Okay, so yesterday was a total headache with my Fitbit Charge 5. Woke up, glanced at it to check the time, and BAM! Just a big red X staring back at me. Seriously annoying.
First thing I did, naturally, was to mash all the buttons. Held the side button down for ages, nothing. Just that stubborn red X. So, I figured, okay, maybe it’s just dead. Plugged it into the charger. Left it for a good hour. Still that red X. Starting to get a bit frustrated now.
Next, I hopped online. Google was my friend. Saw a bunch of people suggesting a restart. Apparently, you have to plug it into the charger AND THEN hold the side button down for like, eight seconds. Tried that. Nothing. Tried it again. Still nothing. Man, this was getting old FAST.
Kept digging online. Saw some folks saying to try a different USB port or even a different charger. Switched to a wall charger instead of my laptop USB. Plugged it in, held that button. And…still the red X. I swear, I almost threw the thing across the room.
Okay, breathe. Deeper dive into the Fitbit forums. Found a thread where someone mentioned completely deleting the Charge 5 from the Fitbit app on my phone and then re-adding it. Sounded drastic, but I was running out of options. So, I went into the app, went to device settings, and hit “Remove Device.”
Then I went through the whole setup process again like it was brand new. The app found the Charge 5, asked me to enter a code on the Fitbit’s screen (which, thankfully, was now showing SOMETHING other than a red X – it was showing the setup screen!), and started syncing. It took a few minutes, but eventually, it came back to life!
The key steps that (finally) worked for me were:
- Completely removing the device from the Fitbit app.
- Using a wall charger instead of a USB port on my computer.
- Making sure the Fitbit was actually charging (even though it only showed a red X initially).
What a relief! Hope this helps someone else stuck with the dreaded red X.