Why Fitbit Drains Battery So Fast? (10 Causes & Fixes)

Nothing’s more frustrating than your Fitbit dying when you need it most. You eagerly glance at your wrist during your morning run, only to realize your fitness tracker’s battery is completely depleted.

Fitbit Battery Drains Fast: 10 Potential Fixes

Fitbit batteries are expected to last multiple days on a single charge, so rapid draining points to an underlying issue. Below, we have some reasons why your Fitbit’s battery drains quickly.

1. Role of Apps and Notifications

The number of apps and notifications you have on your Fitbit can significantly impact battery life.

If you have too many apps running in the background or receive excessive notifications, your Fitbit may drain battery faster than expected.

To Disable Notifications

1. On your smartphone, go to the Fitbit app
2. Tap on “Today” on the bottom lefthand corner
3. Tap on the avatar photo at the top
4. Under your account, select your Fitbit device. For example if you have a Fitbit Luxe synced, you should see it here.
5. Scroll down til you see the “General” section, tap “Notifications”
6. Here, you’ll see a lot of options, to disable individual Emails, Calender Events, etc. You need to first tap on them and you’ll be brought to a screen that allows you to disable them individually
7. To Disable all your notifications, go back to the “Notifications” section and you’ll see dots at the top to your uppermost right. tap that and select “Disable Notifications”

2. All Day Sync or Always Connected

All Day Sync (iPhones) or Always Connected (Android) on Fitbit devices allows your tracker to sync its data with the Fitbit app more frequently throughout the day.

However, this feature can also drain your battery quickly. To fix this

1. Go to the Fitbit App
2. Go to your Account
3. Select your Fitbit and scroll down Turn off “All-Day Sync” or if you’re on Android, Turn off “Always Connected”

3. Software Problems

Sometimes, software bugs or app issues can cause your Fitbit to drain battery faster than expected. To troubleshoot this issue, check for any available updates to your Fitbit’s operating system, watch or apps. If updates are available, install them to see if it resolves the battery drain issue.

To Update your Fitbit watch on iPhone & Android

1. Open the Fibit App
2. Go to your settings (Avatar Photo in the top lefthand side)
3. Scroll down and Tap on “Help & Support”
4. Tap on “Check for __ Update”. The black will be filled with whichever fitbit you have synced with the app

To Update Fitbit App

1. On your device, go to the App Store
2. Select the “Updates Tab” (location may vary on Android devices)
3. Scroll to see where Fitbit is located, if an update is available, it’ll show up here
4. Tap “Update”

4. Damaged or Faulty Battery

New Watch

If your Fitbit battery is damaged or faulty, it may not hold a charge as long as it should. If you suspect that this is the issue,  contact Fitbit customer support for further assistance.

Chances are you got a faulty battery and your watch will eligible for a warranty replacement.

Old Watch

If you have an older Fitbit device, you may notice that the battery life is not as long as it used to be. This is because the battery in older devices may not hold a charge as well degrade over time.

Additionally, on their site, Fitbit mentions that older devices may not run as smoothly as newer devices or get software updates.

To Fix this issue, you have two options.

The first one is to buy a battery for your fitbit model and replace it yourself. On YouTube or forums, there may be a step-by-step guide on how to do it.

If you are not well experienced with doing repairs, we do not recommend doing it since battery replacements require soldering and can be intimidating for a beginner.

The second fix is simple. You need to upgrade to a newer Fitbit. Newer devices have longer battery life and can receive updates that fix software issues that could potentially reduce battery life.

5. GPS Settings

If you’re using GPS on your Fitbit, it can significantly impact battery life especially if you have it set to “Built-in”, which uses your Fitbit’s GPS sensors to track everything. If you’re not actively using GPS, consider turning it off to conserve battery.

To conserve battery life, make sure you have your Fitbit GPS settings turned to “Dynamic”. This setting sets the GPS type at the start of your workout. If your phone is nearby, it will use the phone’s GPS with helping to map the route.

To turn the GPS To Dynamic (Varies depending on the model)

1. On your watch, get to your “Settings”
2.  Scroll until you reach “GPS” and tap it
3. Now that your in “GPS settings”, tap it and it’ll switch modes. When you to get “Dynamic”, stop tapping it.

6. Screen Wake Settings

The Screen Wake feature Fitbit can also drain battery life faster than expected. It’s a that causes the screen to light up every time you turn your wrist towards you.

To Turn off Screen Wake

1. On your Fitbit, swipe down until you get to “Screen wake”.
2. You should see that it’s set to auto; tap it to turn it to “Manual”

7. Screen Brightness

One of the most common reasons for battery drain is the screen brightness. To conserve battery life, you can try dimming the screen or turning on auto brightness. This will reduce the amount of power needed to light up the screen.

To Do that:

1. On your watch, from the clock screen, swipe down until you reach “settings” and tap it
2. Tap the “Display settings”
3. Adjust the brightness by tapping on it. Tap on it to set it to “Dim” or “Auto”

8. Turn off Fitbit when not in use

If you’re not using your Fitbit, turn it off to conserve battery life. This will prevent unnecessary battery drain.

Turning Off older Fitbit Versa Series

1. On your Fitbit, go to “Settings”
2. Tap “About”
3. Tap “Shutdown”

Turning Off other series

1. On your Fitbit, go to “Settings”
2. Tap “Shutdown”

9. Charging in Extreme Temperatures

Avoid charging your Fitbit in extreme temperatures. Charging your device in temperatures above 95°F or below 32°F can damage the battery and cause it to drain faster.

Also, hot heat helps with accelerating battery degrading, so in the future, when you charge your Fitbit normally, it won’t hold a charge as long.

10. Heart rate monitoring

Continuous heart rate monitoring can also drain your Fitbit’s battery quickly due to frequent sensor use. If you don’t need this feature, turn it off to conserve battery life.

To do that:

1. Go to “Settings” on your Fitbit
2. Scroll over to “Heart Rate”
3. Tap it to turn it off

Bottom Line

In conclusion, Fitbit batteries draining faster than expected is usually a solvable issue. Start by evaluating your usage – disable unnecessary apps, notifications, and background syncing, which can excessively drain the battery.

Check for any firmware and app updates, as bugs can cause battery drain. Adjust settings like lowering screen brightness, turning off GPS when not needed, and disabling heart rate monitoring to conserve power.

Avoid charging in extreme temps and make sure not to let the battery fully drain.