Digital Life Central is reader-powered. We are a participant in the Amazon LLC Associates Program and other affiliates programs. As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
The Fitbit charge 5 is undoubtedly one of the best fitness trackers for 2022. In a compact format (36.7mm x 22.7mm x 11.2mm) and with a weight of just 25 g, the Fitbit Charge offers a long-lasting, up to 7 days battery life and numerous fitness and health sensors.
The Fitbit Charge 5 leverages on the Fitbit Sense, which became in 2020 one of the prototypes of what a modern health fitness tracker should be.
It includes top-of-the-line heart sensors allowing to record the heartbeat, Heart Rate Variability, resting heart rate, and an FDA-Cleared electrocardiogram that detects the most common types of arrhythmia, namely tachycardia, bradycardia, and atrial fibrillation.
More than a simple fitness tracker, the Charge 5 also includes a unique Electrodermal sensor (EDA) to quantify stress and the possibility of measuring more than the sleep patterns and the Blood Oxygen Saturation and the topic of this article: the skin temperature.
Does Fitbit Charge 5 Track Skin Temperature?
Measuring the skin temperature is not so standard for smartwatches and Fitness Trackers. However, the Fitbit Sense, Fitbit Luxe, and Fitbit Charge 5 are some of the rare devices that include such functionality.
Even flagship devices such as the Apple Watch Series 7 and the newly released Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 do not offer the option to record the skin temperature. However, according to rumors, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 will somehow include this feature.
Even if the Fitbit Charge 5 includes a skin temperature sensor, do not expect to transform your fitness tracker into a thermometer that will let you track your temperature continuously.
Like the Fitbit Sense, the Fitbit Charge 5 only records the temperature while you sleep. It will not provide an accurate reading of your temperature but will only show the temperature trends according to a baseline defined during the first days of wearing the device.
How Do I Get the Temperature on My Fitbit Charge 5?
The Fitbit Temperature is recorded during the night, so to get your temperature, it is mandatory to wear the Fitbit Charge 5 while sleeping. However, it should not be an issue as we assume that you already do it to benefit from sleep patterns detection.
Checking your temperature on the Fitbit Charge 5 is easy but do not expect to see it directly on the device. Instead, you will need to open the Fitbit App to check your temperature.
No need to register for Fitbit Premium. Checking the temperature is part of the basic package and is luckily free.
Through the Dashboard, click on Health Metrics Dashboard and then on the temperature variations icon to get more details.
You will see the variations in tens of degrees Celsius on the screen. It is, of course, possible to change the degrees from Celsius to Fahrenheit.
Why Is the Fitbit Skin Temperature Recorded at Night?
As you shift around and your body balances itself during the night, your skin temperature fluctuates somewhat. Your total variance is determined by the average temperature of your skin throughout the night.
Remember that at least three nights are needed to get the variations from the defined baseline. Don’t worry if the temperature is indicated in negative values. As we mentioned, during the first three nights, the Fitbit Charge 5 will calculate what is your average temperature without presenting it somehow. The presented values will tell you what the temperatures differences through this are.
It is then completely normal to see negative values. It just means that your average temperature while sleeping was lower than the baseline during the previous night.
The Fitbit Charge 5 will record only the skin temperature, which can lead to discrepancies compared to internal, also called core temperatures.
Sleeping with a window opened can lead to differences. Of course, the temperature presented is just an indicator, but I can attest that it is an exciting indicator. As a real-life example, after receiving my third vaccine shot against Covid-19, I noticed a one-degree increase and went out of what was considered my normal temperature range.
Why Is My Charge 5 Not Showing Skin Temperature?
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a fantastic device. Still, it is only fair to say that the Charge 5 is delicate and sometimes pretty moody when measuring different health values: especially for the temperature and the blood oxygen saturation.
As we will see below, it is always critical to ensure that your device is charged enough and correctly positioned on your wrist.
Always ensure that the temperature sensor is in close contact with the skin.
How to Fix the Fitbit Charge 5 when The Skin Temperature Is Not Working?
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a very reliable device, but as with any high-technology smartwatch or fitness tracker, it may, from time to time, acts a little bit funny or will not work at all.
Measuring the wrist skin temperature is not easy as the skin is in contact with the external environment. Therefore, it is crucial to understand how to improve the temperature readings.
Is Your Fitbit Charge 5 Updated?
The Fitbit Charge 5 comes with a long-lasting and reliable battery of up to seven days. Unfortunately, the battery is somehow quickly drained if you forget to turn on the built-in GPS.
When wearing your Fitbit Charge 5, always make sure that the battery level is sufficient to last while sleeping. In addition, we advise you never to let your fitness tracker battery fall below 30%. This is good practice to ensure that a weak battery will not impair some of the Fitbit health tracking features.
Restart Your Fitness Tracker
Restarting the Fitness tracker is a good idea if you suspect that your tracker is not recording the temperature correctly.
To restart the Fitbit Charge 5, follow the easy steps presented in the image below. A fresh start may not be the ultimate solution, but it will at least clear potential electronic issues.
As with your computer, a “soft reset” or a “restart” is always a good step to follow.
Ensure the Wristband Is Positioned Correctly
As we can see, the temperature sensor of the Fitbit Charge 5 is made of a metal ring that surrounds the optical sensors.
To correctly record the skin temperature, it is critical that the sensor is appropriately positioned and stays in close contact with the skin. Ensure that the tracker is tightly positioned around your wrist and is not in contact with the wrist bone that you can feel when moving your hand.
The wrist bone is an excellent marker to consider for correctly positioning the Fitbit Charge 5. The rule of thumb is to put your tracker two fingers wide away from the bone and secure it tightly to the wrist.
When we say tightly, we advise you to find the correct dosage between too tight, which may impair the blood flow, and too loose, leading to losing a close contact between the sensor and the skin.
It may take some time to find the proper setting but once done. You will then collect data reliably and consistently.
Contact Fitbit Customer Service
If nothing works and you cannot see your temperature data, we strongly suggest that you check on the Fitbit forum. This forum includes numerous pieces of advice from users that will share their best tips and tricks to make the most of your Fitbit trackers or smartwatches.
The last option is to contact Fitbit Customer Service. Suppose you correctly set up your device and positioned it properly. In that case, there may be a technical issue with your Fitbit Charge 5 that will require the assistance of Fitbit Customer Service and potentially the replacement of your device.
In Conclusion
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a great device that will provide numerous health and fitness metrics, including temperature variation.
We can regret that the temperature is only presented as variations around the baseline but understand that measuring it while sleeping is an informative metric to check.
If the device does not record the temperature correctly, we presented you with easy tips that should solve the issue.
