This sleek and minimalistic fitness tracker is one of the fastest up-and-coming fitness-tech products today, but what do you do if your WHOOP strap isn’t charging?
In this article, we’ll explore a little bit about what exactly the WHOOP 4.0 strap is. We’ll also provide some tips to try if you discover that your WHOOP strap isn’t charging.
Contents
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What is the WHOOP strap?
WHOOP is unlike many other wearables out there. It’s not a smartwatch with a feature-heavy clockface. Rather, the WHOOP 4.0 is a faceless band that tracks your health, wellness, and fitness metrics 24/7 AND doesn’t need daily charging.
In fact, both the Whoop Strap 4.0 and 3.0 offer up to 4-5 days of battery life on a full charge!
With a Whoop Strap, you aren’t interrupted by all sorts of notifications, beeps, and alarms. Instead, just put it on or wear it in a Whoop Any-Wear piece of clothing and then open the Whoop app to see your data.
The free WHOOP companion app adds visuals to match your performance and basic health metrics. You can view all of this information from their user-friendly graphs within the app. 
Unlike many smartwatches and wearables, with Whoop you do not purchase the device but rather subscribe to its services.
Monthly memberships include the device AND app subscription to use the device and cost around $30 USD or less if you purchase a 12-month ($25/month) or 24-month membership ($20/month.)
The latest version of this fitness tracker, WHOOP 4.0 has been designed to be smaller and smarter than its predecessor, the 3.0.
It features updated biometric tracking that includes monitoring your skin temperature, blood oxygen percentage, sleep cycle, and ultra-accurate heart health metrics.
These smart metrics are all thanks to its advanced technology, including 5 LEDs and 4 photodiodes that are built into the wearable’s sensor
To read through all of the details and perks that the WHOOP 4.0 offers, head to WHOOP’s website.
How to keep track of your battery’s current charge or know when your WHOOP strap isn’t charging at all 
It’s probably always a good idea to know how much battery charge your Whoop strap has left. That way you’re not stopped midday, away from your charging port, and with a dying fitness tracker that you can’t do anything about.
Keeping tabs on your charging levels may also alert you to see if your WHOOP strap isn’t charging at all.
Fortunately, both the WHOOP 4.0 strap and the battery pack have built-in LEDs that display the level of charge remaining.
WHOOP strap 4.0 sensor LEDs
To check your battery charge on your 4.0, double-tap the top of the WHOOP’s sensor. An LED briefly illuminates the side of the watch.
This picture shows a green LED indicating it has anywhere from 50%-100% charge based on the chart below. You can estimate your level of charge by looking at the LED color that is being displayed.
If no LEDs illuminate on the WHOOP strap when you double-tap it, you may have reached 0% and you need to charge immediately.
For earlier Strap models, like the 3.0 and 2.0, double-tapping the top of the sensor and look at the number of times the LED blinks either white or red.
Whoop Strap battery pack LEDs
When your battery pack is fully charged, it can charge your WHOOP 4.0 strap a single time. If your battery pack is plugged in and charging, the LED always illuminates – either red or green.
A solid green LED means the battery’s level is between 70%-100%. If it is red, it’s between 1%-69%.
When your battery pack is attached to your WHOOP strap to charge, it always illuminates green until finished.
Both the WHOOP 4.0 and 3.0 Straps both offer 4-5 days of battery life on a full charge
If neither your battery pack nor the WHOOP strap takes a charge or maintains a charge, then obviously something is wrong.
Next, we talk about what to do if you find that your WHOOP strap isn’t charging.
What to do if your WHOOP strap isn’t charging?
The WHOOP strap has a simple and easy way to charge. It comes with a wireless battery pack that slides onto your WHOOP Strap for seamless charging.
The battery pack for the 4.0 is also water-resistant for up to one meter for two hours. So if you happen to take a shower while you’re charging, it’s no big deal.
However, the battery pack for the older models is not water-resistant, so don’t shower with it!
The 4.0 battery pack itself charges in about two hours via a USB-C port while the 3.0/2.0 battery pack takes between 90 minutes to 2 hours to fully charge.
At this point, you’ve probably used your new fitness wearable to track and monitor all of the good health and fitness things, but all of a sudden, you see that your WHOOP strap isn’t charging.
What do you do?
We’ll list some tips below that you can try if you find yourself in a situation where your WHOOP strap isn’t charging.
#1 Ensure you run the Battery Pack 4.0 updater and have the latest software update and firmware
Some users have found that their WHOOP strap isn’t charging due to unsupported firmware. Especially if you upgraded from the 3.0 model to the 4.0 model, it seems like there have been some software glitches.
So, if you upgraded from the Strap 2.0 or 3.0 to 4.0 and haven’t already used the battery updater tool, try that first. To update, you need a computer (Mac with 10.15+ or Windows running 10+,) your battery pack for the 4.0, and the USB-C cable to connect the pack to your computer.
- First, download the updater tool:
- Once downloaded onto your computer, connect your battery pack to the computer (not a hub) and open the WHOOP Battery Pack Updater file.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to install the app and press Start Update.
- Wait up to 5 minutes for the update to complete.
- If you have multiple battery packs, repeat the steps for each pack.
The other challenge is that you’re often unable to update the firmware if your battery is critically low. This is a problem if you can’t get it to charge in order to proceed with the firmware update in the first place.
Many users have had success installing new firmware by doing a device reboot:
- Open the WHOOP app.
- Tap the Device Settings icon (three horizontal lines) in the bottom right corner.
- Select Advanced.
- Choose Firmware Check to see if there is a new firmware update available for your Whoop or choose Reboot Device. Follow and agree to prompts to install new firmware or reboot.
This appears to be a trusted solution for when your WHOOP strap isn’t charging because of an unsupported or outdated firmware issue.
#2 Check the temperature
This may seem like an odd thing to consider, but this WHOOP support page lists this as a contributor to charging time.
If your WHOOP strap isn’t charging, it could be due to high temps in your environment.
If you’re living in an area where the environment that the WHOOP strap would charge in is generally hotter than typical room temperature, the charging time, efficiency, and even capability to reach full charge may be affected.
WHOOP support states:
- Your WHOOP 4.0’s battery will not be able to charge in environments of 45 degrees Celsius and above (113 degrees Fahrenheit.)
- The actual WHOOP strap still functions up to 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit), but the battery will not be able to charge.
- At room temperature, the average charging time is around 2-2.5 hours. If your WHOOP strap isn’t charging or is charging at an extremely slow rate, it could be due to a heightened temperature.
#3 Check your charging plug’s orientation
If you’ve plugged the battery pack into its USB-C charging port and nothing happens… check the orientation.
This sounds so silly, but I am guilty of doing this a time or two with some of my different tech products.
#4 Are your sensors aligned?
When sliding the battery pack onto the WHOOP strap, make sure the logo on the strap aligns with the logo on the battery pack.
You should hear a satisfying click as it snaps into place.
WHOOP instructs you to wait five minutes before double-tapping the battery pack to see if the LEDs are illuminated.
If the LEDs are not illuminated, remove the battery pack, wait five seconds, and attempt the slide and click connection again with more force.
Once they do illuminate, then your WHOOP strap is successfully charging.
If the LEDs still don’t illuminate:
- Remove the battery pack and wait five minutes or more.
- Next, attach the strap to the charger and then gently press the sides of the battery pack and place your thumb over the sensor on the underside.
- Hold this for 15 seconds, then release. If the LEDs are now green on the bottom of the sensor, you should be good to go.
If they’re not, you’re likely experiencing a more complicated issue that warrants submitting a request to Membership Services.
#5 Replace the battery pack
If you suspect that the problem is the battery pack, contact Whoop Support or visit their site to purchase a replacement.
Just be sure you use or purchase the correct battery pack for your model–they are not interchangeable between the 4.0 (USB-C) and the 3.0/2.0 (micro USB.)
Battery packs currently run about $50 USD for the Strap 4.0 and $30 USD for the battery that fits both the Strap 3.0 and 2.0.
To find out your model, visit the Strap Settings in the Whoop app.
Although it’s not likely you’ll need so many, Whoop limits you to a maximum of 4 battery packs per order.
Due to current US regulations, batteries cannot be shipped to any APO and PO addresses.
Contact Whoop Support 
If nothing works to fix your charging issues on your Whoop Strap, it’s time to reach out to Whoop’s customer support team. You might need a new sensor and/or battery.
You can contact WHOOP inside the Whoop app via the Help icon at the top, e-mail at [email protected], or call (844) 490-1593.
Whoop also offers assistance through its social media channels like Twitter and Facebook.
Final thoughts on what to do if your WHOOP strap isn’t charging
If your Whoop is now charging and its sensor is on, don’t forget to open the WHOOP app on your mobile device to check that your Strap is again collecting your health and fitness data.
If your Strap’s sensors are not on and you don’t see the green LED lights blinking, use the Whoop app to Reboot the device.
The WHOOP Strap is a great health and fitness wearable that can track all sorts of basic and advanced biometric data.
We hope you won’t have any issues as you begin to use your WHOOP strap. If you are having charging issues, though, try one of our tips above to see if it resolves this malfunction.
My 4.0 whoop strap does not take a charge from a 4.0 battery charger. I waited 1 hour after calling A/C 617-1074, transferred to the maintenance operator and put on hold.
I will mail the 4.0 strap to: 1325 Boylston St. Suite 400;Boston, MA,02215 for repair or replacement.