Wondering why the Fitbit Sense keeps restarting? You know the answer so stay with us!
When the Fitbit Sense is in a reboot loop when the display seems stuck on the Fitbit logo and you can’t access the system at all.
Fortunately, we’ve found multiple ways to troubleshoot the restarting problem with the Fitbit Sense watch in a matter of minutes!
When Fitbit restarts endlessly, identify if there are incomplete downloads in the storage of the watch.
Next, try changing the clock face of the Fitbit Sense, charge the watch to full battery and in case the restart loop continues, initiate the factory restoration process.
Let’s start unveiling…
Why Does My Fitbit Keep Restarting?
When the Fitbit Sense is restarting completely by itself without you doing anything, the issue is probably related to the firmware version of the watch.
However, it’s way too early to rush into conclusions so let’s review the probable causes for the automatic restarts on your Fitbit watch!
- Incomplete Sense firmware update
- Incomplete content downloading
- Incompatible clock lock screen face
- A hardware problem with the watch
- Connectivity issues with Fitbit Sense
How Often Does the Watch Restart?
You could find a pattern in how often the watch restarts, for how long, and what does it exactly display while it is restarting.
Identifying such information will allow us to troubleshoot the issue more accurately so try to recall a restarting pattern or behavior that you can easily recognize.
- The watch shuts off and then starts up by itself – (software issue).
- The watch shuts off and doesn’t start up after – (battery issue).
With this in mind, let’s continue with a fully-fledged solution guide at your disposal.
Fitbit Sense Keeps Restarting – 7 Different Ways to Fix!
1. Check for Incomplete Downloads
Incomplete downloads are what primarily causes the Fitbit Sense watch to reboot or power off completely.
Lost or weak WiFi connection causes queued-up downloads to lag or progress really slowly, and as a result, the Fitbit Sense watch reboots to free up memory.
Download Queues On Fitbit Sense?
A WiFi connection is necessary for downloading any content on Fitbit Sense.
Well, downloads are not completing most likely due to a weak or inconsistent WiFi connection, which causes the constant reboots.
Here’s how to approach WiFi problems on Fitbit Sense watch:
- Reconnect the Fitbit Sense watch to WiFi.
- Keep the watch close to the network router.
- Reboot the network modem/router device.
Info: If you’re experiencing issues with the internet as well, contact your ISP for more help!
2. Charge the Fitbit Sense Watch
It is possible that the watch is restarting due to a low battery percentage.
As the battery of the watch ages, the device may start shutting down before the battery hits zero percent. This is an indication of a faulty battery, but charging the watch fully might temporarily stop the restarts.
- Plug the Fitbit Sense watch into the charger for 30 to 40 minutes!
The Fitbit Sense watch needs a while to completely charge.
The display of watch should also display a battery icon and the charging indicator must turn green as soon as the device is plugged in. Well, in case your watch doesn’t restart with a full battery, the problem is identified.
Note: In case the Fitbit Sense watch keeps restarting with a full battery, continue reading!
3. Re-Sync the Fitbit Watch
The Fitbit Sense needs to be paired with a mobile device in order to access most of the options and customizable settings.
The constant restarts could be a sign of an underlying syncing issue between the Sense watch and the application installed on your mobile device.
Follow these instructions to sync a Fitbit Sense watch to the Fitbit app:
- Launch the Fitbit app on the mobile device.
- Navigate to “Devices” and select the Sense watch.
- Press the blue “Sync Now” button at the top.
How Does Fitbit Syncing Work?
Keep the watch data displayed on your mobile device (within the Fitbit app) up to date.
Then, it’s necessary to keep the Sense watch synced at all times to receive real-time info and notifications on your phone. This will help understand whether the rebooting is related to the watch syncing.
Quick Tip: Keep the watch and the mobile phone close to one another while syncing!
4. Undergo a Manual Watch Restart
The problem with the Fitbit Sense watch can be resolved by simply triggering a manual restart from the watch’s settings.
For this purpose, you only need to access the appropriate page in the settings and initiate a manual restart, which hopefully will prevent the automatic ones.
Note: If the watch shuts down so quickly that you can’t use it, jump to the next step!
- To start a manual restart on Fitbit Sense, go to About > Reboot > Shutdown!
How to Undergo a “Long” Reset?
Another way to reboot the Fitbit Sense watch is by holding the power button on the watch’s side, which will shut down the device immediately.
This type of reset doesn’t erase any of the content stored on the Fitbit watch and will not change any of the system settings.
- To start a long reset, hold the button on the side for 15-20 seconds!
Note: To re-sync the watch after the reboot, go to Fitbit app > Devices > Sense > Sync Now!
5. Upload the Latest Firmware Version
With the Fitbit Sense watch fully charged, we can identify whether there are pending firmware updates that are causing the device to reboot.
For the purpose of updating the Fitbit watch to the latest software version, you only need access to the Fitbit app on your mobile device.
Here’s how to update the software of the Fitbit Sense watch:
- Launch the Fitbit application.
- Press on the “Today” tab.
- Press on your profile picture.
- Press the pink “Update” button.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
Note: The watch must be connected to the internet in order to start a software update!
6. Switch the Fitbit Sense’s Face
Adapting a third-party clock face could cause constant restarts with the Fitbit Sense watch.
The restart loop may disappear after selecting a supported clock face for the Fitbit Sense watch, that is available in the gallery or by default.
Here’s how to switch the displayed clock face on a Fitbit Sense watch:
- Open the Fitbit app on your mobile device.
- Select the “Today” tab from the home page.
- Press on your profile picture/icon.
- Select the Fitbit Sense device.
- Tap “Gallery” and choose a face.
- Download the face and apply it to the watch.
About Fitbit Faces?
Fitbit watch faces can be downloaded from the Fitbit application’ store. Once purchased or downloaded for free, the face can then be applied to all of your Fitbit-compatible products.
Using an unauthorized face or one that wasn’t uploaded by Fitbit, can result in issues with the watch.
Note: Once the clock face is downloaded, it can be applied from the library of the Fitbit app!
7. Initialize the Fitbit Sense Watch!
A factory reset is the most-powerful solution against the rebooting issue with the Fitbit Sense watch.
By now we assume that nothing else helped so the factory reset will erase all content and settings on the Fitbit watch, providing a fresh start.
Follow these instructions to perform a factory reset on Fitbit Sense:
- Launch the Fitbit app on your mobile device.
- Access the “Devices” tab and press on the watch.
- Remove the Fitbit Sense watch from the app.
- Then, access the Settings of the Fitbit watch.
- Go to “About” and then select “Factory Reset”.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to complete.
The factory reset on the Fitbit Sense watch can last up to 3-4 minutes. The watch needs time to manually erase all of the information stored on the device and bring you back to the initial setup.
Note: Remain patient and keep the watch connected to a charger during the factory reset.
Still Here?
In case this guide didn’t help and your Fitbit watch keeps restarting indefinitely, the next best step is to contact Fitbit’s Customer Support for specialized assistance.
Feel free to call them at (877) 623–4997 to get in touch with Fitbit’s customer support and share your issue. Best of luck!
Quick Recap:
Hence, whenever the Fitbit Sense keeps restarting, first check for pending downloads and (if possible) perform a firmware update.
If the issue persists, charge the watch to a maximum battery and undergo a factory reset to restore all initial (default) settings.
Follow our blog for more technical assistance!
Read Next: My Fitbit Sense Won’t Sync? – Complete Fix Guide
Finn Wheatley holds a Master’s Degree in Computer Science from UCL, London. He helped small data science consultancy firms, helping large corporations to grow their data capabilities, deploy advanced machine learning-based analytics and troubleshoot tech-related issues. Check out more about him here.