Charge 3 black screen and gets hot when charging it

[Delbridge]

My Charge 3 was working perfectly one minute then I look down and it was a blank screen. It was at 75% charge last time I checked on it which was half an hour before it turned off. I went to plug it in and nothing happened, it didn't vibrate, the screen just stayed black. I thought maybe the battery died so I kept it plugged in for 2 hours, nothing happened, it just got really warm. I tried to press the button on the side in hopes to restart it, but again nothing happens, just a black screen. I don't know what to do. Should I keep it on the charger and wait to see if It'll turn on? Should I just send it back for a new one? Am I just wasting my time on this product? 

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[VSNY]

My warranty is for two years. I purchased it Dec. 2018.

[FedupwithFitbt]

Same here. And no matter what I do, the screen only stays black.  This is the second Fitbit that I have had and they always seem to go bad just after the year mark. THIS IS THE LAST FITBIT I WILL EVER BUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ryleejones]

Contact Fitbit. If it’s still under warranty, they will send you a new one.
They replaced mine, and like it better than the old one. I can see the
screen in daylight. --

Moderator edit: content 

[Newmomma6810]

Your ok then. I didn’t have a 2 year warranty.

[Lisa_fsmith]

They did replace it, it was one year and one month old!

Get Outlook for iOS

[Newmomma6810]

Lucky you they wouldnt budge for me. I would of liked another Fitbit but
since it didn’t last long and seems like everyone is having the same issue,
my husband didn’t want me to have a other one. The Apple Watch is awesome
though! Have a great week everyone!

[LOG51]

My question is, “what is Fitbit going to do to fix this issue?” I only add mine 18 months.

[Tlloyd]

Get a Garmin or apple watch. Fitbit is junk

[VSNY]

You are right. I have an iPhone and will buy an iWatch soon!I also own Apple stock.Thanks for the reply.Kerry

[tayenew]

I bought a Charge 4 and for the record I had 2 Charge 3s and back to back they each failed at the 7 month mark.  My Charge 4 is only about a month old and it is flaking already.  But if this doesn't last at least 2 years, I am buying an Apple Watch. I will need to walk away because it is waste.  My FitBit ONE is now 4 years old and still working.  

[Lexy3]

I don't want to "talk too quick" lest I jinx myself.  Since I've had my charge 4 I only had one small "black out" where the screen went blank, but since then it has been working fine.  My charge 2 worked relatively well too but the band broke after the warranty had expired and that was the end of it (I was forced to attach tape to it while my other two charges stopped working as I didn't want to have pauses between steps).  I had two fitbit 3 and they were useless.  I'm just praying that my charge 4 doesn't start having hiccups post-warranty.

[VSNY]

I wish I had your patience!

Sent from my iPhone

[Lexy3]

I hear you!  Normally, I'm not that patient, but I've become so invested in keeping track of my steps; it addictive.  You wouldn't believe, I just this minute purchased another fitbit 4.  As I mentioned, the last one was working fine, but today it fell off my wrist while I was shopping (apparently, the band became loose or broke).  I last checked the time before leaving my car, so I knew it fell from the time I left the car to the time I arrived at the store, a mere minute, if that much.  I retraced my steps a couple of times, but was unable to locate it.  I kept syncing it with my phone hoping that it would have connected since I was within the vicinity, but to no avail.  Someone must have gotten to it before me.  Oh well, the saga continues....

[VSNY]

Hi Lexi3,Sorry for your loss. The screen of my Fitbit 3 was too dim to read in daylight and that was the last straw. I purchased a iWatch5 for $279 on Thanksgiving weekend. I love it,but I like to keep track of my steps, too. The iWatch does daily only. The Apple store must have an app for weekly, monthly totals. If you know of an applet me know.Thanks,KerryLong Island

[SunsetRunner]

My Charge 3 have the same issue as others in here. Very low light for a time and today the screen went black. Put charger on with no vibrations and after a time still black screen and was very hot. Did not turn on. The Charge 3 is a big disappointment and Fitbit does clearly not want to support there customers at all. My wife has Charge 2 and have no issues at all. 

Why does Fitbit is disrespectful to customers having this vital problems that points to a design mistake? What a shame; I'm very  very disappointed!

/Göran

Moderator edit: format

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @SunsetRunner. Welcome to the community forums. 

I'm very sorry to hear about your experience and thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. I'd like to let you know that our team is always working to enhance your experience and your feedback is a big part of that process.

On a side note, I was able to see that you have reached out to our Support Team and they have provided information and assistance. If you still have additional questions or inquiries, I recommend replying back to the email they've sent to you so they can continue working on your case. 

See you around. 

[SunsetRunner]

Same here.  Bought as a gift for my mother.  In less than one year, she has the same issue as you. Fitbit's response was that I should send it in and they will issue a credit to a PayPal account (which she doesn't have). I have to change her Fitbit account, send them the watch and then trust that they will refund it to my account.  No mention of how much the refund will be and when I asked for straight exchange, was given an incomplete sentence: "Since we are uncertain the root cause of this experience, and we would not want you to risk a repeat experience."  In reading the Fitbit blogs and their own support pages, this is a known issue.  The horrible, uncaring phone service and subsequent email responses have convinced me that a better brand is out there for her. I've had the Charge 2 for years without issue and am looking to upgrade.  Fitbit's response to this current issue and the  customer service is definitely not helping. 

Moderator edit: word choice/format

[SunsetRunner]

Hi,

Sorry to hear that you have a bad experience with Fitbit support.
My Charge 3 started to be very dim. hardly readable and terrible response.
At last I only used it as an alarm clock and finally it went all black
after nearly 2 years of use.
I then charged it and after an hour it was terribly hot and did not wake up
at all.

I contacted Fitbit support and they asked me to send it back, for me living
in Sweden it was to the Fitbit Netherlands.
Fitbit sent a DHL return postage and I returned the Charge 3 together with
the charger.

After some mail conversation they came back and gave me 2 options.

1. Full replacement free of charge, new Charge 3 + Charger
2. 50% discount in Fitbit shop to buy a new Fitbit

I chose option 1 and got a new Charge 3 watch and it will be interesting to
see how long it will live.
Before I contacted Fitbit I was also thinking of buying another brand,
Garmin or Samsung, but I gave it a go and contacted Fitbit.

Below is my Fitbit support ticket for reference, it might help you.
(#40741067)

--
Regards
Göran Nordh

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @SunsetRunner. Welcome to the community forums. @SunsetRunner It's nice to see you around and thanks for your input. 

@SunsetRunner I'm very sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for the information and for your feedback. Please note that our team is always working to enhance your experience and your feedback is a big part of that process.

At this time, I'd like to let you know that if you already have a case with our Support Team, I recommend replying back to your case and they should be able to provide assistance and information. 

@SunsetRunner I am also glad to hear that your inconvenience was resolved. 

See you around. 

[SunsetRunner]

I did my best. Now I’m being asked to create a PayPal account so my mother can get her refund? I was told to use my PayPal account but apparently cannot since I already have a Fitbit account tied to that email.

This has been a most disappointing experience. Having worked in retail for over 20 years, the level of poor customer service on a known defect yes unbelievable.

Cause you will be losing three Fitbit accounts from my family alone because of this.

Sent from my iPhone