Charge 6 turns black screen

[Lsw1604]

My charge 6 suddenly turns black screen and not responding.   The battery was 100% charged 2 days ago.  Tried the reset solution several times by pressing the button at the charging cable 3 secs but does not work.   It cannot sync with the apps also.   Any other solution I could try?   Thanks for your help.  Regards, LEE.

[KatherineNY]

Have you reached out to Fitbit customer service/support?

[DavidFitbit]

Hi @KatherineNY and @Lsw1604, Thanks for stopping by, I hope you're doing well.

Let me help you with the black screen issue of your Charge 6. Thank you for the troubleshooting you have already tried. Thanks @KatherineNY for your contribution.

Display issues like this one are usually resolved by a restart or by changing the clock face. See How do I change the clock face on my Fitbit device?

However, the device must be syncing so the changes in the app take effect on the Fitbit device. 

Even if you last charged your device two days ago, using features such as always-on display and GPS require more frequent charging. This being said, please follow the instructions in our help article Why isn't my Fitbit device's battery charging? to ensure the battery is charging. I appreciate your time in this process.

[Lsw1604]

Hi, thank you for your advice.  Yes, I did contact Google support and was told to return the device for a replacement.  It's likely a hardware failure.

[Lsw1604]

Hi, Thank you for your advice.   I did try to change the clock face but unsuccessful as it cannot sync.  Anyway, I did contact Google Support and was told to return the device for a replacement.   Thanks for your help anyway.   

[DavidFitbit]

Hi @Lsw1604, thank you for your response. I'm glad to know you contacted our customer service support team and you were able to find a solution to your issue with them.

We remain at your disposition for any additional information. Our main goal is to ensure an excellent experience with our Fitbit products and services.

Don't hesitate to come back and participate in the community. That's how the forums grow!

[SHMbak]

My out-of-warranty Charge 6 has been doing this since about the beginning of May.  It's still connected to my app and recording steps and sleep, but I can't manually start a weight training exercise or use the timer.  It's randomly started working again about 3 times in the last month, but then goes black again.  A notification from my phone seemed like it turned on the display the last time.  But now it's black.  I figure I'll use it until it stops recording anything and decide what to do then.  This is my fourth Fitbit with a problem since May 2022.  The first 3 had the draining-quickly-even-on-the charger thing (2 Charge 5s and the first Charge 6, which I got a 50% off for because the Charge 5s only lasted 17 months between two watches.)  So this was the warranty replacement for that.  Maybe not coincidentally, this is acting up 17 months after buying the Charge 6.  I think there must be some kind of self-destruct instruction for any purchase over 17 months.     

[KatherineNY]

@SHMbak wow 4th since May 2022.  That's terrible track record... my mom's Charge 5 screen crapped out in April 2025.  It has been a within-warranty replacement on July/August 2023.  So it didn't really surprise me when the screen died when it did.  (Her first Charge 5 had lasted barely 7 months before completely stopped responding, hence the replacement). Right now her Charge 5 still vibrates and syncs with the app. It's just a black screen on her wrist, can't do anything on it like your situation.  She'll use it to track her metrics until it stops syncing.

Maybe there is something to the 17 months...

I feel with tech, certain things do have a built in "dead date".  Everything is disposable these days. If the companies make things to last, they won't be able to sell us new products.

[SHMbak]

Yeah, I'm kind of dismayed at the lifespan.   I may try an Inspire 3.  My husband has had good luck with that, and I never use the EKG function for the Charge 6.  Maybe fewer bells and whistles will give me a little more longevity.

[Kcuz]

I am having the same exact problem at about 17 months! My other two fitbits lasted less than a year and we're replaced but my third one i bought..the charge 6..Now screen is black just as you described!

[SHMbak]

Well, my screen worked when I woke this morning, so I switched the setting to "manual" wake because I figured maybe whatever turns the screen on when I turn my wrist for auto wake is almost worn out.  So far, so good (12+ hours of visible time, although I have to tap it to see the display.)  I could see when it was on auto wake that there was a little red line that flashed, but the display didn't come up.  So the sensor that detects my wrist movement works, but whatever switches on the display was unreliable.  Maybe this will get me a few months of additional use.