Brightness under the sunlight on my Charge 4

[Karin020]

Hello, is it possible to change the brightness on my Fitbit Charge 4 (like I can on  my I-Phone) on a Sunny day it is almost imbossible to read the screen.

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity 

[DavideFitbit]

That great news, thank you for sharing your experience with the brightness settings @DebraSue! 

Have a great day.  

[mathrec]

Ha ha.  This is marked as "solved".  It is solved to the extent that Fitbit has confirmed there is no way to change the font or brightness in exercise mode.  Since people have been complaining that it is unusable in sunlight for over a year, and Fitbit has not released a firmware update to provide a more readable font, we can conclude that they do not plan to.  If you plan to use the Charge 4 DURING outdoor exercise (not to just to log your exercise afterward), and your eyes are over 40 years old, then you are not in Fitbit's target market.  Therefore, this issue is "solved".

[DavideFitbit]

Thank you for sharing your feedback about the brightness @mathrec. 

The Best Answer option is available so other members of the Community can highlight the reply that they've found most useful, but they're not necessarily marked by Fitbit or the moderators as a Solution to a certain problem. 

Thanks again for all the feedback you've provided. 

[Corbata69]

You're mad at Garmin because your fitbit doesn't work right?

There were already thousands of complaints that the Charge 3 screen was not usable in sunlight and Fitbit pushed out the Charge 4 with the same exact known issue. The developers obviously do not care about correcting this major flaw and your PC response is a waste of everyone's time.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[SunsetRunner]

Nope.  Charge 4 can't be read in sunlight.

[Lladybug]

Sleep mode & DNR off, have been off for months. The display is so dim that I cannot see it unless I am in a darkened room.

[DavideFitbit]

Thank you for sharing that you've been experiencing the same behavior, @Lladybug. 

If you already tried all the brightness settings available on your Charge 4 device, I recommend that you vote for this idea posted in the Feature Suggestion section of the Community; this is always helpful for the team of developers to continue to track popularity and demand over time: Charge 4 screen brightness boost.

Have a great day. 

[clbb]

Yes, it doesn't matter if I have it on normal or auto and my DND and Sleep are off. Not usable outdoors.

[DavideFitbit]

Thank you for sharing your feedback and for confirming that you already tried all the recommendations @clbb, unfortunately there are no other options to increase the brightness under the sunlight at the moment, but I recommend that you monitor this feature suggestion for future updates. 

Have a good day.  

[milleniumaire]

Was considering purchasing the Fitbit Charge 4 to replace my wife's Fitbit Charge 3 due to the inability to read her screen.

Pleased that I found this forum and determined that Fitbit have simply ignored customers and used the same crappy technology for the screen in the Charge 4.

I will look elsewhere for a fitness watch.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @milleniumaire , if you are still looking, I think you will find the Charge 5 a game changer.  The colour screen is brilliant and totally visible in all lighting situations.

[milleniumaire]

Thanks @Julia_G , I had read that the Charge 5 uses an new type of screen (a curved colour AMOLED panel) and so I would hope the screen would have been improved.  Let's face it, it can't get any worse than a screen that can't be seen most of the time!

Unfortunately, there are a couple of things that put me off the Charge 5; the high price (£162 on Amazon) and the requirement to have a monthly subscription to use most of the functionality.

The reviews for the Charge 5 have a lower rating than the Charge 4 and it would seem it doesn't yet have all the promised functionality and this will be made available with a future firmware update.  It has all the signs of a product being released to market before it is ready!

My wife won't be interested in paying a monthly subscription for functionality, so it seems pointless paying a high price for that functionality if it isn't going to be used!

[milleniumaire]

..... a quick read of the Charge 5 community Fitbit forum also suggests there's a design flaw with the Charge 5, which means the screen is constantly changed even by a piece of material, such as a sleeve.  I guess the Fitbit QA department didn't pick this up during development, or as I said, chose to release a device that isn't ready for market.  If Fitbit could manage to take the positives from all their Charge range and lose all the issues, they may have a watch worth purchasing!

I have a Fitbit Ionic and while it isn't perfect (constantly unable to sync with my Android mobile), as a watch and tracker it just works!

[DavideFitbit]

Thank you for sharing your feedback about the Charge 4 and Charge 5 devices, @milleniumaire. 

The team of developers continues to work to improve the quality of products and services and all feedback is greatly appreciated. 

Have a great day. 

[Corbata69]

Please stop notifying me. Fitbit watches are poorly designed and I switched to Farmin 4 months ago and will never look back.

Sent from my iPhone

[Julia_G]

@Corbata69 , if you are getting unwanted emails from Fitbit alerting you to replies on this post, on the email in the small prong at the bottom you should see the option to “unsubscribe”.  If you click on that it will take you to a screen to confirm and then you will not receive further messages.

[drow]

I have mine set to bright and in anything with a decent amount of sunlight no one can read the screen. I have run when I can't read the dial when I start but as soon as the sun crests it becomes legible. That is for full Charge and all settings maxed. Reviewers have the same comment, Charge 4 owners have the same comment, updated reviews still have the same comment... Fitbit stands to lose a bunch of customers. My Fitbit 3 was returned under warranty for a number of setting problems but rather than lose my records I decided to try a Fitbit 4. I wont do that again, if this replacement 4 is the same screen brightness as my current one I will move on to another brand.

Moderator edit: format

[Crystal8282]

So when you put the brightness setting on automatic it then adjusted properly to the sunlight and you where able to see in the sun without any issues is that what your post meant? Pls answer thank you

[GilGomesJr]

Not only is it not readable in daylight, but it's not even legible inside if it's not in "normal" mode.  Mine keeps changing on its own to automatic and it's barely possible to see the screen well enough in a dark closet to change it back to "normal."  And "normal" is only legible inside.  Really?  I switched to Garmin and their watches are extremely easy to read even in bright sunlight.  Their step counting is awful, however, in comparison to FitBit.  It's amazing in this day and age that both of these companies have gaping holes in their expensive technology...  

[DavideFitbit]

@drow @Crystal8282 @GilGomesJr Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about the product and your experience with the device. Comments from users are always useful to continue improving the quality of products and services, and all feedback received from users is greatly appreciated. 

Have a good day.