Charge 3 display brightness very low since last Firmware Upgrade

[melcat]

Hi!

Two weeks ago, i received the new Firmware 28.20001.88.11 for my Charge 3. 

The Upgrade worked fine, but since the Installation, the Brightness of the Display is very, very low!! Even in dark rooms it's hard to see the displayed Information. I tried the Display settings, but the offered Options are: Low, Normal, Auto. There os no Bright Option!  And the Light Sensor seems to be inactive. I switched to a large Clock Face to see at least the Time. What else can I do to get a better Display?

Kind regards from the Cat

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Heather-S]

@melcat Unfortunately, "normal" is the brightest setting.  I'd recommend you try restarting your Charge 3 a few times to see if that fixes it.  If not, you may want to reach out to Customer Support.  You should be able to see your screen in a dark room or even a well-lit room.  It could be that something is wrong with the display. 

Best of luck!

[melcat]

Thanks for your reply, @Heather-S. Unfortunately, I could not solve the problem. 

The Upgrade made the Charge 3 useless for me. I switched to another Tracker which provides a bright and sharp display. 

I hope that Fitbit will recognize this problem which affects a lot of Charge 3 users and provides a Bugfix soon. 

[LoetR]

I have the exact same issue. It's been bothering me for a few months now. Since the upgrade to 20001.88.11 it's almost impossible to read anything that my Charge 3 HR displays.. 

[AlvaroFitbit]

@melcat Welcome to the Fitbit Community! It's great to have you here!

Let me help you with your Charge 3 screen being too dim. Start by checking that your tracker isn't in Do not Disturb or sleep mode by long pressing the button. Also restart your tracker by doing the following:

1. Plug the charging cable into the USB port on your computer or any UL-certified USB wall charger.
2. Clip the other end of the charging cable to the port on the back of the tracker. The pins on the charging cable must lock securely with the port.
3. Make sure the button on your tracker is aligned with the button opening on the charging cable. You’ll know the connection is secure when the tracker vibrates and you see a battery icon on your tracker’s display.
4. Press and hold the button on your tracker for 8 seconds. Release the button. When you see a smile icon and the tracker vibrates, the tracker restarted.
5. Disconnect your tracker from the charging cable.

Let me know how it goes.

[melcat]

Hi @AlvaroFitbit 

Many thanks for your message. I tried this Steps several times, unfortunately without luck. The Screen is still dimmed. 

I followed many threads in this Forum with a similar problem. Maybe, the last Software Upgrade is s source for this problem. At least, many users experienced the same problem when they upgraded their Charge 3 to 1.88.11.

Sadly, my Charge 3 is useless at this time; I cannot read the screen, even indoor. As a result, I switched to another Fitness tracker. 

Maybe, Fitbit will find a solution for the problem, I will happily switch back to the Charge 3.

Kind regards, Cat-Friend (meaow)

[AlvaroFitbit]

@melcat meaow to you too! And thank you for your update.

This isn't the experience we want for our users so I have created a ticket with our Support team. They will reach out via email to further assist you and see what options they may have for you.

Keep me posted on the results!

[restrictedacces]

this has happened on 2 of my Charge 3's.   there is a setting for the "brightness" of the screen.  what is happening is it keeps reverting back to auto.  Once in auto it keeps the screen dim.  I was able to change it once back to a higher level of brightness, but it has just resumed to the unreadable  dim mode and i can't seem to change it back this time.   Fitbit staff does not ever respond with how to correct this "setting".  i spent hours going through thier useless re-starts and resets, etc.  Finally telling me I am out of warranty so here is a discount for new one.  It does not need to be replaced.  The problem is it is changing a "setting" and the system does not let us change this setting back to normal.   I think they just want us to replace them.  Very unethical and I will never buy another fitbit again.  

[Ecedwa]

Can you please post the solution from the support team here? It’s obvious this is huge problem from the number of complaints filed in this forum with the same issue. It’s definitely an issue with the last upgrade. Seems like your support group should be able to roll out another firmware upgrade (even if it’s going back to the previous version until this is resolved). Like everyone else my Charge 3 is now useless and I’m not getting credit for my steps with my insurance carrier ☹️

[Lilacsue]

and I have the same problem.  I can't read my screen at all hardly.  Very disappointing.  I like the product but if it has these bugs, I wont replace it with another fitbit.  My last fitbit got lines across the display and gradually disappeared.  It was replaced.  Very sad now that this one is doing a variation of the problem and none of the fixes work.  Haven't seen one person say that the fixes recommended have helped, yet the moderators keep suggesting the same thing.

[Remov]

same issue here! the auto level does allow the Fitbit to be brighter than the normal mode, but only in very bright environments. Fitbit should add a 'high' brightness mode. if they have to add a warning about decreased battery life, so be it.