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

[Musicalmom]

Thank you. I do that too, but I found my charger didn't work because a pin became lower. I have replaced it and now it works. Thank you for responding

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[BKD32]

I gave up on Fitbit. A company that asks a premium price for its product but offers garbage in support of that product doesn’t deserve to get any more of my money.

Sent from my iPad

[RealSting]

Faulty charger, inaccurate, GPS, the list goes on with Fitbit. After years of telling them this, they never seem to fix anything so I’ve ditched my Fitbit and bought an Apple Watch. I’ve never looked back. Apple Watch is far more functional, stats infinitely more accurate and much, much better experience all round - In fact, you cannot even compare. Simple!

[Soccernut433]

I have this same problem for about a month now. Will

connect the charger cord and the Fitbit will do its thing of vibrating to say it’s charging and then it’ll say that it’s on a slow charge. Something’s it doesn’t charge at all and it will sit on 20% or whatever it was when I started charging until I’m mess with it, even overnight it will be on same % as when I start. I have tried different outlets, different charge cables, cleaning contacts, even restarting it. I’m even watching it right now repeatedly cycling through telling me that’s it’s charging, then the slow charge warning, then nothing, and I’m not even touching it. And it wasn’t doing this 5 min ago again just sitting there on the charging cable im not touching it. I’m so frustrated. 

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Soccernut433 welcome, have you taken a look at your charging cable pins? If your "Sense" is out of warranty you can buy a replacement cable on Amazon. Have you cleaned the back of your "Sense" (I use rubbing alcohol with a cotton wool swab & cotton bud to detail the contact points on the back of the device)

Let us know.

Cheers

[Tina_L]

Hi!

Thank you for the reply re: my Sense and charging. My issue is definitely
the charger. A charger lasts about 2-3 months before one of the pins drops
into the charger and won't make contact with the watch. Yes, I can buy
chargers on Amazon, and have - at least 6 of them. At this rate, it won't
be long before I have as much money into the chargers as I do the watch! I
did finally call Fitbit, and they are sending a charger. (Expedited
shipping is taking a week.) Doesn't look like they have any plans to fix
the chargers.

Thanks again for your input.
Tina

[SANROB]

Get Fitbit to send you new charging cable. This is a known defect. They
will send for free.

[JanLT55]

Wish I had asked for a full refund earlier. Less than 3 months after purchase persevering and it's not easy to get a replacement, which was the only option offered by both Amazon and not Fit for purpose Bit.

[C4Me]

Sad that they won’t help more! They emailed a 35% off coupon on another purchase but when I open the link it’s to purchase and no discount coupon! Ugh

Sent from my iPhone

[Raz10]

It’s really too bad, I think fitbit is a much better option then Apple when
the objective is to track exercise and sleep….but, the fact that they
haven’t acknowledged this pin issue on the Sense charger is infuriating!

[FrankYYZ]

Add Canada to the list of countries with terrible support.  The pins on the charger cable keep sticking in the "down" position, making charging impossible.  Cleaning and trying to pop it up didn't work.  You would think that, with FOUR pins, there would be some redundancy if one pin sticks, but this is plainly not the case.

My latest official Fitbit Sense charge cable lasted only nine months.  I called support and they refused to replace it.  Apparently if your watch is out of warranty, they don't honor any sort of warranty on any replacement part that you might buy!

I'm going back to buying the no-name generic charging cables on Amazon.  They don't last long either, but you can buy a 2-pack for a lot less than one official Fitbit branded cable.  In my experience, they are no worse than the official cables.  (I can see why they sell 2-packs.  You always need a spare because the design is so bad.)

I won't mention the fact that, since a FW update a while ago, the Sense can no longer properly count flights of stairs.  They refuse to fix that issue but that's covered in another forum. (And also in lots of non-Fitbit forums on the web.)

My next watch will be something else.

[Psyntax]

Took me about 2 hours to realize that one of the charging pins was depressed and not making contact with the watch.  Called support and I should have the new charger in 3 days.

[zoomimooti]

here are a few possible solutions that can be helpful to you as they were helped to fix my sense 2.

• Clean Charging Ports and Charging Pins
• Change Charging Cable
• Restart Fitbit Sense 2 
• Factory Reset Sense 2

[xenaFB]

I have the same issue. One of the pins is depressed. Fitbit is sending me a new charger.

[PJPAE]

Agree. This is frustrating. It is a technical flaw. I only have a Sense because the Iconic was recalled. Seriously considering moving to an Apple Watch. Fitbit needs to fix this 

[Squeakywarrior]

None of this works and these are all obvious thing anyone would try. Fact is the Sense has problems. I had a Versa aNever had one issue with them. It would sync automatically which the Sense never does (yes I have location services Always On) and it charged fine. The Sense is garbage, has never charged correctly and always been difficult. I’ve bought two charging cables and still nothing. I wish I could have kept my Versa but they recalled them for an issue I never experienced. So essentially they recalled my perfectly functioning device I was quite happy with and gave me junk.  I should have just kept the refund and bought something else.  

[DianeRL]

I agree. I have to set up a “new” Sense every week when it loses its wifi connection and its connection to Noom. I reverted to my older Versa for a few weeks while waiting for a new charger (because of the charging pin issue) and had no problem with the Versa.

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[DC0524]

I've owned several Fitbit wearables and the Sense is by far the worst one I've owned. Consistently have charging problems. 👎👎👎👎 As soon as my Fitbit premium is done I'm switching to Samsung pro smart watch.

[jplafleur]

I love the watch, but charging day almost makes me anxious. Actually, I much preferred my Ionic and I am really sad I had to give it up. It's a pitty that charging is driving people to other brands, though. There is no other watch, to my knowledge, that matches the battery life of the Sense (besides my old Ionic).

[DC0524]

I loved my Iconic watch! Never had any issues with it. I just turned it in because it was recalled but never had any problems with it gave me correct info never problems charging it was an just awesome phone.