You’re staring at that glowing green light on the back of your wrist, wondering why on earth a simple piece of plastic and silicon doesn't have a giant "OFF" button. It’s annoying. Maybe you’re hopping on a long-haul flight and want to save every drop of juice, or perhaps you're just done with the step-counting life for a weekend. Whatever the reason, figuring out how to turn off my Fitbit isn't always as intuitive as flipping a light switch.
The truth is, Google (who owns Fitbit now) really wants these things on your wrist 24/7. Data is king. If the device is off, it isn't collecting heart rate variability or sleep stages. Because of that, the "Shut Down" feature is often buried three menus deep, or in the case of some specific models, it literally doesn't exist. Yeah, you read that right. Some Fitbits are designed to stay awake until the battery hits zero.
Finding the shut down setting on modern trackers
If you have a newer device like the Charge 5, Charge 6, or the Luxe, you're in luck. These have a software-based shutdown. You basically have to swipe down from the clock face until you hit the "Settings" app. It looks like a little gear icon. Tap that. Now, scroll all the way to the bottom. Like, keep going past the brightness and the heart rate toggles. You’re looking for "Device Info." Inside there, you’ll finally see "Shut Down."
Confirm it. The screen goes black.
It feels a bit like a secret handshake. Why isn't it on the main settings page? Who knows. But once it's off, it stays off until you plug it back into the charger. That’s a key detail people miss: you can't just press a button to wake it up most of the time. You need the magnetic cable. If you’re camping and you turn it off to save battery, make sure you actually have a way to jumpstart it back to life.
How to turn off my Fitbit if it's a Versa or Sense
The smartwatches—the Versa 2, 3, 4, and both generations of the Sense—work a little differently because they have more screen real estate. On these, you’ll still head into the Settings gear. Scroll down to "About." Tap that, and "Shutdown" should be right there.
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Wait.
I should mention the Versa 2 specifically. It’s a bit of an outlier because it still runs on the older Fitbit OS compared to the Google-fied interface of the Sense 2. On the older Versa models, you might find the shutdown option under "Settings" > "About" > "Shutdown," but sometimes it requires a long press of the side button to "Back" out of menus first. Honestly, the UI can be a bit sluggish on the older hardware, so give it a second to register your tap. Don't go mashing the screen.
The "Always On" problem: Devices you can't actually turn off
This is the part that trips everyone up. If you own an Inspire, Inspire HR, or the original Ace, you basically can't turn them off. It sounds fake, but it's true. Fitbit designed these entry-level trackers to be low-power enough that a "Shut Down" mode wasn't deemed necessary by the engineers.
So what do you do?
If you're trying to save battery because you're not wearing it, your only real option is to let the battery drain or put it on the charger. If the device is glitching and you were looking for the "off" button to fix a frozen screen, you’re looking for a "Restart," not a "Shutdown." For an Inspire 2 or 3, you'll need to clip it into the charger and hold the buttons on the sides for about five to ten seconds. You’ll feel a buzz. That’s the "soft reset." It’s the closest you’ll get to turning it off.
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What about the Google Pixel Watch?
Since the Pixel Watch is technically the flagship "Fitbit" smartwatch now, people ask about it constantly. It runs Wear OS. Turning it off is more like turning off a phone. Swipe down, hit the power icon, and tap "Power off." It’s way more straightforward than the actual Fitbit-branded trackers.
Why would you even want to shut it down?
Most people think turning the device off is the best way to preserve battery health. Lithium-ion batteries are finicky. If you’re going to leave your Fitbit in a drawer for three months, don't leave it at 100% and don't leave it at 0%.
Ideally, you want to shut it down at around 50% charge.
Another reason? Interference. I’ve talked to people who work in sensitive lab environments or hospitals where certain types of Bluetooth broadcasting are discouraged. While "Airplane Mode" exists on the higher-end Sense and Versa models, a full shutdown is the only way to be 100% sure the radio is dead.
Troubleshooting: When "Shut Down" doesn't work
Sometimes the software hangs. You tap "Shut Down," you confirm it, and... nothing. The screen just stares back at you. This usually happens when a sync is stuck in the background. Your phone is trying to talk to the Fitbit, and the Fitbit is trying to oblige, creating a digital tug-of-war.
- Turn off Bluetooth on your phone first.
- Wait 30 seconds.
- Try the shutdown sequence on the watch again.
If that still fails, you’re looking at a forced restart. This varies wildly by model. On the Charge 4, you have to hold the button for 8 seconds while it’s on the charger. On the Charge 5 and 6, there’s actually a small button on the USB end of the charging cable itself. You have to click that three times, with a one-second pause between each click. It’s incredibly unintuitive. Nobody finds that button on their own. It looks like a molding seam in the plastic, but it’s a physical button.
The impact of "Always-On Display"
Before you go through the hassle of turning the whole unit off just to save battery, check your "Always-On Display" (AOD) settings. This is the biggest battery killer in the Fitbit ecosystem. On the Sense and Versa, having the screen stay dimly lit all day will cut your battery life from six days down to about two.
Switching AOD to "Off" and setting the "Screen Wake" to "Manual" (where you have to tap it to see the time) often solves the "my battery is dying" panic that leads people to search for how to turn off my Fitbit in the first place.
Moving forward with your device
Once you’ve successfully powered down, remember the "wake up" rule. Almost every Fitbit requires a power source to turn back on after a formal shutdown. If you're heading out for a trip, don't shut it down unless you have your cable handy.
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For those with devices that don't have a shutdown option, don't sweat the battery life too much. These trackers use an incredibly small amount of power when they aren't on a wrist sensing a pulse. Just tuck it in a cool, dry place.
Actionable Steps for Battery Longevity
- Check your version: Go to Settings > About to see if you have the "Shut Down" option. If not, stop looking; your model doesn't support it.
- The 50% Rule: If storing your device for more than a week, charge or drain it to 50% before powering off to protect the battery chemistry.
- Cables matter: Always keep your proprietary charging cable in your travel bag, as it’s the only "ON" switch for a shut-down tracker.
- Kill the GPS: If you're just trying to save power during the day, turn off "Built-in GPS" in your exercise settings and use "Phone GPS" instead. This saves more power than turning the watch off and on repeatedly.
- Clean the sensors: Before you shut it down for a while, wipe the back with a bit of rubbing alcohol. Dried sweat can corrode the charging contacts over time while it sits in a drawer.