New Surge won't charge

[tacan19A]

I have read and tried all of the solutions in the other threads regarding Fitbit devices (in particular the Surge) not charging.

I have rebooted (restarted) the device 3 times.  Once with the charging cable connected.  Once with it disconnected.  Once waiting a full 2 minutes before pressing the home button.  Nothing seems to work.  I have also tried different USB ports, and a phone charger to no avail.  My PC acknowledges the connection/disconnection of the Surge every time, regardless of which end of the cable I plug in/unplug first leading me to believe that the cable and my USB ports are fine.

It looks like I may have some corrosion under the first 2 contacts.  The picture isn't that great, but you can see the bubbling up of the gold.

[Julia_G · Accepted solution]

Hi, @tacan19A , this looks like one for Customer Support.  Here are the contact details: http://help.fitbit.com/?cu=1

[tacan19A]

Yeah, that's what I was thinking, too. I hate it when brand new stuff doesn't work. Oh well.

[SunsetRunner]

When contacting, mention what you've already tried to speed things up.

[tacan19A]

Will do. Thanks. 🙂

[MaginB]

Welcome to the Fitbit family @tacan19A! Allow me to help, just as @Julia_G and @SunsetRunner you should get in touch with the Support Team and explain the troubleshooting steps that you've tried in order to expedite things, you can also take a look at the warranty before contacting them. 

Let me know the outcome!

[tacan19A]

"Thank you" to  @Julia_G, @Mystique, and @MaginB for your advice.  I had just gotten the new Surge on Monday, so the tech support people for Fitbit suggested that I return it to BestBuy for an immediate replacement since they could not offer any further advice. 

The new Surge is up and running, even if I am not.  (Not a jogger - more into cycling, which for some wierd reason is now called spinning - What the heck is that about?)  LOL  Too bad there isn't a tech support line for common sense.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @tacan19A , glad the new Surge is up and running... 🙂 . FYI cycling is still called cycling! Spinning is what you do in a gym on a stationary one wheeled cycle. -- the wheel spins, but you don't go anywhere!

[linq]

the port looks like it could be plugged with some peace of plastic to make the device more waterproof and protect from corrosion.

maybe fitbit should send out that "missing peace" for free to all surge owners 😉

[tacan19A]

Well, @linq I think Fit it should quit using a proprietary cable on their
devices and use a standard micro USB instead. Good idea about the cover,
too, but the Surge is waterproof down to something like 120 feet or so. I'm
not concerned about it getting wet. The contacts on my former device would
had to have been corroded before they were plated since it was under the
gold.

[tacan19A]

@Julia_G I'm glad the sport hasn't lost its mind. On my device, however, I
don't see cycling as an option, only spinning, so that is where I will have
to log my time. Unless the GPS tracking and my speed tells the device that
I am cycling....? Still figuring this thing out.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @tacan19A , with the new SmartTrack feature your Surge should automatically detect bike rides and log them for you.  If you would prefer to track them using the shortcuts on your watch, you can customize which activities are available, so for example, you could have "bike" instead of "spinning".  

The basic instructions are on your dashboard choose your device (Surge), choose "exercise shortcuts" and then get rid of one you don't use and add in one you do...

If this doesn't make sense, let me know what device/OS you are using (PC, android, windows, iOS) and I'll try to give you more precise instructions.

[Rozza]

I have the same problem... could not get my new surge to charge.. so of course thought it was faulty.. so took it back to the supplier who exchanged it .. and now my new one is not charging either.. and I have done EVERYTHING to get it working.... I am ready to cash in my surge and go back to my garmin ... any suggestions other than plugging into different ports and wall sockets and restarting.... 

[DrDrew_1977]

If the Surge is charging, should there be an icon illustrating "currently charging"?  I've had my new Surge plugged into the USB for over 2 hours but cannot pair it to my phone because "battery seems to be a bit low to perform this function".  It sounds like a number of people had issues with defective Surge.  Not a promising start for a relatively expensive piece of equipment!  Any suggestions are appreciated.

[jnappi]

I ran into the same problem. I bought a new Surge, and tried to got to setup.  Setup told me the battery was too low to run setup. When I plugged in the Surge via USB the computer would recognize it but it wouldn't charge. It required a firmware update in order to charge, but I couldn't update the firmware without a charge.  I tried several USB ports on multiple computers and even a wall USB. Nothing would charge it.  I had been using the Windows 10 app to try and charge/update/setup the fitbit, but as a last resort I downloaded the PC Fitbit connect program.

Using the connect software, and connecting the Surge via USB to the computer, I was able to apply the firmware update, and after that I was able to go back to the Windows 10 app and continue set as well as charge the Surge.

[Tony671]

This worked like a charm! Before I found this article, I had downloaded the Fitbit app from the Windows store and it would not work. Battery was too low to update the firmware and couldn't charge the battery because the firmware needed to be updated.

After reading jnappi's reply, I downloaded the Fitbit Connect app directly from the Fitbit website and it worked flawlessly. 

Thanks jnappi!!

[AlvaroFitbit]

@Rozza @DrDrew_1977 @jnappi @Tony671 Welcome to our Community! @Rozza @DrDrew_1977 since you have already tried all the instructions posted here and some more I suggest you contact our Support Team for further assistance. I am sure they will work with you to find a solution for this situation. @jnappi Thank you so much for sharing the steps that helped you correct the issue! @Tony671 Happy to hear that your tracker is now working as it should.

I'll be around!

[KerrL]

I'm suffering from same problem but don't understand what you have done?

[KerrL]

Hi there I'm having same issue my Fitbit won't charge and ta brand new!

[CindyFitbit]

Hey hey @KerrL! As mentioned before, a few factors can cause your battery to not charge:

• Faulty charging sources (USB port or plug)—Try a different USB port or UL-certified wall charger. Do not use a USB hub.
• Tracker isn’t connected to the charger properly. 
• Tracker is defective—Try restarting it.

if the issue persists, I recommend getting in touch with support. I'm sure they will be glad to assist you. 

Let me know how it goes!