Charge 5 stuck on a black screen, and can't reboot

[monkeygirlinri]

I have a Charge 5 and it's stuck on what appears to be the notification screen, but it's just black. It won't swipe to any other screen, and it won't reboot either.  Help?

Moderator edit: format

[MargieATL]

Mine is stuck with a logo on the screen. I've searched online and none of the suggested solutions work.  Hoping someone here or Fitbit support can help as I've only had mine since Christmas. 

[monkeygirlinri]

So, it took me a while to get it right, but I was able to finally reboot
the device.

First, you have to have it on the charger, and you have to be able to
access the small button on the charger dongle where it plugs into the
charger.

Second, you have to press it 3 times (not more) with a 1 second pause
between each press. It can't be too long, and it can't be too short. I was
making my pauses between each press too short I think. I finally tried the
press, 1-mississippi,. press, 2-mississippi, press technique, and it worked.

I hope this helps for you, because yeah, not great technical support if
you're finding your answers from other users.

[MargieATL]

Thank you so much for letting me know you got it to work and how. I'm trying but not successful yet. 

How long after the 3rd press did it reboot and how long did it take? Mine blinks black so I think I've had success, but then goes back to the full logo. 

I appreciate your help as I haven't heard back from Fitbit yet. 

[monkeygirlinri]

Mine was fairly quick. I would say about 2 seconds after the 3rd press.
But, again, I wasn't stuck on the logo, I just had a completely black
screen.

Have you tried letting the battery drain completely 100% yet? That was
going to be my next step, but honestly, the battery lasts so long, it's
frustrating to think you have to wait that long.

Also, do you get any kind of notifications or buzzes from the fitbit? I
would get the "you need to move more this hour" notification every hour or
so, but it would pop for about 1 second, then back to the stuck black
screen.

Hope this information helps someone, if not you.

[MargieATL]

You are right, the battery seems to last forever so I haven't tried that yet. 

I'm not getting any notifications and when I look at my app on my phone it is t tracking anything at all. I e seen both the black screen and the full screen logo both as very common issues and from what I've seen the solution is the same to both. I will keep trying and hope I can get the timing right like you did. 

I feel a buzz every time I press the button and then it buzzes and goes to black about two seconds after the third push. I keep hoping, but so far just right back to full logo. 

I guess I may have to break down and call the support line. At this point I'd just like a new Fitbit as mine is only 4 months old and it shouldn't take this much time and energy to fix it.  

I do appreciate your time and help. Hopefully persistence will pay off if I keep trying. 

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, I appreciate all the information that you've shared about this inconvenience with your Charge 5 and the troubleshooting steps that you already tried, @monkeygirlinri @MargieATL.  

@MargieATL For this issue you mentioned, it's usually recommended to try the three pulse restart and you can also try changing to a different clock face: 

1. Connect your device to the charging cable. For instructions, see How do I charge my Fitbit device?
2. Press the button located on the flat end of the charger 3 times (end of the USB cable), pausing for 1 second between presses. Then wait 10 seconds or until the Fitbit logo appears.

In case that you continue to have the same problem after the restart or if you're not able to complete this procedure, I do recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team for further assistance with this.  The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. Click here to get connected. 

@monkeygirlinri Thanks for sharing all these updates, it's good to know that your device started working properly again. 

See you around. 

[Oldmedic]

This worked for me. I had five dots on screen and could not get out of it. Rebooted as you suggested and it is working fine. Thank so much for the help!

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the Community forums, @Oldmedic. 

That's great news, thank you for sharing this update! 😁 

[Jackieswiss]

Hi my fitbit also was stuck on a blank screen about 7 months old.  Fitbit  eventually  replaced it but with a refurbished  one not happy with the service from them.smd tried everything  to reset nothing worked 

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the Community forums, @Jackieswiss.  

I understand your frustration, and hanks again for sharing your feedback and comments about this. I'm sorry to see that it wasn't possible to get a new device. The team is constantly working to improve the Fitbit experience and your feedback is greatly appreciated. 

If you have any questions or concerns about the type of replacement you received. I recommend that you continue the communication with the Customer Support team so they can provide you with more information. 

See you around.