Charge 5 screen is blacked out and won't start

[Nessli]

Got my charge 5 today but the screen is blacked out.

the app can find the Charge 5 but the screen will not start. It worked earlier but is now blacked out.

tried the press 3 times on USB cable to reboot, and it will with the logoscreen, then goes back to black. 

Ive read on the charge 4 and 3 you can hold the button until smileyface appear, like a ”harder reboot”, anyone knows if its possible on the charge 5? 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[LZeeW]

Hello @Nessli and welcome to the Help forum.  The press and hold the button restart for the Charge 3/4 seems like the equivalent steps to restart the Charge 5.  Charge 5 manual   The Charge 3/4/5 models don't seem to offer a "harder reboot", just the restart described in all the manuals.  I think you should contact Support for more help.

[JaneyB40]

Have you sorted this?  I received my charge 5 today and it won’t charge, screen black.  Unable to get logo or battery symbol, it is dead?

[A_lea_G]

The same thing happened with mine. I charged it to 100% and no logo nothing. It briefly turned on to pair it, and that was the only time the screen worked at all. No amount of tapping or resetting would make the screen work.

I contacted support and we worked through all the troubleshooting. Reset it multiple times, tried using app to sync it and change a different clock face to see if that would work. 

Ultimately I had to send it back and we're working on a replacement.

[Aniliner]

Same thing happened to me. After the firmware update the screen went black-and-white never went back (except for a brief moment when doing a soft reset).

Quite embarrassing for a brand new product.

Contacted fitbit support and they wanted to "escalate" it but so far didn't hear back. Very disappointing.

[Nessli]

Seems like the same problem I had.

I got a new one from the store after they saw the black screen after reset. Great customer support 🙂 

my new one works fine and is up and running and the update worked. 

[weekapaugh]

Have the same issue, screen won't turn on even after reset.  Get to the part to enter the four digits on the screen from the app but the screen won't turn on to be able to read them.    

[JaneyB40]

It just doesn’t work. Have raised the case with Fitbit, they have given me
a number and I will have to wait to see what they say. Upsetting when you
have a brand new watch that cost £169.00 and it is faulty. I suggest if
you haven’t already that you contact Fitbit. I found via twitter worked
the best, they pick up the tweet and then DM you.

[SilviaFitbit]

Hi everyone, 

Thank you for the troubleshooting performed and for sharing details on what you experienced. I see where your disappointment is coming from. 

Note that the recommended troubleshooting for display issues is to restart your Charge 5. If you continue having difficulties, get in touch with our Support team, they'll assist further. 

In case you already have a case with our team, expect a reply from them as your case is already in our queue. 

Hope this helps. 

[lollo1111]

Pairing and syncing went fine, now the watch is non responsive and showing a black screen. Tried all forms of “restarting” in existence. Just received it a couple hrs ago

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Atorriente]

Same here. The logo shows up every few seconds but otherwise unresponsive. I’ve turned Bluetooth on and off on phone, I’ve restarted the FitBit multiple times by clicking button on charger, I’ve deleted charge 5 from FitBit app but now it doesn’t even see it. So very frustrating 

[lollo1111]

Exact same with the logo showing up. Unfortunately starting my return now

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @lollo1111. Welcome to the Community. @Atorriente It's good to see you here.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention and for the steps tried on your own. I understand how you're feeling about this experience with your Charge 5 and please give a try to the following steps:

1. Forget your Charge 5 from the Bluetooth settings.
2. Force quit the Fitbit app.
3. Restart your tracker one more time as described here.
4. Open the Fitbit app, tap your profile picture > Set Up a Device.
5. Select your Charge 5 and follow the on-screen instructions.

If the issue persists, let me know the model and OS version of your phone so I can investigate on my end.

Hope this helps.

[rosaphilipse]

We had exactly the same problem! The logo keeps flashing, but the fitbit is unresponsive. The restart of the tracker doesn’t seem to be doing anything (pushing the button on the charger 3 times) and it is not possible to set up the fitbit in the app again. Hope you can help us out! 

[dawsontg]

I'm experiencing the same thing and followed these steps. Now I am unable to reconnect the device as it will not display the 4 digit pairing code. It will briefly display the Fitbit logo on forced restart.

[Atorriente]

I tried this multiple times. It doesn't find the Fitbit at all. I have
forgotten it on the app and now it doesn't find it at all.

[lollo1111]

As the other users have noted: As we restart the watch, the logo flashes and the screen turns black. So we cannot go through the pairing process anymore as there is a step that asks: "Enter the 4 digit code shown on the screen" as we can't see it. 

Went through chat support with Jonathan, he said he would escalate the issue higher up and I would be receiving an e-mail. Haven't received the e-mail, and it's becoming a drag - will be going through with the return, and getting an Apple Watch SE for now.  

Thanks a lot for the support that was provided thus far, hope you will find a solution for everyone else dealing with this!

If it helps solve the problem: I was using an iPhone 11 Pro on the latest iOS.

[dawsontg]

I similarly initiated a return on mine. I had already spent too much time troubleshooting it. I went with an exchange though, so can report back when the new watch arrives.

For what it's worth, I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S20. I'll be very surprised if this issue is related to the pairing device since it is spanning Android and iOS products.

[JMC1955]

Same here. I received it this weekend. Had to go back to my Alta. I’m considering an Apple Watch. I tried all of the ideas in the help forum, but, alas, nada. I even called to speak with a human! A nice but unhelpful man suggested everything I had done. Nada. Curiously, he said there were no records of such issues yet, and now I see all of these problems. 

[JMC1955]

I agree. I was using my iPhone 12.