One of the most commonly asked questions of the Fitbit Versa 3 owners has got to be – ‘Does Fitbit Versa 3 have a replaceable battery?‘ At $229 a piece, the Fitbit Versa 3 is cheaper than an Apple 6 smart watch that costs $399 for the 40 mm model. But, users would love to know about battery life and battery replacement possibilities.
Fitbit Versa 3 battery should last a couple of years without much ado. However, you may start experiencing loss of charge or battery drain before 2 years time. A new Fitbit Versa 3 claims a 6 day charge life, when fully charged. Obviously, the duration will be less than what is claimed because of the use of multiple apps on the Fitbit Versa 3. Versa 3 can work with up to 38 apps and 5 clock faces at any point of time. With the addition of GPS on the watch, battery drain is more pronounced than the previous versions.
So, what are the options in terms of battery replacement when your Versa 3 becomes a dead smart watch? It does not turn on, and you can safely conclude that the issue is a spent-up battery. The Versa 3 had been draining charge and the issue would have become more and more noticeable because of the progressively deteriorating battery charge offered by the Versa in the preceding weeks and months.
Versa 3 is a sealed unit. Just like any mobile phone, it has a battery within the sealed unit. Fitbit has stated that it does not replace the battery and it cannot be interchanged with another battery. So, we are practically out of choice in terms of arranging for a battery replacement through the official channels of Fitbit. The company has clearly stated that replacing the battery on a Versa 3 has the potential to permanently damage the watch. It is a point for another discussion to know what am I supposed to do with a Versa 3 that does not power up because the battery is dead. For all practical reasons, I do not have a Versa 3 in working condition because of the exhausted or dead battery.
Does the Fitbit company want me to buy a new Versa 3 or another smart watch? It appears so. Happily though, we do have after market options to get the battery replaced on a Versa 3. A good mobile repair technician should be able to take off the screen and replace the battery in the Fitbit Versa 3. You could buy your own battery from Amazon, or you may settle to work a deal with the mobile repair technician. He will put a new battery and charge for the battery costs and replacement costs.
The caveat with off-market battery replacement is the cost and the warranty offered by the third party mobile repair technicians. The last we checked, we heard of costs of $70-100 for battery replacement on a Versa 2. The replacement came with a 3 month warranty. While some people may be happy spending $70-100 to get the Fitbit Versa 2 in a working condition, it may not make much sense from a cost standpoint. There is no guarantee that this arrangement or the replaced battery will work beyond 3 months. You are out of luck and any sort of assurance after 3 months. And, for some reason, if your battery gives way after 3 months? That will be a waste of whatever money you spent on replacement of battery from the off-market mobile repair technician.
This leaves us in a catch-22 situation. And, the only way you could get out of it is by buying a new smart watch. It could be an Apple watch, a Fenix watch or a new Versa 3. It is just not worth getting a non-functional Versa 2 or Versa 3 to be repaired. This includes the efforts and money needed to get the battery replaced on a Versa 2 or the Versa 3. I can understand that this may be an additional expense every 2 years. But, throwing money on repairs does not make any monetary sense.
Helen Kurt is a geeky nerd who loves to cover the wearables space. She has over 5 years of experience in the smartwatch domain. You can reach her on email at [email protected].