Image source: Fitbit

Some Fitbit users are reporting “shocking” side-effects

Fitbit has received a number of complaints over dangerous side effects. They came from users who claim they suffered electric shocks while wearing a Fitbit fitness tracker. The San Francisco company insists this must be due to a build-up of static energy in the user.

Essential readingTop fitness trackers and health gadgets

There is a reason Fitbit activity devices sell so well. They are simple to use, they work well and they have a great app to go along with the hardware. Its no wonder the company is a leader in wearables sales.

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Image source: Fitbit

But a number of users in America say that instead of promoting good health, the device on their wrist is causing them pain. Some have posted their complaints on the company’s community forums. Do a search and you’ll find a number of threads flagging up the issue.

“Has anyone experienced electric shock from the Fitbit Flex?” one user wrote. “My poor husband received a shock last night in bed while I wore my new Flex wristband. Any suggestions about how to prevent this?”

“I too am getting shocks from my Fitbit Charge. After I take it off i get still get shocks for up to an hour later, no matter what I touch.”

“I have had this exact same problem with the Fitbit Alta HR several times. I’m not comfortable with wearing it. ”

“This happens to me. It is not the vibrations for any reminders or notifications it actually stings. Like a zap.”

“I was wearing my brand new Fitbit HR Charge on Monday night and while walking to a dinner table at a restaurant, my Fitbit shocked my left arm twice. It was the first time that I wore it. I wasn’t touching any metal.” another one wrote.

More worryingly one person said “My Fitbit Charge HR shocked me this morning! And because I have a pacemaker I took it right off!! I really loved that thing but I’m scared to use it!”

Heart rate zone training with wearables
Image source: Fitbit

Some on the community forums have tried to offer an explanation.

“Are you sure it was a shock and not just the wristband pulling out an arm hair? Mine’s done that when I moved.” one asks.

“I bet you put it into sleep mode while rubbing his back. It vibrates when it goes into sleep mode – perhaps he felt that and thought it was a shock?”

Scientists are pretty stumped by the scenario. Meanwhile, Fitbit says the effect is most likely due to a build-up of static electricity on the person or another person they came in contact with. The build up of electrons can be caused by something rubbing against another object. This can easily happen by sliding your feet across a rug or when sliding over the cars seat while exiting the car.

The company has provided us with the following statement.

“The health and safety of Fitbit customers is our top priority and we take all reports of potential issues seriously. We are confident in the safety of our products, which are designed to prevent electrical contact with the user, and we have strict quality control and design requirements to ensure product integrity.

In the very limited instances where people reported what they thought was a shock sensation, we conducted thorough investigations. In all cases, the devices and batteries have been found to be fully intact and functional, with no signs of overheating, voltage irregularities or malfunction of any kind. This report does not reflect the experience of the tens of millions of users around the world who enjoy Fitbit products every day.”

It pretty clear the instances of this happening are very rare and its questionable whether the cause is the Fitbit. Nevertheless, the company has offered replacements and refunds to a number of customers who flagged up the issue. If you’ve ever suffered a shock from your Fitbit, the best thing to do is contact support.

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Ivan Jovin

Ivan has been a tech journalist for over 7 years now, covering all kinds of technology issues. He is the guy who gets to dive deep into the latest wearable tech news.

37 thoughts on “Some Fitbit users are reporting “shocking” side-effects

  • Yes, my Fitbit Charge HR did that to me. It left a permanent burn mark on my arm. I believe it is the copper contact that is doing this as there are two burn spaced apart that is very telling.

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    • I too have had the shocking from my fitbit. tonight while sitting on the couch, I was going through
      paperwork. and my fit bit stung me, at first I was not sure what happened. I ignored it and it continued to sting. I couldn’t get it off fast enough. there was a red area on my arm. My husband couldn’t believe this. he had to check my arm. well I was feeling a little sleepy but after that I now am wide awake. . Not happy about my fit bit.

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      • Charge 2 here and my first AFIB event was detected by a BP cuff. The next two were detected by the fast pulse indicator and I was able to get my heart rate down. This last event I was hospitalized again with AFIB and thank goodness my fit bit alerted me to the event…. Hate to hear folks are having issues but I will continue to use mine.

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    • my fitbit gave me 3 shocks in the last hour…not wearing that anymore…I have for almost two years without a problem

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      • I woke up at 1:00 AM on June 8th to stinging on my wrist. My fitbit shocked me. Not sure what happened next … if I had a seizure (I have never had one) … I will no longer wear my Charge 2.

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      • Can’t wear mine anymore either. The shock I was getting was not just a zap. It was continual and caused numbness and pain in all of my arm.

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    • My Fitbit versa gave me a shock several months ago and I still have an underlying pain at the spot where I was shocked.

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    • I have the same issue. I have marks that look like bruises. I get the shocks even on the golf course!

      Reply
    • I get electric shocks when turning on light switches when wearing my Fitbit, Now no Fitbit no shocks

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    • just bought a fitbit sense and a topped wearing due to shocks on a regular basis.
      think that’s it for smartwatches as I see some people are reporting the same for garmin.
      definitely design flaws

      Reply
  • I’ve had 3 Fitbit models in 4 years. Flex, Alta, charge 2. This morning, I woke up suddenly, my arm STINGING with pain under the Fitbit.
    It wasn’t ANYTHING like the gentle vibration of a notification. It was like being stung by a scorpion, which I can only imagine. There was no bug, nothing that could’ve bitten or poked me. It was an hour ago and still feels tender but nothing like the stinging nerve like pain before I took it off. I’ve had this one since November 2017. One taken pics of just after I took it off and will take a pic throughout the day. I haven’t gone but maybe 3 days without a Fitbit on in 4 years, once when I had surgery, it was off, maybe wasn’t charged a time or two… Never experienced this. It wasn’t too tight, didn’t pull a hair. It STUNG. ??? Afraid to wear it now! I thought I was going to have to go to the ER. Actually called my husband to come home from work.

    Reply
  • I have been experiencing a mild shock followed by a tingling sensation on my wrist now going down to my hand. I stopped wearing the Fitbit. Called customer service was given a case # and told the dept. Which oversees these issues will notify me via email, I asked to speak with someone and was told “this dept. Only communicates via email” I told the rep my wrist and hand have this tingling and that is this continued i was going to obtain legal council, then I got “I will escalate this case” you may get an email prior to 24 hours. Something funny about this, I have read many posts on this tingling and shock…. obviously they’re aware of these issues, you would think this item would be recalled…. guess $$ more important

    Reply
    • I purchase a charge 2 2 weeks ago. Within 10 days I was having tingling and aches in my wrist. I have never had the notifications turned on and I have not worn it tightly. It seems to me that it is over stimulating nerves on something in my arm which continues to ‘Throb’ once the Fitbit is removed. I have contacted Fitbit and await a response. Is it only Fitbit trackers this applies to? I can’t see complaints about other trackers on line?

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    • same here running up the left arm through left breast very odd!

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      • Same! I then put it on my right wrist and it did the same thing to my right breast!

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    • I litterally just got shocked by my charge 3. It shocked me and sent a nerve pain all the way down my wrist to my fingers. I took it off immediately and started reading all these comments of common occurrences. Im mad now because I really loved this product. Its all I asked for for Christmas and have been using it every day. I might call customer service just to see if I get the same response as everyone else that has had this problem.

      Reply
  • I have been using fitbit for a little over a month now. It was a Christmas gift for me. During this month I have had a significant amount of hand pain, waking up with hand stiffness and tingly feeling in my fingers. I felt my veins beginning to somehow hurt and because of the long length of time that I would wear it that pain began to travel down to my legs. I have been a distant runner my whole life but suddenly it was causing some vein swelling and I couldn’t quite concentrate on my running. I began getting depressed and journaling what I did daily, what amount of pain I would have daily and what I would eat, how long I would sit etc. Needless to say the only thing that was different in my every day routine was wearing that thing. I started to research and google what people had to say and took it off immediately. I feel wonderful today, I ran like nobody’s business with no problems, my wrist pain went away. I encourage the company to get rid of fitbit.

    Reply
  • I was driving and suddenly got increased shock and pain in my fingers so I took it off. I tried it on again few days later and got it again near the end of day so took it off and went to sleep. It’s 1pm and my arm and hand are still tingling. Anyone else? I hope it goes away.

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    • I purchased the charge 2 a year ago. Couldn’t wait to put it on. Within 10 minutes I was having shocks and a tingling sensation up my arm and across my chest. Called Fitbit and they said I may be sensitive to the heart rate monitor and so they advised I had one without so I had to get the Alta which I wasn’t overwhelmed with but it’s been fine ( shock wise ) but a year in and the screens stopped working and having to be replaced again. I can’t fault the customer service but it just leaves me a bit disappointed knowing a year from now this new one will probably die on me too.

      Reply
  • Using fitbit has caused me arm pain I am not able to do any work or move much arm and hand

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    • I, too, had to return my Fitbit because of bone and deep tissue pain. This pain has persisted and even wakes me up on some nights, despite not having worn it for over a month.
      This is extremely concerning.

      Reply
  • Started using Fitbit Ionic Feb 14, 2019 and about a month of constant use (also wore it sleeping), my left arm felt numb for 3 consecutive mornings (early like between 5-5:30am). The pain was excruciating and during the day, my left hand was tingly and it feels like my blood circulation on the left arm is not functioning as normal. This numbness went on intermittently and my wife recently suggested to remove the FItbit since this started when I wore the Fitbit. So I did remove it completely three days ago 3/30/19. I can still feel the pain and tingling on my left hand and hoping it will go away eventually. I exercise regularly 3-4 times a week, doing cardio and weight lifting. Will file a formal complaint next to Fitbit and Federal Trade Commission.

    Reply
  • It is painful, I regret the day I bought it because my left arm is not normal than before.

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  • Hi I have pian running down same arm as I ware my Fitbit it seems to get easier when I take it of going to leave of for few days c if it gets better Cairo man said it’s a trapped nerve maybe he is right
    As any one else had this problem?

    Reply
    • Yes, have also had nerve involvement, tingling and vibrations up my left arm days after discontinued use of my Fitbit Alta HR. Fitbit offered to replace it, but I am not going to use any of these devices, and hope that the damage done will resolve with time.

      Reply
  • I have been wearing my Fitbit every day for about a month or so. now I have severe pain in my wrist and cant move it very well. having a hard time picking up stuff with my hand as well. pinky and thumb gives out. I have not had any tingling or shocking going on just a lot of pain and minimal use of hand.

    Reply
  • Full shocking in my wrist and up my arm while sleeping with Fitbit. Can this cause heart attack or stroke? Arm and wrist continue to be numb and tingly after 8 hours of removal.

    Reply
  • I have worn my fitbit Charge 3 for around 2 weeks now nonstop, and all of a sudden I have had intense tissue pain in my wrist. It’s incredibly painful to turn my wrist over and my hand now feels stiff

    Reply
  • Woke up in the middle of the night with intense pain and tingling in my left hand going up my arm. My index finger felt like I was being electrically shocked. My first thought was heart attack! As I rubbed my arm the pain intensified at my wrist – removing the fitbit I noticed my pulse immediately dropped and the tingling in my arm started to lessen. Here I am 4 days later, still having some slight numbness and tingling in my thumb and first 2 fingers of the left hand and just ‘feeling off’ in the wrist area. I am convinced there was some type of electrical shock that happened. I am not new to fitbit – I am aware of ‘static’ – but as nurse I also do not ‘buy’ that explanation. The fact that my pulse dropped back to a normal resting state of 72 versus a reading of 134 within minutes of removing the fitbit tells me there was something going on that should not have happened.

    Reply
  • I have a Fitbit Versa and been wearing it for about a year. I have had wrist pain off and on but never associated it with the fitness tracker until this last weekend. I was in so much pain I had to buy a wrist brace and ice off and on all weekend long. Deep tissue pain and could not move my wrist. I am feeling slightly better now that I have not worn if for 5 days.

    Reply
  • I have a fitbit versa that I got three weeks ago. About 1.5 weeks in I started getting the shocks and it was a scary feeling I’m never felt before within my hand. That was the only thing I changed was wearing a Fitbit. It kept happening so I moved it to the other hand to see if it would happen over there. I was fine for about a week and just today it started to do the same thing in my wrist and up my arm. The explanation of a pulled hair is ridiculous; I know what a pulled hair feels like. The thing with that first pain in my left hand is it still hasn’t quite gone away, it’s like it set off something in my body the first time it happened or maybe it’s just hanging on because I’m still wearing it? I was so excited to get it and it has been so helpful for me to track my movement. I even shut off Bluetooth in case that was the problem, but it doesn’t seem to matter. I don’t want to stop wearing, but I don’t want to be in pain just to wear it. It’s pretty scary and them brushing it off doesn’t bode well for how I view that hey care about their customers health. It’s shameful they’re blowing us off. If something more major happens like the post I read about the person with the pacemaker they are going to wish they had taken what we are experiencing seriously. Anyone have better luck with different companies not having this problem?

    Reply
  • Purchased a Fitbit Alta and wore it with no problems but then a few weeks ago I started to feel a tingling up my arm. I thought it was it urging me to take steps but it was nothing on the screen . I have decided to stop wearing it forever. I don’t like this tingling that is occurring near my wrist and arm, it’s scary. Sometimes we think that the technology is our friend but when it’s causing health issues it’s time to let it go.

    Reply
  • I have been wearing Fitbits for about three years. First the Charge 2 and the Versa 2. It has stung me many times both of them. I would take it off for a while but I have high blood pressure and I like to know what my heart beat is and the hours I sleep. I started having pain in my hand and blood vessel leading to my hand. Switched it to my left hand and I am getting stung and difficulty using my fingers and weakness in that hand. I will keep it off for now and see if these problems get better. Wanted to see what others are experiencing also.

    Reply
  • I’m so glad I read this article as i was having the same problem with my fit bit as well. I have two bumps on my wrist where the copper buttons touch my skin. I was getting shocks on my wrist and I checked for an insect bite or a pulled hair, but there wasn’t anything to see. A few days later I was checking again and saw two raised bumps. I’ve taken it off as it doesn’t seem like a good idea to wear something that will shock me and cause irritation to my skin. I’ll be in contact with FitBit. This is my second fitbit and I already miss the fact that I’m unable to safely wear it. It’s not people’s imagination at all. It’s real FitBit, we’re getting shocked.

    Reply
    • I totally agree!!!
      I bought a fitbit sense a week ago and can’t believe the number of shocks I’ve received…I too checked for a bite or pulled hair or something. this morning was the final draw…I’m taking it back.
      people have raised these shock concerns for years…clearly fitbit is not listening

      Reply
  • just bought a fitbit sense and have received many shocks. returning it as it’s cause some damage to my wrist on the outer bone…where it connects to my hand.
    Shocks are getting worse…had a hard time believing it at first.

    Reply
  • I got shocked twice today early in the morning. It’s a Charge 5 that I got from QVC. It is alarming. What is causing this?

    Reply

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