Furious Fitbit owners threaten to STOP using devices after nightmare update
FRUSHED Fitbit users lash out after claims a new fitness band update has wrecked the product.
The criticism is directed at the performance of the Fitbit Charge 5 after installing the new firmware version v194.61.
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Instead of fixing bugs and introducing new features, users instead complain that the update broke the trackers altogether.
This also means that the battery in devices is heavily discharged – which can lead to the battery, which normally lasts for days, being empty within hours.
Others have indicated that their device is either unresponsive or inoperable after installing the update.
A man took his complaints to an online forum, where he said he had no choice but to abandon the product.
“My Charge 5 is dead. I’m not sure what this firmware update did or didn’t do, but since that happened my Charge 5 is now dead,” he wrote.
“Just like everyone else on this forum. It worked fine, I loved it and now it’s dead and unusable. Tried all solutions and nothing. Fitbit broke my Charge 5, thanks!”
Another user said their Fitbit’s performance was immediately impacted by the update.
“My Fitbit was working fine until last night,” they wrote.
“Suddenly the face went black and stopped responding. I tried every suggested solution but nothing worked.”
“The Fitbit isn’t even a year old. Buying a new one at a reduced price is not an option. I will go somewhere else.”
The update should make some minor changes to the Fitbit, including adding all exercise modes to the tracker’s Exercise app.
It’s also designed to display the Daily Readiness Score for Premium subscribers right on the Charge 5, expand language support, improve watch faces, and include the usual miscellaneous bug fixes.
In response to the chaos, some users have reported that the company is giving people a 35 percent discount when they buy a new Charge 5.
Fitbit’s parent company, Google, has been contacted for comment.
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