Fitbit was recently ordered to pay a huge fine for Ionic smartwatches that burned users. Two other wearable devices manufactured by the company were also affected by a similar overheating issue that could have led to more users being burned.
However, Google announced last month a new program that offers customers $50 credit for being affected by the overheating issue. More importantly, Google rolled out an update to Sense and Versa 3 smartwatches, which is meant to reduce the risk of the battery overheating, as well as reduce battery capacity.
According to Fitbit, a small number of Sense and Versa 3 units were affected by this overheating issue, so not everyone is supposed to receive the update. Speaking of which, if you want to know if your wearable device is impacted by the overheating issue, you can submit a request and wait up to one week to find out.
Now, despite its good intentions, Google’s update for Sense and Versa 3 rendered these smartwatches nearly useless. Many owners of the affected smartwatches have complained on Reddit that after receiving the update, they now must recharge their wearable devices daily.
A small number of Fitbit Sense units have been affected by a battery issue | Image credits: Fitbit
What’s worse is that in most cases battery life went from 3-5 days to less than 24 hours. Not to mention that the main reason many customers purchased Fitbit smartwatch is because of their long battery life.
I went from getting 3 days to barely 24 hours after the update. It's insane to me that a company's response to a battery recall can be to make the product basically unusable. Imagine if a car company could make a car's max speed 15mph in response to an airbag recall.
– Reddit user CjNorec, February 2025
And it’s not just Reddit that’s been flooded with complaints, but also Fitbit’s forums too. It’s probably safe to say that everyone who installed the update will have to recharge their Fitbit smartwatches every day now.
Google’s decision to reduce the battery capacity to avoid the overheating issues and improve the overall stability of the battery doesn’t seem to be fair for Fitbit fans. And the $50 appeasement for a smartwatch that costs four times that amount isn’t going to make things better.
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It remains to be seen if Google will acknowledge the major problem it caused to those owning the Fitbit Sensa and Versa 3 with this update, and offer them free replacements or, maybe, a better appeasement.
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Cosmin, a tech journalist with a career spanning over a decade, brings a wealth of experience to PhoneArena. His expertise lies in brands like Samsung and Nokia, and he has a keen interest in innovative technologies. After a brief stint in PR, Cosmin returned to tech journalism in 2016, committed to delivering clear and objective news. When he's not writing or appearing as a guest on TV and radio shows, Cosmin enjoys playing RPGs, watching Netflix, and nurturing his passion for history and travel.
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