How to check the battery level on your Fitbit

Checking your Fitbits current battery level should be easy. But, unfortunately, it’s not intuitive at all!

No one wants to find their Fitbit’s battery drained unexpectedly! So, it’s important we know how to quickly check the current percentage of battery life remaining directly on the Fitbit itself!

In a hurry?

Here’s a quick rundown of our recommended ways to check your Fitbit’s battery

1. Open and swipe to your Fitbit’s Quick Settings.
2. Use a clock face that includes a battery indicator.
3. Open the Fitbit app and swipe down on the Today tab.
4. Place your Fitbit on its charger.

Important notice for Fitbit Ionic owners

Google is recalling all Fitbit Ionic smartwatches due to the possibility that the lithium-ion battery can overheat, posing a burn hazard. 

If you own an Ionic, Fitbit recommends you immediately stop using it even if it’s working normally and apply for a refund via this Ionic refund site. You’ll need to fill out a form and will receive a return kit with instructions on how to return your device for a refund.

This refund applies to all Fitbit Ionic watches, even inactive units.

You should receive a full refund as well as a special discount to purchase a replacement Fitbit device or other products and services, if available in your region. This special discount is available for a limited time and is valid for 90 days after registering for your Ionic refund.

Related articles

• Fitbit not charging? What to do if your Fitbit won’t charge
• Fitbit doesn’t turn on clock when you tap it? Screen wake not working? Let’s fix it!

How to check your Fitbit’s battery level while wearing it

For most newer model Fitbit smartwatches, including Versa Series, Sense Series, and Ionic, swipe to your Fitbit’s Quick Settings (usually a swipe down or swipe right) and look for the battery level icon or percentage at the top of the screen.

For most newer model Fitbit trackers, including the Luxe, Inspire Series, and Charge 3/4/5, swipe up on your clock face and find your device’s battery level at the top of that screen.

First, you must open the Fitbit app for older model watches and trackers and turn on the battery screen option. Once enabled, you find a battery screen available on your device when you press and hold its side button.

To add the battery screen to your Fitbit

• Open the Fitbit app and select Account.
• Tap on your Fitbit and then Menu Items.
• Checkmark to enable the option for Battery.
• Sync your Fitbit to add this option to your device.
• Press and hold your Fitbit’s side button to see your current battery level.

Try using a clock face with a battery status indicator

Having your battery level show up on your Fitbit’s clock face is the simplest way to monitor and keep track of how much battery your device has at any time.

Unfortunately, many of Fitbit’s clock faces don’t include a battery indicator! And at this time, it’s not an option to add a battery indicator or status icon to a clockface that doesn’t natively offer it.

So, if you want to see that battery information right away whenever you tap or lift your wrist to see your Fitbit’s screen, you’ll need to change its clockface. 

To change your clock face to one with a battery indicator

1. Open the Fitbit app and choose your Fitbit device to see its details.
2. Then, tap the Gallery tile and select the Clocks tab.
3. Perform a search using the term “Battery.” Then scroll to see all your options.

This shows you all the clock faces available that support a battery indicator on-screen. Most of these clockfaces are third-party, with some available free while others require payment.

Choose a clock face that meets your needs that includes a battery status icon or percentage and any other on-screen stats you want to see (i.e., heart rate, step count, SpO2, and so forth.)

One final note, not all Fitbits offer a clock face that includes battery status.

In particular, most Fitbit trackers, like the Inspire or Charge Series, don’t offer any clock faces with a battery indicator.

However, when your tracker’s battery falls below 30%, a battery icon appears at the top of your screen. The icon often overlaps other stats and information on your Fitbit’s screen.

If you see this icon, it’s time to charge your device up!

Check your battery level in the Fitbit app

If you’re already using your paired phone, it’s easy to check your Fitbit’s battery level by just opening up the Fitbit app. 

1. Tap open the Fitbit app and choose the Today tab.
2. Swipe down from the top to see a banner with your device’s current battery charge level.

Connect your Fitbit to its charger

Another way to check your Fitbit’s battery level is by charging it. When you first connect it to the charger, you should see the current battery level.

As your Fitbit charges, tap its screen twice or press the side button to turn the screen on. You’ll see the current battery level for several seconds.

Is your Fitbit’s battery symbol red, flashing, or shows an exclamation point?

When you see your battery icon as red, that means it has less than 24 hours of remaining power.

When your Fitbit is critically low, the red battery icon flashes on and off or shows the exclamation symbol.

At that point, it’s critical you charge your Fitbit right away. Otherwise, the battery drains completely and zeros out, turning your Fitbit off. In that case, you may lose data.

If your battery has less than 25% of its total capacity remaining, it can no longer connect to WiFi to conserve the remaining battery power.

Additionally, when your Fitbit’s battery is low, it conserves power by:

• Disables notifications from showing on your Fitbit.
• Sets screen brightness to dim.
• Change the vibration strength to low/light.
• Turns GPS tracking off.
• Turns off the Always-on display.
• Disables quick replies.
• Disallows music controls.

Need to charge your Fitbit frequently? Check out these tips to extend your Fitbit’s battery life

You probably know that to maximize your Fitbit’s battery life, you should turn off or stop using some features. But what exactly?

If you ever wondered which features you should turn off or reduce using, let’s review the top 6 battery-saving things you can do right now.

1. Turn off Screen Wake.
   • This feature lights up your Fitbit’s screen every time you raise your wrist. So it’s probably turning on a lot of times when you don’t need it. 
   • When you disable the screen wake feature, you tap the screen to wake it.
   • Disable screen wake via your Fitbit’s Quick Settings or the Fitbit app by toggling off Quick View. For a step-by-step on how to do this, see this article.
2. Turn off Always-On Display if your watch supports it.
   • Find this setting in your device’s Quick Settings or Settings app. 
3. Dim your Fitbit’s screen
   • Bright screens use a lot of your battery’s energy. So try a lower brightness setting.
   • Find this option in your device’s Quick Settings or Settings app.
   • Learn about your screen brightness in this article.
4. Get rid of all those reminders to move.
   • Open the Fitbit app, choose the Today tab, and tap your account picture or icon.
   • Select your Fitbit model from the list.
   • Scroll down and turn off Reminders to Move.
5. Change to a simple Made by Fitbit clockface.
   • A clock face that shows a lot of stats or images consumes more energy than a simple one. So try a minimal clock face! 
   • Look for one listed under Made By Fitbit since these are optimized for your devices!
   • Learn how to change your Fitbit’s clock face in this article.
6. Turn off some or all of your forwarded notifications.
   • You may love getting notifications for texts and calls, but do you need to get notified from every app? I doubt it!
   • Open the Fitbit app, choose the Today tab, and tap your account picture or icon.
   • Select your Fitbit model from the list.
   • Scroll down and tap Notifications.
   • Choose App Notifications. 
   • Review the list and toggle off all the apps you don’t need to see notifications for on your Fitbit. You’ll still get those notifications on your phone!
   • Learn about enabling or disabling your Fitbit notifications in this article.