Battery not lasting

[saffel]

In the past 2 months I've gone through 6 batteries - CR 2032.  Max time for any of these has been two weeks.  I've had this Zip for 4 years.  Does the zip just wear out and need to be replaced?

[Odyssey13 · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the forums @saffel

Four years is a good life for the Zip, but two weeks isn't long for a battery. You using a good brand nae of battery? I know the Energizer brand works better than the off brand ones we use in our little Zip.

I'm not sure the life of a Zip, but it might be time for you to think about getting a new one. You interested in another style of Fitbit? Some are able to track your heart rate and one is waterproof.

Let us know what happens.

[saffel]

I use Energizer batteries.  The first time this happened I thought it was just a problem with the battery but something is draining each battery I put in.

I guess I'll purchase a new zip. 

I would be interested in the features of some of the newer models but I like the discreetness of the zip, and I like that it tracks your true steps.  Although I am bummed out when I kayak for an hour and get nothing!!

Thanks for your response!

[Odyssey13]

@saffelTake a look at the One. It clips like your Zip, but can do a bit more. It does cost more, but it does track your step and recognizes flights of stairs.

[Cahren]

I have had similar issues. Bought my Zip from fit bit and two days after receiving it the battery showed medium strength. I contacted customer support and they kindly replaced the zip after determining I wasn't doing anything to drain the battery. Received the new Zip in the mail and two days later I had the exaxt same problem. I love my Zip but this is frustrating. I would love to upgrade to a model that can be recharged, but that doesn't fit my budget.

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@Odyssey13 wrote:

Welcome to the forums @saffel

Four years is a good life for the Zip, but two weeks isn't long for a battery. You using a good brand nae of battery? I know the Energizer brand works better than the off brand ones we use in our little Zip.

I'm not sure the life of a Zip, but it might be time for you to think about getting a new one. You interested in another style of Fitbit? Some are able to track your heart rate and one is waterproof.

Let us know what happens.

---

[Odyssey13]

Welcome to the forums @Cahren

The Zip my friend has will often read low, but she takes out the battery and replaces it, which is a restart of the device. She hasn't had a problem with a battery getting low, but she does keep an eye on it.

Which Fitbit you thinking you'd like for the future? There is always a sale somewhere and the original Flex costs less with the Flex 2 release.

[AnnaMull22]

Original Poster said they were using a CR 2032 battery: I thought you were suppose to use a 2025 battery?

[Odyssey13]

Great catch there @AnnaMull22

You're right. The Zip is supposed to take the 2025 battery, but since @saffel has had a Zip for four years, it could be the 2032 was working well enough.

I did a search and the 2025 is a tad thinner than the 2032, but it can be interchangeable, if it fits the device.

Welcome to the community @AnnaMull22

[Cahren]

I dont know about the original poster but I am using a 2025. I actually opened the back of my Zip at the store to make sure I got the same battery that came with it. I am still having issues with the battery showing medium or low strength one minute and then full the next but I am able to use the Zip so I will just keep plugging along.

[AnnaMull22]

I got my Zip in 2012 along with a friend. Her battery lasted 6 months, mine lasted 3 months.  Then it started lasting 6-8 weeks. I wrote to Fitbit and they sent me a new one in the mail (in 2013). All of a sudden the original started working  again for 3 months at a time. So I saved the replacement zip. Then in January of 2016 I accidentally sent in through the wash! I got out the replacement Zip and the battery only lasted 2-3 months. Now it's July 2017 and I am down to it lasting 4-6 weeks. I just put a new battery in 1 hour ago, it synched 1x then stopped synching. I get the message on the Zip device screen that shows battery with a line through it. 

The funny thing is the steps keep counting on the device but not synching.

I decided to try the piece of cardboard between the battery & back of device: So far it worked.

Does anyone know if the other clip on device (the one that is $79) is a rechargable battery?

I just do not like bracelets & would never wear it. I don't care about stairs or sleep tracking either. But these batteries are getting expensive. 

[Cahren]

A friend gave me her clip on "One" and I loved it. Accidentally wore it the pool and killed it. But the rechargeable feature was fantastic.

[saffel]

I went ahead and replaced my zip with the Fitbit One. It's still a clip on but is rechargeable! I too did not want to switch to a wrist option.

It also tracks sleep if you strap it into your arm.

So far I'm happy with this.

Sent from my iPhone

[AnnaMull22]

Thanks- I will def look into the ONE this week. 

I am in the middle of 3 StepBet games and cannot afford to lose steps.

[Odyssey13]

Thanks for the update @saffel

I really love how all of you have come together to share your experiences in this thread. It really shows just how great our community is.

Glad you're all with us @saffel , @AnnaMull22 and @Cahren

[Runr48]

I replaced my Fitbit One with a Zip in August of this year after the One battery would not hold a charge. Since receiving my Zip on August 19, customer service has had to replace it twice because it was showing low battery within 48 hours of putting it into use. Sometimes, it would go from low to full to medium at various times during the day. The Zip the company sent me to replace the first one did exactly the same thing. 

Today, I received my third Zip and hope it works, but I turned off the automatic sync feature on the Fitbit Dashboard. I believe the problem is with the dashboard either causing the device to constantly sync and drain the battery or it could be giving a false reading. By the way, when I put the battery that came with the new Zip into the device, the device showed the battery was low, so I replaced it with a new battery I bought today. 

In researching this problem, I saw a thread on this forum from a few years ago with identical complaints about the battery life of the Zip. I wish Fitbit would let customers know what is going on.

[PuddyDat]

Seriously!

The "solution" is to buy another FitBit?!?

In 2013 I bought a fitbit and was burning through batteries at more than one a week. Giving up, I left it in a drawer for five years. Seeing that FitBit had five years to come up with a solution, I tried again. After a dozen dead batteries, I took a multimeter to a new battery to see what was going on -- 3.22v day ONE. After TWO days it was 2.6v and after FIVE it was gone. Never did it even show more than half full on the battery indicator.

FitBit offered no firmware update or recall, just "Hey, buy a new one! You can trust us this time..."

So, after tossing about $70 down the drain, and another $10 in batteries, they want me to spend $120+ on a device that is bulkier, not what I want, and don't know if it'll work.

Too bad there aren't other fitness trackers out on the market...

[saffel]

Agree the battery version is frustrating. But I’ve switched and tried two of the rechargeable Fitbit’s and am happy with them.

Sent from my iPhone

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @PuddyDat, welcome to the Forums! @saffel Thanks for sharing your feedback.

I appreciate all the effort that you put into solving these issues with your Zip. Maybe you've already tried this, but why don't your open the back of your Zip and clean the place where you put the battery using a cotton swab. Make sure that the little metal piece that makes contact with the battery is not bend or rusty too.

 

As I noticed that you've your Zip with you for several year, I think that this can help, but if this doesn't; let me know so I can check with our team the next step.

I'll be around. 

[Runr48]

Thanks, but these were all brand new

Sent from my iPhone

[PuddyDat]

Thanks for the help. I did do that and it helped for a while. However, that was on the right track. 

There was a post where someone used a thin piece of cardboard, like from a good business card, and cut it just under the profile of the battery, placing it in the cap. It snugged it up just enough to where I've been reading full battery for almost a week. 

That's the best performance ever and it looks like the fix.

Thanks FB community!