Out of nowhere, a couple of weeks ago, without ever installing any firmware update (at least intentionally), my Fitbit Charge 5 started:
- reporting incorrect battery numbers, swinging wildly from 40% to 90% to 77% and so on, and,
- turning off randomly with the only way to turn it back on being to plug it into a charger.
As a reminder, I bought this thing for $155 off Amazon back in April 2022. At the time, and I can’t speak for now, there weren’t any service centres present in India. I told myself I’m taking a gamble and I’d be happy if it lasts longer than a year. It has. And yet, I am unhappy.
Reports are coming in about a software update causing issues for a number of Charge 5 users, including even bricking (TechRadar, AndroidCentral). These are from July 2023 — a time where I did not face any such issues, which makes this all the more weird for me that it’s happening in January 2024, presumably not as a result of a software update.
A $155 piece of equipment being useless does not inspire confidence and Google’s response, and I highly doubt it applies to India, is abysmal (emphasis mine):
Fitbit, it seems, isn’t handling the issue properly for those affected. Those with broken trackers have been left out to dry. Support isn’t offering to replace the device, but rather just giving a 35% discount on new hardware assuming the tracker is still under warranty – the device just launched in 2021, but Fitbit does only offer a 1-year warranty from the time of purchase. But, even then, Fitbit should be offering a free resolution to that problem, given the broken device is being caused by an update from Fitbit directly.
https://9to5google.com/2023/07/11/fitbit-charge-5-battery-bricking-update/
Troubleshooting.
So far, I have tried:
- Restarting the device from the device itself.
- Restarting the device using the charging cable (three 1-second taps on the button embedded on the power end of the USB cable)
- Changing the watch face
- Updating the firmware from 188.58 to 194.91 (the problem was reported on 188.61)
I’m currently in the process of draining the battery, which is a very involved, unforgiving, and annoying task given that the device randomly turns off and has no accurate number on its battery capacity.
Right this moment, as I opened the Fitbit app to look at the firmware version, the device went offline. Perhaps there is something there to look into for Google? Maybe a sync throws the device off?
Anyhow, I managed to get it from a reported 97% to 9% through the course of the night, using the always on display feature. Plug into the charger to turn it on, and the battery is 88%. 🤡 As a battery preserving measure (<10%), the AOD seems to be automatically turned off. Perhaps a good sign that the hardware still has an accurate internal reading on the battery. Using the AOD also helps prevent the device from turning off. I am usually able to bring it back to life by tapping the screen a dozen times.
Let’s see when it drains completely and what it does next.
Alternatives.
I don’t want to purchase a cheap, Chinese fitness band.
I also don’t want to necessarily invest in a “smart” watch – something I mentioned before. Who has time to charge a watch every single day? Impossible. This rules out Apple Watch.
Garmin is an option with its vivosmart 5 (₹16,990, ~$205), but it is more expensive than even the newly released Charge 6 (₹14,999, ~$180*). Probably Garmin vivosmart 5 is worth a try if at least the device will l last me three or, ideally, more years than that?
* I also find it ridiculous how this sells for $160 plus sales tax in a very rich country, and $180 in a very poor country like India. Like-for-like, pricing, almost.