Charge 5 blank screen

[Martyninoz]

I bought the Charge 5 at the end of 2021 and had not really had many issues.

Usually I get about a week battery life, which after a year I thought was pretty good.

Last week I charged it and the very next day it complained 'low battery' which was unusual.

I plugged it in and the icon flashed up (so the screen works) but after that there was nothing displayed on the screen.

The watch still syncs to my phone and measures when charged, but the battery is now only lasting ~10 hours at most. The screen never comes on other than the icon at startup or when I force restart using the 3 button press. There seem to be a few people having this issue lately. 

I have restarted the watch multiple times, but no change. I can't factory reset the watch without a working screen. The charge 5 is useless without a screen.

I know it is older than 1 year, but I honestly expected that it would last longer for being their flagship and for the price that I paid. I also thought that Aussies were meant to get a 2 year warranty period as a result of the ACCC litigation in 2018, but apparently not (or at least so they say in their terms).

So now I have a blank screen watch that has to be charged twice a day and a useless premium  subscription that is already paid up for a couple more months. Bitterly disappointed.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Loosing007]

How annoying I had a similar problem with a one a few months old and they replaced it with a new one.    

[Martyninoz]

This seems to be a software issue rather than hardware seeing that the screen does display the logo at start up and the watch functions in the background without the screen displaying.

Changing clock faces and pressing the reset button 3 times does nothing.

We need to be able to reflash the firmware from the app.

There are so many other people having this problem at the same time, I can't believe it is a coincidence (see other threads about blank screens).

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, it's good to see you visiting the Fitbit Community for the first time, @Martyninoz.  

Thank you for confirming that you already tried a few troubleshooting steps shared in the forums and that you continue to have this problem with your Charge 5. 

Since you already tried all the steps shared in the forums, I've gone ahead and sent your information to the Customer Support team for further assistance, so you should be getting a reply soon. Please keep an eye on your inbox. 

@Loosing007 Thanks for sharing your experience with this. It's good to know that you received a replacement device. 

[alanabramson]

Hello,

I am also experiencing the exact same issues as Martyninoz. I have also gone through all the various troubleshooting steps. If there is a solution with solving a potential software issue can this be shared with all of us?

[wenathan]

Hi,

I am having the EXACT same problems as Martyninoz and apparently a lot more people. How to solve this?

[Jkldn]

Me too! How do I get the display back?!

[Kaycee11_P]

Same here and honestly, I have grown so weary of it all.  This is my 3rd Charge 5 in 3 years.  I love, love, love my Fitbit when it's working; unfortunately, it seems to only have a 6-12 month shelf life and then you have to start playing all of these troubleshooting games.   I could recite their troubleshooting manual by heart at this point.  Once the face/screen is gone, there is no way to manually reset it so that is useless.   Someone had asked how Wirecutter ranks the Fitbit Charge 5 number one in fitness trackers and it's because they are testing out a brand new one and those are awesome!    They work great and hold a charge for close to a week - fabulous!  But then......it all goes downhill and you spend a ridiculous amount of time on the phone and going through all of the troubleshooting steps again on the phone even though you've already done them.    With all I've spent on these Charge 5s, I could have bought an Apple watch.  Sadly, that will have to be my next move if my replacement behaves the same way the other 3 have.  It would be nice if Fitbit would acknowledge these issues and finally get a true fix.

[Helvis]

Is there any solution offered by Fitbit?

[Spogbul]

I agree. I’ve had a few Fitbit 4’s and was lucky so far with my Charge 5, but 1 1/2 years seems to be the lifespan of a watch. Mine is unresponsive. When the battery is drained I can get the logo to appear and do the three buttons thing, but after the watch is at 3% it goes dark again. Fitbit support just directed me to a bunch of articles I already seemed to have memorized. Will also probably go the Apple route next, which is sad as I really like my Fitbit 

[Nessy3110]

Same. Black screen, but the watch still detects the steps according to the app.

How can this issue be fixed?

[Blankscreen666]

I’ve experienced the same thing and contacted Fitbit customer support. Their reply was to buy a new Fitbit 😠

My Charge 5 was about 1.5 years old too when the screen died. I am going to give Garmin a go. Their products seem better anyway.

[Pankajssit]

I am experiencing the same issue. This came out of blue (infact black). Suddenly the screen turned black. 

[Blankscreen666]

  Fitbit’s solution to me was to buy a new Fitbit 

[Loosing007]

I wouldn’t bother with Fitbit they have stuffed so much up

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for all your comments and feedback about this. 

It seems that you already tried all the steps shared in the community. If you're new to this thread, make sure to exhaust all the troubleshooting options here below: 

• Complete a three pulse restart procedure.
• Please follow these steps in case you're having trouble to charge your device. 
• Sync your device in the Fitbit app by tapping your profile picture > Charge 5 > Sync Now.
• If you  can't sync, tap on your profile picture > Charge 5 > Tile to see if a firmware banner appears. 
• 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. 

These are some general steps that are usually helpful with display related issues. If you continue to have the same problem, I do recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team so they can let you know about the next steps or the options available for you. You can contact them via chat or call them directly here. 

[Helvis]

Was issued a replacement charge 5 at no cost. Happy with result.

Get Outlook for Android<>

[KMoylan60]

I had my charge 5 replaced for going blank less than a year ago and now its blank AGAIN!!!!!  I'm truly amazed at the number of people on these boards with the same problem!  I have been through all of the reset protocols and still have a black screen.   Its tracking my steps etc which I can see on the app!  A watch with a black unresponsive screen is pretty worthless!!