iPhone's battery draining with new Fitbit app

[honglong1976]

Fix: Disable Motion and Fitness for the Fitbit app (even if you don't use MobileTrack).


Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[JMark235]

Fitbit app v 4.04 was just released this AM. In this release, the fitness watch battery charge level is now back on the app's Today screen and the BPM metric current heart rate in the Focus panel at the top of the Today screen has reappeared after disappearing in the v 4.03 release. The illegible while font on the exercise screens is still there. We should know in a couple of days whether the battery drain problem has also been fixed.

Update 16NOV23 : The v 4.04 app update did not fix the battery drain on my iPhone 13 mini with IOS 17.1.1 connected to a Versa 2 with the latest firmware. Closing the app which isn't really that much of a hassle when not using remains the only way to prevent battery drain that I am aware of.

[Laceypit]

The Fitbit app just started doing this in the last couple of days for me.  I haven’t done anything different.  I can’t say I like the new version of the app.  The graphics are childish.  But I wasn’t having this issue.  It is strange that some people have been dealing with it for weeks.

[norneslo]

For me, it did the same thing again on this version.  From 10pm to 6am you can see the battery depletion over night.  You can see when I took the screen capture it's back on the charger. Up until this test, I've been killing the app every time I sync to preserve my battery.

[Bug25]

Just downloaded onto my iPhone. Says it was an available 3 days ago but only today for myself and husband. Great to have battery % on iPhone. Hope it fixes the 9 hour drain on my iPhone overnight though 😭

 

[Laceypit]

I have observed the same.  The battery drains overnight when I am not even wearing my Fitbit.  The only way to preserve the battery is to make sure I quit the app after I sync.

[SuzanneBunton]

I second this one.   There is no reasonable excuse for this level of malfunction and inaction in an update release.  Besides everything about the new UI is inferior to the old, and made me think Google must be trying to kill the Fitbit, presumably so users will switch to some other Google tracker, even before i realized my Fitbit was killing my phone battery.   I've been constantly using a series of Fitbit Charge HRs since the first came out in 2015.   I even kept using them after i got a Garmin watch,  wearing one on each arm, because  I liked to make sure i moved every hour by keeping the little hourly-activity star showing on my Fitbit's watch face  all day.    (I really haven't figured out what the Garmin basesits movement reminders upon.    I'm going to find another way to keep myself,  from sitting still too long at once.  The Fitbit is altogether inferior to other options, such as Garmin.   And this battery problem both inexcusable and insufferable.  Bye Fitbit, and thanks Google (you wankers).

[mcw53]

iPhone11: iOS 17.1.1

Charge 4: 20002.100.76

Fitbit app: 4.04

Looks like I'm going to have to close the app when I'm not using it ...

[Agamemnon055]

Same for me. Around 65% of my battery use goes to fitbit. Shutting off background activity does nothing. Ill try the posted suggestions.

[farrellcsun]

I'm experiencing the exact same behaviour ever since the v4 update with my iPhone 14 pro max on the latest iOS.  Whilst closing out the app everytime does prevent the battery drain, I really hope they fix this issue properly as shutting down the app prevents me from using the Alexa feature on the fitbit as well as the weather app does not work without the app always connected to location services and running the background.  Prior to this battery drain faff, it was never a problem having those settings on and running in the background.  Please fitbit... 🙏🙏🙏

UPDATE Dec. 8 2023: I updated the app (4.06) a couple days ago on my iphone and also did a firmware update on the versa4 which was around the same time.  I have to say, so far so good - have not had the crazy background activity even with everything turned on (e.g. background refresh, location always on so weather can work, leaving app open, etc.).  Even when I charged the phone overnight (which is when the crazy background activity usually starts), in the morning it showed lowe usage.  Hopefully this was the fix!

[JMark235]

Version 4.06 of the Fitbit app was released Monday night (04DEC23) at about 2100 EST and I have been running this 4.06 version on my iPhone 13 mini connected to my Versa 2 since then with the app open and background app refresh enabled. The Fitbit app battery usage has been minimal, possibly even less than with the 3.X version of the app. Even when actively using the Fitbit to track exercises at the gym there is minimal background time - about 2 minutes background for 1 hour of exercises. For the last 36 hours the Fitbit app has consistently been running about 1 minute per hour in background processing. Just in case some of you didn't realize it, on the IOS battery screen you can touch 1 of the bars to see what the app was using during the 1 hour period selected.

In addition to the battery drain, 4.06 also has a completely redesigned activity section.

Note that on the version history for the Fitbit app on Apple's app store there is not a v 4.05 listed.

[norneslo]

Thanks for the update JMark235.  I've updated to 4.06, and will leave the app open and see how it goes. 

[ChristineP2023]

I’m showing exactly the opposite of that from the 4.06 release.  

 an example:

 

[Bob245]

the same for me

[tigertimb]

Fault reported September by lots of us, and should have been reverted immediately
But the only solution suggested was to stop the app running, which was not the product I bought
Two months later with no solution, so gave my fitbit to my mate explaining the limitations and bought a Garmin in Black Friday sales
Not convinced I'll be considering Google for any type of product, any time soon

------

Ironically; that post earned me a new badge for 10 years as part of the fitbit community 😢

[Olaf666]

I use Fitbit Inspire 2, Fitbit app 4.04, Iphone 13 mini IOS 17.1.2. Just got on these threads after noticing the battery decrease. Up until recently, (4.x versions, perhaps), this phone drew very lightly on its battery (it is a new phone despite older model - i want small, as guess what i take it exercising, sometimes miles out). Never been totally impressed by the fitbit devise or app, but it has been  workable. Thanks to other strands of this forum, i now know how to awkwardly find exercise data, graph, etc.  But the battery issue seemed to only get worse with the update to 4.04. It is very puzzling what the phone has to be doing in the background, regardless of activity level. And frankly, it is untenable for me given that i am not always where i can plug things in. But mostly disappointing. I'll probably stick with this product a bit. I'm seeing signs of the wearable giving out. After that i will likely move along unless Google can restore simple functionality in energy use and user interface. Too bad. I vote with my feet.

[JMark235]

Fitbit released v 4.06 of the app earlier this week which seems to have finally fixed the battery drain problem and also included a complete redesign of the exercise screens. Since you are on 4.04, I'd suggest updating the app to handle the battery drain problem.

[JMark235]

The v 4.06 app update has generally resolved the battery drain problem on my Versa 2 with the exception of 1 scenario that recently developed.

I went for a walk yesterday AM, manually started the exercise tracking but then apparently forgot to stop the exercise when I finished. When I woke this AM there was a message on my watch asking if I wanted to end the exercise. After the walk I took the watch off due to doing a DYI project and didn't remember to put it back on until just before going to bed. During the hours that I wasn't wearing the watch the battery usage screen showed the app running 100% of the time in the background although the total time, pace and distance for the walk was correct. The app somehow determined accurately when I had stopped the walk at the time that I actually did stop the walk. The map of the walk was almost a solid black spaghetti bowl of lines.

[Kmh-ames]

I have used the latest app for two days, it looks like my battery draining issue has been solved. App 4.06, Fitbit Sense 2, iOS 17.1.2. 

[honglong1976]

It's been random since 4.0 onwards.

Somedays no drain, other days drains like crazy. Last night for example I went to bed 80% battery, woke up 21%. Fitbit was the culprit.

Day before, same settings, 80% when I went to bed, woke up 78%.

Something is just not right with the app.

[Olaf666]

Thank you, 4.06 appears to have solved that problem, as illustrated below.
See typical day on 4.04 highlighted showing background fitbit app draw, vs
after update. Classic time series [image: battery Iphone13mini
IOS17.1.2.jpg]