Surge alarm goes off without prompting

[Frunobulax718]

The alarm goes off (only when plugged in to the wall; not my laptop) every 5 hours or so. This is a problem because I only wear it when I run or workout. If I'm sleeping, it wakes me. If I'm out of the house, it goes off and doesn't stop (sometimes ringing for hours until I get home). It will stop if I unplug it from the wall. My workaround for this is to *always* wear it to sleep. 

This is new; I've had the product for about two years now.

I occasionally change the variables in the profile or whatever, but I don't know what I could have done recently that would have affected it this way.

Has anyone ever run across this or something like it?

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Frunobulax718, I'm glad to see you here in the Forums. Welcome! 

You're right this is not an expected behavior from your Surge, I'm not sure what happened with it but I'd recommend to restart it a couple of times, then delete all the alarms it has, sync your tracker and place new alarms; don't forget to sync it again. I hope this helps so you can wear your Surge normally so you don't have to deal with this.

Have a great day! 

[Frunobulax718]

Thank you for your response. However, your suggested course of action did not solve the problem. I restarted and synced several times, but it did not solve the problem. [I had turned off all alarms previously.]

Currently, I have turned it off completely, and will see what happens if I leave it off for 24 hours. [BTW, the 'alarm' goes off only when plugged into the wall outlet, and it goes off every 5 hours on the nose. At the end of this 24 hour period, I will try again, and if that doesn't work, I will try a different outlet; perhaps that is the source of the problem.]

[Lisslein]

I heard you are not supposed to leave it plugged in for extended periods. Maybe the alarm is the fitbits way of saying it is getting too hot...or something.

[Frunobulax718]

Odd, that it should be fine for two years and then suddenly object to being plugged in like that. It has no problem being plugged into my laptop either.

I'm beginning to think its the outlet that is the problem. That's my next approach.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Frunobulax718, thanks for heads up! It looks like it's something related to the hardware then, I hope using a different outlet solves the issue!

Keep me posted! 

BTW. Good imput @Lisslein! Thanks!

[Frunobulax718]

OK, changing the outlet doesn't solve.

The precise time between 'alarms' is 4:53, although I'm not sure what use that information is.

I'm out of ideas.

[VF31AE3]

@Frunobulax718 Does the alarm sound every 4:53 after being fully charged (and still plugged in the wall) or after being plugged into the wall and charging? Have you tried a different wall charger? Another idea (if you can do without the Surge for a day or so) would be to drain the battery to zero. This time frame is like a day after the display goes blank. Then plug it in and charge and see if there is an alarm. 

[Frunobulax718]

I will try these suggestions and let you know in a few days; thanks!

[Frunobulax718]

---

@VF31AE3 wrote:

@Frunobulax718 <Does the alarm sound every 4:53 after being fully charged (and still plugged in the wall) or after being plugged into the wall and charging?>

Still plugged in. I leave it plugged in when I'm not using it. Particularly when I'm sleeping. I have been doing that for a few years now (up until recently, obviously). 

<Have you tried a different wall charger?> 

No. That is next on my list (after allowing the battery to 'run dry', as you suggested).

---

[Frunobulax718]

OK, I have now tried everything here, and nothing works.

Thanks anyway folks.  😕

[JanKrano]

I have the same problem, only at loading the battery.

Also the battery life is very short: I can use it only a few hours and have to reload again.

This means I even can't use the Fitbit Surge for a long run or workout.

[Frunobulax718]

Jan,

Actually, my battery life has always been short too. Not as short as yours; I can knock off a 13 mile run. But barely. And if I don't recharge daily -- even if I don't use it that day -- I run out of juice. Recharging in the morning before my run (as I drink my coffee) is mandatory.

However, the five-hour-alarm problem didn't start until recently, whereas the short battery life has always been a 'feature' of mine.

This is insightful. This could be a battery issue. Lets hope they don't blow up on a run someday.  😛

[YojanaFitbit]

Thanks for the suggestions @VF31AE3 and @JanKrano! @Frunobulax718 Sorry to see that nothing of this steps worked for you! 

I've requested a case for you @Frunobulax718, so our Team can see what is the next step! Please keep an eye to your email inbox. Hope they can help you with that. In case that it helps check our tips to help the battery life of your tracker! It might help in your case too @JanKrano.

Let me know if you need anything else guys. See you around! 

[JanKrano]

Dear Yojana, thanks for your reaction; your indeed very friendly, but this do not help me.
I tried all the tips, but still the battery last for only a few hours, instead of several days.
I think this is a hardware problem and can only be solved by a new battery.
It seem that more owners has the same problem, and I hope Fitbit will solve this in a good way.
For a Quality product I expect a longer lifetime.
I'm very interested in a real solution. Thanks in advance.
Best regards, Jan

Jan van Kranenburg

Moderator edit: Removed personal information

[Frunobulax718]

"In case that it helps check our tips to help the battery life of your tracker!"

This contains the following tip:

• 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.

This appears to have solved the issue. I am testing it further now, but its made it beyond the five hour limit previously discussed.

I will keep you informed.

[#17]

"In case that it helps check our tips to help the battery life of your tracker!"

This contains the following tip:

• 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.

This appears to have solved the issue. I am testing it further now, but its made it beyond the five hour limit previously discussed.

I will keep you informed.

[#18]

• 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.

[Frunobulax718]

Nope. That was wrong.

Just after I posted that, the **ahem** thing went off again. Sorry about that.

[CaribbeanKing]

This exactly the recent scenario that my Surge has been going through.. I've had it for two years and four months to be exact it survived the temps in the Middle East and so forth.. you can't possibly have a watch that requires you to travel with the cord to recharge it throughout a 24 hour period. I even turned off all its notifications and Heart Rate mostly wearing it as a watch and still won't hold a charge.. the Alarm is the other issue.. I've tried all the suggested fixers and nothing works.. can't say that I'd replace it with another if it's meant to last only 2 years.

[CaribbeanKing]

Hello, 

 doesn't seem to have a solution in sight. Let's just cut through the Chase; before I go and purchase another product, I enjoyed my Surge for the past 2 years an 4 months. 

Do you sell a Replacement Battery for this Item? If so how much is it.

if the battery isn't replaceable ... than it's safe to say that the Battery life of the Fitbit Surge using all the applications that prompted us to buy it is 2 years & 6 months Tops.. 

[VF31AE3]

@CaribbeanKing The watch is considered by FitBit to be disposable. You can buy replacement bands from Amazon and others. Amazon also sells a battery but one person who bought it said it was physically too big to fit in the Surge. Assuming the watch stays fully functional for 2 1/2 years then the battery dies the answer would be "approximately 2 1/2 years." If you haven't already done so and have the time, browse the Surge Forum and see what actual users have to say about it and FitBit. Good luck with your decision.