Sense battery is quickly draining

[aprilnemo]

I purchased by Fitbit Sense in April 2021.  The battery has been lasting for days since I purchased it.  However the last few days it's only lasting about 5-7 hours, from fully charged to fully flat.  I have not changed any settings in the last few days.

How can I fix this?  Or get a replacement watch?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Clove6060]

There is a pinned thread at the top of this forum called “Sense battery draining after iOS app update”.

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Sense/Sense-battery-draining-after-iOS-app-update/m-p/4871174#M24550

It has 28 pages of posts related to the battery drain. You’ll find answers to both questions in that thread. Informative read should someone not respond immediately and answer your questions directly. 

Hope you get it resolved soon.

[Baldar538]

I have a similar problem. Mine was dying quickly and seemed to be fixed when the new update came out. It died in less than a day the other day, I had it at 100% at 11PM last night and this morning it’s already at 74%. This is with no workouts, GPS use, music streaming.  In both cases it only sat on my wrist and did the minimum. 

They really need to fix the battery issue for real. I had an option between this and an Apple Watch last year and I got the Fitbit only due to battery life. Right now the battery is about the same or worse than an Apple Watch and I’m going to consider changing once Apple announces their new products in the fall. 

[Baldar538]

Charging it again now. It was at 100% last night at 11PM. Now at 6PM it’s already under 20%. Quick view is turned off and all I’ve done is sleep and work sitting at a desk. I wasn’t incredibly impressed with this thing when I bought it at launch, but it was good enough to keep (barely). I had hoped feature set would have improved over time, but it didn’t. 

[aprilnemo]

Hi. I had a Fitbit representative tell me yesterday I had to update the Fitbit software, which I did and now it appears the battery isn’t draining quickly. Hopefully this helps you.

Get Outlook for iOS

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @aprilnemo and @Baldar538. Welcome back to the forums. @Clove6060 Thanks for stopping by to help our members.

@aprilnemo Thanks for taking the time to contact our team. I'm glad your Sense battery isn't draining quickly after the update and I'm sure your post will help many other members experiencing similar issues. I hope you can continue enjoying the Fitbit experience!

@Baldar538 Thanks for sharing detailed information about your Sense. I understand how you're feeling about this situation and I'm sorry for the inconvenience experienced. I noticed you have contacted our Support team and they're providing you with assistance. I'm sure your case is in good hands, so please follow their instructions and keep an open communication with them.

Have a good day.

[SodakBeth]

It appears the opposite happened to me. Worked fine and would last a week before the update. Now it has an always on clock face that I hate and DRAINS quickly. Ugh. Should have never thought Sense was a upgrade to my older FitBit 

[kcordiano]

Hi Lizzy. After the recent 5.2 OS update my fitbit looses battery a lot recently. Its not when my watch is on it looses power but when I turn the device off and then on. For example. Last night I had roughly 68% when i went to bed. (I always turn my phone off at night too). I wake up and my watch had about 50% left which is normal for me. I turned my watch off around 10:30 am and then when I turned my watch on at 10:00pm I have 24% left. My bluetooth on my phone is always turned off unless syncing my Sense. That never happened prior to the update and also my settings for the Fitbit App did not change either. Just an FYI. 

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @SodakBeth and @kcordiano. It's good to see you here in the forums.

@SodakBeth Thanks for letting me know about your Sense. Let me explain that the battery life will depend on how frequent certain features are used. Because you're using an Always-On Display clock face, I'd recommend changing the clock face to another one made by Fitbit and monitor your it's behavior in the next day. Additionally, try turning off this setting by opening the Settings app on your watch > Display > Always-on display.

@kcordiano Thanks for sharing these details with me. While it's odd the battery drains after shutting of your watch, may I know if you've followed the tips described in this help article to maximize the battery life? If you have, please try getting in touch with our Support team so they can evaluate your options and bring you back on track. Click here to get connected with them via chat or phone.

Have a good day.

[Baldar538]

Ok. I called Fitbit support and they wanted me to send it in for replacement. Told me to pack everything up that was in the original box (really!?) and send it to them. They would take 5-10 days to process it and email me the next steps. This is really the most awful replacement plan I’ve seen in ages, especially for a health related device. Put a hold on my credit card, send a new one, and the remove the hold when you receive my return. It’s how everyone else does it, it’s not hard. 

At that point I figured I was done with FitBit and was just going to break down and get an Apple Watch. The main reason I went with FitBit was battery life, and the Apple Watch has better life than what I was getting. They also have better support/replacements. 

I didn’t really want to spend money on a new watch to replace a device that was less than a year old , so did a Hail Mary on it. I removed the sense from my account and did a factory reset on it.  Then I joined it to my account account again and updated its firmware again.  

I hate jinxing myself with this moody piece of junk, but my back to the battery life it was getting when it was brand new. It’s been 24 hours and it’s only dropped about 10%. That’s good enough for me to continue using it until Apple releases something with more reasonable battery life than 18 hours. 

Hopefully this helps other people solve their battery issues though. It’s breathed new life into this device for now. 

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi there, @Baldar538.

Thanks for the steps tried on your own and for letting me know about your interaction with our Support team. Before anything else, let me explain that our team will evaluate your options and proceed with the replacement process based on the conditions described in the Warranty Policy. I understand your thoughts about this situation and please know your feedback won't go unnoticed as it'll help us to evaluate our procedures, as well as improve our services.

I'm glad your Sense is now holding its charge correctly and I'm sure your post will of help to other members experiencing similar issues. Note that you can always reply back to the email sent by our team if you need more details about your case.

See you around.