Following a mandatory firmware update released by Google last month, owners of Fitbit Versa 3 and Sense smartwatches are complaining about a sharp decrease in battery life, from two to six days on a charge to having to be charged every day. In an official notice to consumers, Google notes that the firmware update will “reduce the risk of battery overheating and reduce its capacity.”
Image source: Fitbit
According to Google, the firmware update will cause the battery to last “for shorter periods of time between charges, and [users] may need to charge [their] devices more frequently.” However, for smartwatch users, there’s a big difference between charging more often and charging every day. Many users chose Fitbit watches specifically for their good battery life.
Last month, Fitbit Versa 3 and Sense owners began receiving a mandatory firmware update notice to prevent battery overheating. It said the firmware update would “reduce the risk of battery overheating and reduce battery capacity.” Affected users, which Google said were “a limited number,” were also eligible to apply for a $50 refund.
After the firmware update, users began reporting that their devices, which previously worked for 2 to 6 days, now barely lasted a day. They believe that this reduction in battery life has made their devices useless. Watch owners are also not satisfied with the proposed $50 compensation.
Fitbit devices overheating is far from an isolated incident. The company was recently fined $12 million for overheating batteries in its Ionic watches, leaving 78 users with burns. Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed in 2022 claims that the overheating issue is not limited to the Ionic, but also affects the Versa Lite, Versa 2, Fitbit Blaze, Inspire, Inspire 2, Sense, and Versa 3.
Image Source: The Verge
The latest firmware update for the Fitbit Versa 3 and Sense watches, which has dramatically reduced the autonomy of the gadgets, essentially confirms the validity of the accusations. Another indirect evidence of the problem of dangerous overheating of batteries is the recent firmware update, which limits the battery performance of Google Pixel 4A smartphones – also due to overheating.
All future Fitbit gadgets are rumored to be fitness trackers only, although Google denies this. The company acquired Fitbit in 2019 and has been steadily cutting back on new models since then, and has now decided to finally abandon the smartwatch brand. The latest Fitbit watches were the Versa 4 and Sense 2, released in 2022. They offered fewer features than the Pixel Watch, but had longer battery life, worked with iPhone and Android devices, and were much cheaper.