns out one of mine is retracted and won't come out. Reached out to customer service again and this time their solution was to sell me a new cable. Got a new cable from Amazon and now it's working fine. 

[RobSoLF]

Yep.  Recently I bought a cheap charger on Amazon.  It works far better than the one that shipped with the watch.  No more flashing through screens, vibrating, constantly telling me to "use the charger that came with it"(oh the irony).  Works fine and charges without fail, now.  If Fitbit tells you to buy and use their chargers instead of the aftermarket chargers, do the opposite and be happier and a little richer.

[BKD32]

What’s amazing is that Fitbit knows how to contact me when they want to sell me the newest device they have for sale but somehow have no idea how to get a hold of me to make right the awful charger for the Sense that they push on people.

[jhottawa]

Hi. I find that when the skin under the sense sweats, the back of the watch gets dirty and I must clean it almost daily or else it won’t charge or work properly. 

[All3kat]

I had the same problem with the pins. 

Thank you for posting where we can get help. I just did a chat and have a new charger coming.

[Parkerco]

Are you for real.???