Sense stuck on reboot loop

[harishgupta]

My Fitbit is not even a year old. It suddenly went into a boot loop.

I have followed all reset options provided by Fitbit, but no luck

What a horrible piece of machinery! Unbeleivable,

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Asketillian]

I'm dealing with the same issue. Mine won't take a charge anymore either. As soon as it hits a charger from dead, boot loop starts and won't stop till the battery dies flat again.

[MarreFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hi there, @harishgupta. Thanks for stopping by in the forums and trying to troubleshoot the issue with your Sense before reaching out. 

Please note the issue you're having comes from performing a factory reset without first unpairing your Fitbit device from your Fitbit account and phone's Bluetooth settings. With that being said, I suggest following the steps below in the order listed:

• Unpair the Fitbit Sense from the phone's Bluetooth and also make sure it's no longer connect to the Fitbit app. 
• Force quit the Fitbit app.
• Turn off the Bluetooth.
• Shut off the phone and turn it on after 1-2 minutes.
• Turn on the Bluetooth.
• Set up the Fitbit Sense again.
• If there is no connection, restart the Fitbit Sense.

If you can't get started with the Fitbit Sense, usually a missing requirement is the cause. Carefully review the requirements provided in the help article Why can't I set up my Fitbit device? 

@Asketillian Welcome on board! 

I've seen you contacted our Support Team after posting here and they've already assisted you. If you still need help or have any questions/concerns regarding the outcome of your case, please feel free to contact our team back for further assistance. See you around! 

[Gummeh]

Same here - have you fixed this issue yet? I've managed to factory reset it with the button-sequence (I got the first-time-use-sound!), But it still keeps rebooting. So every 2 minutes, I hear that sound...

[woManBearPig]

Hey, my Fitbit is stuck on reboot loop, but the provided instructions did not help. Is there anything else I can try?

[Jnpski]

Mine is making that annoying noise as well. Support did nothing for me but ask the same questions as in this forum. They will undoubtedly send me a 50% off a new device, but I think I’m jumping to Apple Watch. This has happened with EVERY Fitbit device I’ve owned. A critical failure after an update, force you to buy a new one. 

[woManBearPig]

I thought of getting an Apple Watch too as I only had my Fitbit for around 2 years and it’s now completely unusable 😖

[Knowledge1970]

There is another thread on this issue that is now on its 5th page.  It's effecting more and more people and Fitbit's 'fix' offers no solution.  The best you can hope is that they honor the warranty and they'll send you another sense that may fail at any moment. The most others get is a poor 30% discount off another product. 

They have so far been silent on acknowledging there is a major flaw with their product here.  I bought two at the time, one for my wife and I, and mine died after around 16 months or so. Just waiting for hers to die now.  Others had this fail just months after purchase.  

I have to believe that there is a bug in a recent firmware update. The watch is effectively useless now. It was the last straw for me (having had other fitbit devices that all ended up with issues). I moved to Galaxy Watch, and it is way better functionally. 

[akabhirav]

I am not sure why the answer only tells us about what to do with the phone and nothing about what to do with the device. The device is stuck in boot loop, not the phone.

After resetting the device it finally starts with a huge red X, after which I pair it up with the phone using the method above, after the device is paired it asks for an update, without which the device shows nothing. So, I update. But after update it goes on a bootloop again. What?!

[SG2001]

Utter nonsense. This "solution" does not work!!

My sense is in a constant reboot loop. WTF? Give us a fix!

[Skabeis]

Same Problem here. After 14 months without any problems!  And one evenening without any warnimg the watch was dead...

[Bel_inda]

I have the same issue, the fitbit watch displays the 'download fitbit app' and wont move from this. When I try to sync it, I get a red X. I have tried everything, the factory rest doesnt work (the button doesnt work at all) and I have unpairfed the fit bit, turned off blue tooth - I have tried everything, and its not even 18 months old. Sooo frustrating...

[Bookworm360]

Hi, this happened to me as well.  I was not doing a factory reset.  I went to sync my Sense and when I went back to check, the watch screen was black.  I tried to turn the watch back on, but it got stuck on the continuous reboot. My Sense is less than 6 months old. 

[danotx]

I have the exact same issue.  It was working, then took it off to charge it, came back 30 minutes later, and it's stuck in that same loop.  

I've had mine for about 15 months, so out of the warranty period.  In my opinion, this is most likely some sort of software bug and they should take responsibility.  Either let me send it back, so they can get it into the factory reset mode, and mail it back to me or something.   If I have to pay for another watch, it probably won't be another fitbit.  

They should provide options for this issue, as watches should last more than 15 months.

[danotx]

Also, those instructions did not work for me either..  Same exact state as I was before.

[SunsetRunner]

My Sense is now also suffering from the boot loop problem (which appears to be very widespread) and I've tried everything I can after scouring this forum and YouTube for solutions - no luck. I'm not going to bother contacting Fitbit support this time.

I originally got a Sense just over 2 years ago, and it died after 12 months (screen refused to show anything), and Fitbit kindly sent me a replacement Sense, which now 12 months later is stuck in the boot loop, rendering it useless.

Over the years I've had a Charge, Flex, Ionic, Versa and Sense, and each one, with the exception of the Flex, has either physically disintegrated or hit software issues making it unusable, way ahead of time. Some of these products are hundreds of dollars.

I suspect now that because the Sense is out of warranty from its original purchase date, Fitbit will only offer me the "35% off a new piece of crap". 

I've loved the company, and until they invariably fail, I've loved the products. But I can't keep being sucked in by the marketing of shiny new models when history shows the headaches likely in store. 

[Gummeh]

I've had the problem 3 times (stuck in boot loop), and I've managed to revive it each time. First time is the hardest 😉  It's been a while,  but if I recall correctly: you first have to do a factory reset. It will still keep on booting, but unpair it, and all of a sudden you'll get a red cross after booting. That's when you can pair it again.

- Factory reset (thx @RLoscar )

1. Press and hold the button for about 8 seconds until the screen turns off
2. After the screen turns off, you'll feel a short vibration
3. When you feel the vibration, release the button
4. And immediately press and hold the button again.
5. Wait until the blue logo appears, then disappears:
6. Immediately release the button
7. And then immediately press and hold it .again, until you feel a vibration
8. After you feel the vibration, release the button

- unpairing:

• Unpair the Fitbit Sense from the phone's Bluetooth and also make sure it's no longer connect to the Fitbit app. 
• Force quit the Fitbit app.
• Turn off the Bluetooth.
• Shut off the phone and turn it on after 1-2 minutes.
• Turn on the Bluetooth.
• Set up the Fitbit Sense again.
• If there is no connection, restart the Fitbit Sense.

[Clove6060]

I had to forget device in Bluetooth and reinstall new device in the app.

it worked and retained all settings

[Dgoub]

Same story here - can not fix it with any advise given here or in other sources

[HENGNG]

Everybody are facign the same problem of Fitbit Sense stuck on reboot.

I have called Fitbit and cannot give any solution at all with all the methods given by Fitbit Customer care.

This is a defective product produced by Fitbit and Fitbit should be Responsible for this problem.

Fitbit Sense is a very bad design and Fitbit is an irresponsible OEM Producer / Maker if you do not give your customers a solution to this problem or refund.

Moderator Edit: Formatting