Charge 3 button not working and won't turn on

[ellenjac]

Hi - about a week ago my Charge 3 button would no longer work, meaning it doesn't push in. I've tried all the restart advice - putting it on charger and holding button down for 8 seconds, but nothing happens. The button doesn't move, there is no vibration, no lighted screen, nothing. It does charge correctly, and it does sync, so I can see my information on my phone, but the screen never lights up. I tried changing the clock face in case that was the issue (saw this in another community post) but still no lit screen. Thoughts?

Moderator edit: subject for clarity 

[ellenjac]

Three days later, no response. What's going on here? I'm really disappointed in Fitbit.

[LiliyaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community, @ellenjac.

I am sorry to hear your Charge 3 button stopped working and the screen won't turn on. Thank you for trying to resolve this and providing the additional details. I totally understand how you are feeling and I am here to help. Since you've tried to restart the tracker and change a clock face, I recommend trying to do a long restart:

• Connect the device to the charging cable.
• While the device is plugged into the charging cable, press and hold the button down for 15 seconds.
• The device turns on and shows a battery icon. Two vibrations occur: first a short vibration, then a medium vibration
• The device turns off.
• The device turns on and shows a progress bar and short vibrations occur. The progress bar completes. Note: A total of 7 short vibrations occur.
• Remove the device from the charging cable. The device shuts down.
• Important: Plug the device into the charging cable again.

Let me know how it goes. 

[ellenjac]

I've already tried this, but tried it again. Held button for about 20 seconds. The only thing that happened is that a happy face appeared for a few seconds and then disappeared. No vibrations, no battery icon.

[frederickc5]

Mine is doing the exact same thing.  I had another charge 3 that did that and it couldn't be fixed and it was out of warranty by a month and they wouldn't do anything.  I bought this one in April, so they will be doing something....

[LiliyaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community, @frederickc5. Thank you for your reply, @ellenjac.

@ellenjac I am sorry to hear the issue persists, thank you for your efforts. I've sent your information to the Customer Support team so they can get in touch with you and provide further assistance. You should be getting a reply soon.  

@frederickc5 I am sorry to hear you're having the same issue. Thanks for the details shared. Upon checking with our Support team, I was told that you have already contacted them and that they were able to help you. Thank you for your time and efforts. 

Let me know if you have any questions.

[Ktuccio]

I am suffering the same issue.  My Charge 3 screen is black, the button will not operate and I cannot connect to Bluetooth.  What should I do?

[GCSjr]

Ditto. Button stopped working and screen is black. If I charge it it gets extremely hot. 

[3naN]

I called customer support and they made me do the trouble shooting as stated above. Nothing happened. My charge 3 behaved the same as yours at that timeline! So strange. I hope Fitbit can help us. 

[Ktuccio]

I solved this problem by purchasing a Garmin VivoSmart 4. Works great and I like the phone app much better than fitbit.

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[RachelHez]

Can anybody give any advice to sort this issue?? 

[3naN]

Hi Rachel! Unfortunately your charge 3 is useless now and customer support offered me a 30% discount towards a new one (which I used because i’m addicted to counting my steps). I guess that’s a great way to keep customers when tech breaks down after warranty. I have to admit, the Fitbit app is the best out there, as compared by multiple YouTube Fitbit reviewers. So grieve the loss of your Fitbit, and find another one that you like. YouTube is a great place to see comparisons, that’s what I did. I hope this helps!

[RachelHez]

Hey!

Thanks for this, I’m a steps addict too! How do you get 30% off?? X

Kind regards

Rachel

[3naN]

You call customer service and tell them what’s happening to your Fitbit. That’s why I did. We trouble shooter and when it was deemed unresponsive, they offered me the 30% off. Hope it goes well with you too!

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello everyone. @RachelHez @3naN Welcome to the community forums. @3naN Thank you for your input. 

@RachelHez I'd like to let you know that if the suggested tips in this thread didn't help, my best recommendation is that you please contact our Support Team for further assistance. Note that you can contact them through chat or over the phone, but phone wait times have been longer than normal, so I recommend initiating a chat. Click here to get connected. 

Please make sure to provide a brief explanation of the inconvenience and mention the troubleshooting steps you've followed, this way they can continue assisting you and review your available options. 

@3naN I appreciate your feedback and please note that any feedback posted in the forums is always welcome as it helps to improve our products, services and overall environment. 

On a side note, I'd like to let you know that replacement devices are provided for products that are within the warranty period. If your original Charge 3 is no longer under warranty a discount could be an available option but some conditions and requirements should be met. For more information about our warranty policy, I recommend visiting the following link: https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/legal/returns-and-warranty.

See you around. 

[ELehming]

Mine is doing this too. It started by toggling between the DND/Sleep/Wake screen and the clock. I went through all the resets as advised, several times, but it kept doing it. I simply lived with it, till today, when it went completely blank and unresponsive. I can still sync with my phone and it's posting stats but I am essentially wearing a plastic brick on my wrist. I have no way of seeing time or activity on the device itself. It is completely inert. The only reason that I stay with FitBit is that I love the stats and have a Premium membership. My customer support experiences have been lack-lustre since I got my first tracker many years ago and Fitbit does not seem to want to delight their customers, but simply manage and retain them. I can't recall when I got my current Charge 3, as it was a replacement for the previous dead Charge 3 which replaced another 'glitchy' Charge 3. I think that once my premium membership expires I will abandon Fitbit completely, it's been a so-so run with what should be a premium product with premium support.