Charge 3 display corrupted

[Fruch]

My Charge 3, which is about 6 weeks old has developed a dead horizontal line about 1/5 of the way down the screen. It's like a dead pixel, but extends right across the screen and always remains black. It's not too much of a problem; info is still easy to read, but it's clearly a fault and may get worse. I intend to return it for an exchange, but am posting to let other users know about this issue.

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[Dolphin56]

I think I may be done with trackers in general if mine goes bad. I had a
Garmin that went bad, so I switched to the Charge 3. It went bad, so I went
down to Inspire. I have nothing I have monitor for wellness plans or other
medical, so I may just be done with it if this one goes bad.

[stefania_it]

I have the same issue. Some pixels  are dead and the luminosity is decreasing on its own, even if I set it on "normal".
Very disappointing.
I have already tried the restart procedure.

[JMac38WOT]

Same problem here.  'Don't think any Fitbit I've owned (4?) has lasted two years.  That's the argument against buying the Charge 4 to replace my Charge 3, and puts the Sense completely out of consideration.  Very depressing engineering standards in my experience - I hope others are more fortunate.  (Note: I'm a retired 73 y.o. with an active but un-athletic life [due to athletic injuries!].)

Fortunately two early Fitbit's failed under warranty and their CS replacement experience was very positive.

[ESStutts]

I just got in touch with them and found out that there's a year warranty.  My new one has been ordered, no questions asked.   Obviously I would've liked it better if I hadn't had these problems in the first place but happy that they're honoring the warranty.

[Dolphin56]

Glad to hear it. Good luck with the replacement

[SallG]

I also have the some problems with 3 lines now black. I’ve tried the resolution suggested in this tread but to no avail. Any other suggestions would be fantastic.

Many thanks 

[Dolphin56]

You are going to have to contact customer service. If your unit is under
warranty they should replace it, but possibly with a refurbished one.
Otherwise they may offer a discount on another unit. I hope you have good
luck.

[Fittobetiedup]

My next step is to contact Fitbit Corprorate and request a replacement. My
fitbit was purchased Dec 2019 as a present.

[Dolphin56]

It should still be under warranty, so there shouldn't be an issue replacing
it. However, they may replace it with a refurbished unit because of how far
into the warranty you are. I wish you good luck.

[ESStutts]

Contact Customer Service - there's a button on the website that says Get Support (https://myhelp.fitbit.com/s/products?language=en_US&p=charge_3)

As long as your Fitbit was purchased within the last 12 months, you should get a replacement.  I did that today and the help desk person sent me a link where I could claim my replacement Fitbit.  (after some troubleshooting questions to make sure it couldn't be fixed).  I was surprised how easy it was.

[Peglaws]

I contacted Tech Support, described the issue - the dead horizontal lines - and was given the option of a free replacement for my Charge 3 or 50% on an upgrade. No problem!  The Charge 3 replacement arrived by courier within a few days. 

[Dolphin56]

Excellent! Hope you have better luck with the new one.

[CopCar911]

Good luck with the new one !! My 3rd is almost unreadable, so unless they fixed something......


Sent from Xfinity Connect Application

[GinnyRo]

Good . I tried to get help for this a couple of months ago and was offered
nothing except the reset instructions over and over. I might see if I can
get a retroactive credit --

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[Mkarsch]

My wife has had this happen twice before and it happened again.  Last time they sent her another unit which is great but a pain.   She doesn’t even wear it in the shower.  I Don’t get it, I’ve had my since it came out with out a problem.  

[Dolphin56]

I have no answer, except that it seems to be a common issue. Too bad,
because I really liked mine

[tsr712]

This is a known and very widespread issue with the Charge 3. If you start to get a thin black line and you're still within warranty, get it replaced immediately. I waited until just after the warranty period, and it got progressively worse. The screen is now unusable. Even if i the problem starts well within the warranty period, and even though Fitbit acknowledges that it's a widespread defect, you're on the hook if you wait. There's no flexibility, and in the U.S. the warranty for manufacturing defects is only 1 year. When I went through the troubleshooting steps with customer service, my thin black lines turned to white lines. Now it looks like this: 

[stefania_it]

I contacted customer service and nobody replied. Very disappointing!

[Dolphin56]

I would suggest trying a different method. If you emailed, I might try chat
or phoning.

[Aswithin]

Hi- I tried this on mine with no success. Mine had developed some missing lines along the bottom about 2 weeks ago, just after the last big update to the app. Not sure if that had anything to do with it. The lines run through the date making it impossible to read. Is there anything else I can try with mine?