Battery lifespan

[UltrarunnerJonL]

Hi everyone

It's common knowledge that batteries don't last forever and it's charge capacity deteroriates over time.

I'm just wondering how is your Surge performing after all these months/year of usage?

Have I got the option to replace the battery?

Thanks!

[rmccloskey3]

Funny you should ask this because my battery just turned to crap last week. I bought it day one so it has been used every day for about a year now. I would consistently get at least 5 days maybe more depending on how many workouts I tracked. This past Sunday I charged it and it was almost dead two days later. I dont know whats going on. 

[SurreyRunner]

Mine has done exactly the same. The battery now only lasts 2 days and I've only had it 2 months!!!! I'm so frustrated and not sure what to do.

[UltrarunnerJonL]

I suppose you will be covered under warranty? Was it 12 or 24 months?

Does anyone know how Fitbit deals with this?

[rmccloskey3]

It was 12 months if bought direct from fitbit. Mine was out of warranty. I went through the live chat support and they will send me a new one though this one time. Hopefully mine doesn't crap out in a year.

SurreyRunner, do that chat and they will send you a new one no questions. Just be sure your sync data can prove you have low battery. They could tell by my heart rate monitoring compared to last month that it is off my wrist every day to charge

[SurreyRunner]

Thank you I will give that a go and see how I get on

[UltrarunnerJonL]

If I'm purchasing from Fitibit UK, do I get 24 months warranty? Or do I need to buy it from Amazon instead?

[cbess]

I've had my surge for 3 months, the battery lasts forever. It's such a good battery that I don't even think about charging it, and then days will go by when I think ah, mind as well give this thing a charge now. Compared to my phone which I'm plugging in every few hours. 

Battery life is stellar. 

[rmccloskey3]

Mine was great for a year and then went bad literally overnight. Just
saying!

[UltrarunnerJonL]

---

@rmccloskey3 wrote:
Mine was great for a year and then went bad literally overnight. Just
saying!

---

I don't mind that, as long as it's the night before the warranty ends 😉 hahaha!

[cbess]

Interesting. I would contact Fitbit. Honestly, after an entire year of wear
and tear, some denigration is expected.

[rmccloskey3]

I did. And they are sending me a replacement even though it's out of
warranty. I suspect this is a rampant problem.
I know rechargeable batteries don't last forever. But one year is not
acceptable if they cannot be swapped easily and it went from 5 days to 1.
It didn't slowly decrease like all my other electronics have

[cbess]

That's very nice of them. Personally, I think that yours could be a one off
scenario. I wouldn't expect all Fitbit devices to lose that amount of
battery life after a preset amount of time. Let's be cognizant of how
impressive the device is already. Battery life is one of the strengths of
fitbit right now over other smartwatches.

[UltrarunnerJonL]

---

@cbess wrote:
Interesting. I would contact Fitbit. Honestly, after an entire year of wear
and tear, some denigration is expected.

---

Yes, that's why it worries me. I would rather the battery fails pre-12 months, and get the warranty replacement and have another year of usage rather than buying a new Fitbit every year just because the batteries don't last.

So on average, how often does battery fail before the 12 month timeframe?

[cbess]

Relative to my phone, I'd say my Fitbit's battery life has held up rather
well. After just a few weeks it seems my phone forgets it even has a
battery and needs constant charging.

I'm certainly not recommending buying a new one every year. But it seems
customer service is pretty good and a replacement shouldn't be an issue if
battery life really is that poor for you.

[ArmenC-PT]

The battery life of my Surge started going from lasting 5 days to about 1 day and a half just after my 1 year warranty expired. The right button button stopped working, too. Switching to a Garmin

[MarreFitbit]

Thanks for stopping by @ArmenC-PT, hope you're doing great! Don't give up yet my friend, I'll be more than glad to help (even when I came in late to see your post). If you still need help, I'm here for you! 

If you aren’t tracking runs or exercises that use GPS, your fully charged Fitbit Surge should last up to 7 days. A fully charged Surge can track up to 10 hours of activities that use GPS. Because battery life is affected by use and other settings, actual results may vary.

Consider these tips when you want to conserve battery life:

• Shut down your Surge when not in use.
• If you use the Fitbit app, make sure All-Day Sync is turned off. All-Day Sync increases battery drain on both your tracker and mobile device. To find the setting, open the app and tap Account. At the top of the screen tap Surge to see your settings, then scroll down. 
• (Android only) Turn off the Always Connected setting. Similar to All-Day Sync, it can reduce battery life.
• If you don't need heart rate data, change the Heart Rate setting to Off. When you turn it back on, use Auto. 
• Charge your tracker more often if you use music control frequently.
• If you have many silent alarms set, remove some. Each alarm you add up to the maximum of 8 reduces battery life by a small percentage. 
• Turn off Quick View. Since it causes the screen to light up when you turn your wrist towards you, turning this setting off may prolong battery life. To find the setting, open the app and tap Account. At the top of the screen tap Surge and scroll down.​

In regards to the button, please try restarting your tracker by doing these steps:

• Press and hold the Home and Select buttons (left and bottom right) on your Fitbit Surge for 10 to 15 seconds, until you see the screen flash or start to dim.
• Let go of the buttons.
• After your screen turns completely off, wait 10 seconds and press the Home button to turn your Surge back on.

Hope this helps! 

[campbellmike]

This device is advertised as a 24/7 tracker so why would you suggest to turn it off when you're not using it. 24/7 by the way is all the time.

The other functions you suggest to turn off are also touted before you make your purchase. Now, those features are merely an annoyance that can't be used if you expect the device not to die. I wonder why they don't put this in the advertising materials?

I hate to be so crass but I love this device WHEN it functions but it has some serious shortcomings that have not been addressed. It's unlikely they will ever be.

I'm in a quandary because my device now lasts 12 hours without notifications, etc... running. I have to charge it twice a day because of a neat little red light that won't go away. I read it's supposed to notify you of a new firmware release (which initially excited me) but nope, mine's updated to the latest, greatest.

I've searched high and low, the Surge has all the features I love but I don't want to buy another expensive device that will fail in 2, 3, or even 12 months. These should last for years, not months. 

There's my rant, I'll continue to charge mine twice a day until I make a decision.

[PSWIL]

I opened my Surge 25th Dec 2016... 2.5 months on and no battery! It now only lasts 8-12 hours at best... (it was lasting about 5-7 days previously!)

Reading this blog, I'm not the only one to have these issues!!!

[Phoenix211]

I've done all of the things you mention but currently my Surge HR almost lasts 8 hours before it needs to be charged again.  I'm quite disappointed as I've had this second Surge about 14 months.  The first one had a strap fail.  I'd really prefer not to change to another manufacturer or buy a new one every year.