Charge 5 black screen

[Kristjag]

My scrern is black, it is fully charged, synced, tried reset 3 times, tried changing clock face... no change.  Watch about 1 year.

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[aceofhearts44]

No display. Fitbit not taking any interest at all. Very bad. I think I’ll get an Apple 

[Prg31313]

I agree. I’ve had several Fitbits through the years and have had the same issue with them all. 
Here’s the rub; I use an android phone and an iPad, so I don’t know if an Apple Watch is able to pair with the phone, or if a Google watch (is there such a thing?) will work with the iPad. Time to investigate.

[Tigersmurf]

This just happened to me. Not sure what’s going on. Charged it yesterday. Worked fine all day and then all of a sudden won’t respond to my taps. Changed watch display and it showed a sync then blank again. So it does work, but not when I want it to. 

[Kristjag]

I went thru chat and tried several things and they didnt work... one was a
software update which also wouldn't work... so they decided it was
defective and sent me a link for a replacement. Hopefully the next one
will work a little longer than a year.

[Tigersmurf]

Awesome. Guess I’m gonna have to go that route too. Interesting that it seems to have happened to all of us TODAY almost a year after purchasing. Very weird. 

[aceofhearts44]

1. Hi 31413 Jogger. Thanks for the email. This is part of the advice to restart a C5. Take note my C5 watch screen is totally blank! I think we can draw 2 conclusions.
2. The advice is dumb! The FB team need to go back to school!
3. Swipe down from the clock screen to find the Settings app [settings_app_buzz.png] .
4. Open the Settings app [settings_app_buzz.png] [then] RestartDevice[then]Restart.
5. David

--------------

I should have added that the "screen" is of course BLACK/BLANK so swiping "down from clock screen" is of course a waste of energy. Doh!

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing all of this information about this issue with your Charge 5. 

As you may have seen in the forums, there are a few steps that are usually helpful with display related issues, it's usually recommended to: 

1. Complete the 3 pulse restart procedure using the charging cable. 
2. Follow these steps in case you're having trouble to charge your device. 
3. Sync your device in the Fitbit app by tapping your profile picture > Charge 5 > Sync Now.
4. If you  can't sync, tap on your profile picture > Charge 5 > Tile to see if a firmware banner appears. 
5. If it's still unresponsive, please try changing the clock face as well and check if you're able to see anything on the display.

It seems that you already tried all of these steps shared in the community. In this case, if you continue to experience the same problem, I do recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team for further assistance with this. They will let you know how to proceed. 

The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. You can click here to get connected.

[aceofhearts44]

Not working. If you can’t see the clock face (doh!) how do you change it? Just asking.

Sent from my iPhone

[RiekoC]

Hi @aceofhearts44 

You use the app to change the clock face. Click here for detailed instructions: Change clock face on Charge 5

Changing the clock face will sometimes resolve the non-responsive screen issue. 

[aceofhearts44]

As the C5 face is black/blank how does one know of the change of clock face, yes, via the App I know, has worked? Answers on a postcard please
David

Sent from my iPhone

[Wrenidee]

I charged mine overnight. It showed 99% at 8:49am. Took off charger black screen. Pulut back in charger & it showed 1% at 8:50am. Started having problems last Wednesday while on vacation in different time zone. 

[RiekoC]

@aceofhearts44 

Postcard: You'll know it worked because the Charge 5 display will re-appear with the new clock face. If the display remains black/blank, then that troubleshooting step did not work. 

[JenElsie]

How is your new one working?  They did the same for me, I set it up yesterday and it was working fine. I woke up today and it was dead just like the previous one.. 

[Kristjag]

Now you are depressing me... i haven't received the new one yet... not
until Monday. I guess i should start looking into a different kind. This
was nice and light and charging was once a week at most... but for over
$100... it should last longer than a year. Thanks for info.

[JenElsie]

I agree - It is super frustrating.  Now they are sending a replacement to replace the replacement *eye roll* They say its a battery draining issue, but it seems more like a malware to me since so many are having the same issue and started on the same day.  I just so happened to *merge* my account with google the day before too, not sure if that had anything to do with it. 

[SunsetRunner]

Yeah this is the last FitBit I will ever purchase.  They told me the same thing when my Alta, HR, and my wifes Alta died.  Then I purchased this Charge 5.  Was working fine until yesterday when the battery would not hold charge.  Also you are supposed to tap on the screen and the clock face displays.  No such luck even though I charged it to 100%.  It drained out in about 30 minutes.  Bye Bye Fitbit!

[Tigersmurf]

Well hell. Haven’t gotten my new one yet, but that makes me think it’s a software issue vs a hardware issue. Not cute. I’m gonna be royally ticked if the new one arrives and does the same **ahem** thing. 

[Kristjag]

I received my replacement on Monday and it is still working... am hopeful.
Good luck with yours

[JenElsie]

That's good news to hear!  I am hoping that will be the case with my next one.