My Sense stopped working

[OllyT84]

Hi there. I was in a pool earlier today just playing ball with my daughter and my fitbit Sense switched off and I can't turn it back on even though I put it on a charger 😞

Any suggestions?

Also I can't get hold of customer support!!

[Rose.A]

I've got the same problem, and they keep fobbing me off with telling me to charge it. My sense is 5 months old 😤😤

[OllyT84]

I've charged it for 3 days now and nothing 😔

[MMcGuire77]

I had the same problem.  My Sense worked great for 23 months then a few hours after the update the battery drained very quickly, died, and I can't revive it even after trying to charge it for a couple of days. Support said I was outside of warranty and gave me a coupon for a little bit off a new device through their website which seems nice but if a $300 watch isn't going to last longer than two years, I don't want to invest more into the company.  Lots of other people seem to be having this same issue and I hope the company steps up and fixes this for everyone affected.

[Guy_]

Hi @OllyT84 , @Rose.A  -  it could simply be a charging problem, see cleaning steps and cable checking necessary to sort it out in this article How to check charge cable - Sense/Versa 3 won't charge, won't start or blank screen

[MMcGuire77]

Yup, already checked the pins on the charging cable, using different USB charging stations, and cleaned the contacts on the device. No luck getting a charge into it.

[OllyT84]

I've done all of that. My charger is in great condition. I have spoken to Customer support but exactly as MMcGuire77 said I'm outside of warranty and they offered me 35% off new watch which I'm not going to invest in! I think I'm going to to Samsung Watch instead. I think Fitbits warranty should be at least 2 years!! As it clearly doesn't last. 

[wguerg25]

Same here. 35% is not a deal

[OllyT84]

I'm really disappointed with Fitbit

[GiGi78Num2]

Same. A 30% coupon off is not acceptable for a tracker that expensive breaking, (likely due to their software update). I’ve been a FitBit customer for well over 10 years and even recommended them to people over the Apple Watch that I used to wear. I will be ditching FitBit moving forward, and NOT be purchasing another one, cancelling my premium subscription, because they obviously don’t back or support their own product. 

[ktmulryan]

Happened to me too after doing update and being in the pool whilst on holiday abroad. Had no problems in the pool until doing the update the night before. 
I tried the cleaning of the pins and two different chargers, mine was 21 months old an under EAA law so in Europe have 2 year warranty. I was offered same model or 50% discount. I’ve gone for a replacement.I’m going to be very weary of using it in the pool or doing updates.

[OllyT84]

That's a good point. I totally forgot about the software update. I've updated it and the next day it stopped working! So clearly that's not my fault but their software's. So why should I pay $177 for me watch when it's their error? 

[LisaG93]

I had the same problem with my Fitbit Versa Lite a year ago. I made the unfortunate decision to take the bait and purchase a Sense with the discount in April 2021. On Saturday, after a firmware and ios app update, my watch starting vibrating and the screen was flashing towards the end of a 5 mile hike. It died but I was able to restart and charge it 5 hours later. The battery will no longer hold a charge for more than 12 hours - prior to this I charged it twice a week. I called customer service and of course my watch is 4 months out of warranty so it is not covered. I was offered a discount to purchase a new watch. Should a $300 device's battery last longer than 16 months? I think so. I guess it's time to switch devices.

[LisaG93]

I completely agree. My watch was fine until the update.

[GiGi78Num2]

I canceled my premium subscription, ditching FitBit for good after 10+ years, and going back to Apple even though I prefer FitBit. My Fitbit was at 43% when it died. It was kind of turning on and off all day with just the Fitbit logo and buzzing randomly, then permanently died. 30% off a new device is not good enough. Oh well, live and learn. (Yes, community reply person and/or bot, I did all the troubleshooting steps. It’s not the charging pins, it’s the software update). 

[Rose.A]

It wasn't a charging problem (that's what Fitbit also initially said) I charged it for 6hrs +. My husband managed to get it on for about a minute, so it synced with the app and showed full battery. But wouldn't come on again after that. But I was able to take a screenshot and show it to the Fitbit person I was talking to, so they offered me a replacement of the same model or 30% off a new one. My replacement sense arrived yesterday. So for me it was 4 days without one, but I'm happy the issue was solved quickly. 

[OllyT84]

Hey Rose! I'm glad you managed to get a replacement. 

I'm just so disappointed with Fitbit and their reaction. I think they should take a huge responsibility for the fact that they initiated the update, and then all the watches stopped working! 

[Heebs55]

My sense froze and wouldn't do anything once. I contacted customer service and they instructed me to reboot it. You do this by holding the side button for 30 seconds, or at least until the Fitbit symbol appears on the watch face. It was back up and running after syncing to my phone. I don't know if this is an option for your problem, but it wouldn't hurt to try. 

[OllyT84]

Thank you. 

I've already tried that but it didn't work sadly 😞

[Sankrish]

I have been trying to turn it on and when a couple of times it did restart, I tried syncing again, tried to update the software but it would stop and die again. It kept shutting down even though the battery was fully charged. I have tried all methods possible but nothing seems to work and my fitbit sense is just 4 months old... I dont know what I am supposed to be doing now. Can anyone HELP ME PLS??? 😔😪