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

[StanGale]

Hi Jerry.
Your experience seems like it's common.
Hopefully Fitbit will send you another charge cord under warranty.
Unfortunately, this flaw is designed into their watch/charger and will not
go away until it's redesigned with a more simple and robust solution.

[SANROB]

Apparently this is a common problem. The charger cable has an apparent
design defect as one of the pins will get stuck and will not make contact
and therefore the sense will not charge. Contact Fitbit. They will send
you a replacement cable.

[Hellcatpekes]

I’ve had mine now for like 2 years. I honestly can say this thing is a pile of junk! Be better off getting a more simple fit bit. They cannot make a good smart watch. 
besides the charging issues, (my 5th cable just crapped out, need to get another), the weather doesn’t work, it becomes disconnected from my phone daily and the list goes on. 
Gonna trash this and get a Apple Watch, what I should have done in the first place! 

[JerryHuiskamp]

Supporting @CraigHansen's (and others') hypothesis that this pin carries significantly greater current is the fact that the charging port on the watch corresponding to the miscreant pin is blackened, at least in my Sense. This indicates overheating. The other three ports remain shiny. When I mentioned this to the Fitbit rep, they indicated I should clean that port with rubbing alcohol and toothpick. I used that and a toothbrush. The colour did appear to lighten negligibly. Sadly the discolouration remains baked in.

Interesting to this discussion is the fact that when I charged through a 1.1 or 2.1 amp USB port, the Sense suggested that if I wanted a faster charge, that I should plug it into my laptop. This suggests that the current through my laptop's USB port is greater than both 1.1 or 2.1 amps. If this is true, then perhaps the current/volt combination is responsible for the overheating pin. If this is true, then when I get my new charger, titrating between 1.1 and 2.1 amps may get me more usage out of it. I eked out 9 months from my first charger, reducing the current might get me more on the second. Given so many here are getting a lot fewer than that, this might be a stop gap solution, others would like to try and report on. I will let you know the outcome of my experiment.

On the other hand, if Fitbit knows of the overheating problem, and my speculation is correct, how could they ethically suggest ramping up the current?

[Guy_]

@JerryHuiskamp  - lion batteries require a very specific current based on their charge level.

The watch won't or shouldn't ever draw more than around 300 ma when nearly empty to about 10ma when nearly full.

Sparking due to bad connection or dirty contacts is more likely the issue, especially if one pin is too short which will make it worse as the heat increases due to more sparking with each successive charge.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @C4Me Your best way forward is to review the many posts here on the charging problem. Look at the 4 little pins on your charging cable (replacements can be bought from Amazon at a modest cost) clean the back of your "Sense" with rubbing alcohol you may need to charge for up to 60 minutes before you see signs of life. There are lots of tips here, loss of battery charge is the most likely cause of your problem excluding warranty issues which no longer protect you as it's more than a year old. Do bear in mind in some jurisdictions warranties are longer than a year as required by local legislation. I recently saw the suggestion that if you bought your "Sense" with your Credit Card under some circumstances some Card providers give an additional guarantee, I've no experience of this but it might be worth checking.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

[C4Me]

Thank you. I have tried all suggestions and the o my thing left is to order a new charging cable and hope it works! Thank you so much.

Sent from my iPhone

[C4Me]

Thank you and I will try a new charging cable. Much appreciated

Sent from my iPhone

[C4Me]

Thank you, that must be in the first year of warranty (?) to replace the charge cable. I contacted support and they did not offer any replacement 😿 Thank you for the suggestion

Sent from my iPhone

[primortal]

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@Guy_ wrote:

@primortal  - hopefully they will adopt something like this charge cable for the Umidigi Ufit.

It's never been cleaned or had a single problem in over 2 years. Fits perfectly every time.

 

The Sense 2 (https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/products/smartwatches/sense2?sku=521BKGB) looks the same in regards to charging.  Hopefully they improved the charging cable itself.

I'm waiting for the Pixel Watch to see what it has to offer Fitbit wise and if works with my Samsung Galaxy phone before I purchase a Sense 2.

[Guy_]

@primortal- Thanks, though specs for the Sense 2 / Versa 4 mentions no music at all or increase in battery to cater for the extra features  !!!!!  Looks like a Sense MK -1  instead of a new generation !! Makes the Versa 2 good value at half the price.

So it doesn't matter what the charge cable is, without improvements it probably won't appeal to many, no wonder they are trying to cripple the other watches too to stop music.

Surely people will just go to Garmin ( 9 day battery) or Amazfit (12 day battery), even the Samsung Galaxy watch 5 is only a Samsung Galaxy watch 4 MK 2, still with a 2 day battery, or even Apple with 1/2 day battery..

May be it is a plan to promote the Pixel watch using the Fitbit App?

[nevado]

Good find by primordal. Now I know why my Sense stopped charging. Sure enough, one charging pin is essentially fully recessed into the charger base/charging pin “silo”.

[JerryHuiskamp]

First the good news: my replacement charger was delivered within 24 hours after I reported the problem 👍. 

Now the bad: after 5 days, the new charger did not work 👎. For the first three days on the charger, nothing happened. Then magically, it charged to 21% and stayed there for a day. One more day, progress - reached 100%. I wore it for the day, put it on the charger overnight - nothing - down to 0%. All throughout, I tried many things to get the charger to work. I think the recessed pin is no longer the problem. Likely, the corresponding charger port is.

I called into my case number today. As I am within the warranty period, I was offered two options - a replacement Sense or 50% off the new Sense. I took the former as taxes and shipping not included on the latter. I should have my replacement in about a week.

[StanGale]

Yes, this is correct.
Design failure. Chergers need to be robust enough to last for years.
Amazon sells them in pairs because they will keep failing. 😕

[sharewarebear]

Mine will charge but very slowly. It takes all night to get to 100%. I checked the pins and like everyone else, one is lower than the rest. I contacted customer support and they wont do anything because  it is out of warranty. *shocker*

Luckly after my issue with my versa lite having rebooting issues after just over a year, I got the extended warranty at the place i got my fitbit. Fingers crossed that they will actually replace it.

[Guy_]

@sharewarebear  - before exchanging the watch try a replacement charge  cable.  Hopefully the watch isn't damaged.

They can be bought online or replaced under the warranty.

[sharewarebear]

unfortunately its out of warranty. I just talked to the place I got it. 

Havent sent it away yet but basically, They send it to fitbit. if it is deemed unfixable, they tell the place i got it to replace it with a whole new fitbit. 

Downside is i am without it for a few weeks but if I end up with a new product without having to put out money for it. 

I know i will be without it for a bit but why would I pay more money for a charging cable when it will be replaced under the warranty I paid for?

[DianeRL]

Update: Haven't received a replacement charger yet. I chatted with a customer service agent today who said that the Sense chargers are out of stock and they are expected to be available after 9-19. 

[C4Me]

Thank you

Sent from my iPhone

[C4Me]

I saw that, I guess I’ll order the pair ! Design failure is now acceptable but should be !! Thank you

Sent from my iPhone