Charge5 - 4 months old - screen blank - reset does nothing

[tonmilx]

Increadibly disappointed. My wife had a Charge4 where screen went blank about1 week out of warranty. Followed all the advice on resetting it but to no avail. Bought her a new Charge5 for christmas. So it is now about 4 months old. Screen suddenly gone blank. Swiping does no good. The screen is blank so cant get to the reset menu. Tried the reset using the button (press 3 times holding for 1 second each all within 8 second duration). I feel a buzz each time the button is pressed. Screen still blank at end of this. Have repeated it about 5 times over a 20 minute period. Same results. Screen still blank. Cant connect to the watch via bluetooth. Have restarted the iphone. No change. It was working  ok yesterday. So very disappointed. 2nd device gone down the swanny. Any advice please? Seems lots of people are experiencing similar issues. 

[CDLacey]

Same thing happened to me this afternoon... screen became unresponsive after charging. Tried the reset button trick on the charging cable and I will see the logo screen appear but then nothing happens afterwards. Screen remains dark.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @tonmilx and @CDLacey , if a restart does not fix this issue, then please try changing the clock face on your Charge 5.  Instructions for doing this are here .  If this fixes the issue then you can return to the original clock face if you prefer.  Be sure to sync your Fitbit whenever you make any changes in the app so that the changes are reflected on your Fitbit.

[tonmilx]

It is not possible to change the clock face, or any other setting for that matter since the Charge5 is not visible to the iphone so any kind of sync is not possible.


Anthony Miller

[CDLacey]

Had a similar issue to @tonmilx where I wasn't sure if I would be able to connect via the app. I found that if I went into bluetooth settings and "forgot" the Charge 5 device and then tried the restart process while the app was open on my phone, i got it. to connect. While the Charge 5 did the normal restart problem (logo appears and then black screen), I was prompted in the app to authorize to connect to the Charge 5. I then was able to get it set up/change settings & sync and get it working again.

The bad news is that it seems to be an issue with a recent software update and the problem returns after about an hour or two. Right now, I have had to reset the device a few times today and each time after unpairing/paring the device to my phone, I am told that a software update is available for the device, install it, and then battery drains rapidly and eventually goes to black screen/unresponsive (usually when the batter gets below 50%).

[Jessicjill]

Actually, the same with me

[tonmilx]

Thank you for this. I will see if the app provides a software update… but at the moment it does not. Not sure if or how long this will take to appear. TBH im not interested in a device which keeps breaking. I want it to just work reliably. Very disappointed as have had a charge3 and charge4 which both died with a screen so dark you couldnt see it after 14 months.


Anthony Miller