Charge 5 not charging and screen black

[MichelineG]

Hello, 

Long time Fitbit user here. Last week, my Charge 5 was not charging and the screen became black. Through chatting with the support team, I realized I needed to upgrade the firmware which solved the charging issue but the screen remained black. My fitbit is still under warranty but I cannot get it replaced unless i switch my fibit account to Google. The email linked to my Fitbit is an Outlook account and Google is refusing to send me a new Fitbit unless I switch it. The reason I am given is that "they cannot authenticate me" although they find all my history including my last Charge 5 purchase made 7 months ago.

Has anyone encountered such an issue? Any recommendation? I cannot help but connect this experience to the recent ruling...

Thank you in advance for any advice or help.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[MichelineG]

And just for completion, I tried to press 3 times on the charger etc.. multiple times without any success.

I would love to find a way to make my existing fitbit work as I do not like the pressure to switch my account to Google. 

Thank you!

Micheline