Charge 3 keeps breaking

[ObscureIdeas]

I bought my Charge 3 in January 2019 and since then I have had 3 replacements, I haven't had a single one that has lasted longer than a month and I'm getting a bit sick of it. It always goes wrong after I come out of the shower wearing it, then it starts glitching out, vibrating lots, then the battery will go from 90% charge to 20% in ten minutes. This has happened 3 times now so is it a problem with fitbits in water? Or have I just been very unlucky?

[NellyG]

Hi @ObscureIdeas I think you have been very unlucky. I have several swimproof fitbits,  including a Charge 3, and have never had any problems at all either swimming or showering with them. I really cant understand you having repeated lroblems like this, but all you can do it go back to Support once again. I DO hope this can be sorted out satisfactorily for you.

Contact Support

[Bella2000]

I bought mine in October 2018, and to this date I’m on my third. The 1st one went to a black screen for no reason within a month and the next one went to grey stripes across the screen after I charged it. I do like the features on it but I am not impressed with its reliability.  Had a charge2 previously for over 2 years and it’s still working and never had a problem with it .

[MarreFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @Bella2000! I am sorry to hear that you are going through this situation. I appreciate your feedback for the Charge 3.

If the screen on your device is blank or it has lines across the screen, I'd recommend restarting it by following these steps. 

If the restart does not work, I suggest changing the clock face to a different one to see if this bring the display back to normal. 

Give this a go and let me know the outcome, I'll be around.

[Bella2000]

I tried all of those. I took it back to the store and they exchanged it
again. As I said i’ve had my charge3 exchanged twice in a 3 month period.
This third one has lasted the longest at 4 months but I still don’t trust
it not too break again. I definitely won’t buy another.

[ObscureIdeas]

Yeah, I have completely lost faith in the brand. Whenever it goes wrong I just get told to restart it but it never works. I'm getting fed up of returning it. I am using an inspire hr now, hopefully this does better, can't do any worse

[MarreFitbit]

Hello there @Bella2000 and @ObscureIdeas! I am sorry to hear that you are going through this situation. I appreciate your feedback for the devices. This has not gone unnoticed and be sure that I will pass this along.

Fitbit has been designed to provide motivation and help you to reach your daily goals to success. Please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on that feedback.

I'm glad to hear you both have a new Charge 3 device and a new Inspire HR. 

Please don't hesitate to let me know if there's anything else we may do to assist you in the meantime.

[AmyFPA]

I have had the same problems with my Charge 3.  Today they are processing my order for my 3rd replacement (4th Charge 3). I bought it directly from Fitbit as soon as the Charge 3 was available last autumn.

This is my first and only fitness device.  Is it just this model and other Fitbits don’t have any stories this extreme?

[Bella2000]

I have a charge2 which I have had now for nearly 3 years. It’s a lot more
basic than the 3 but i’ve never had a problem with it, it’s looking
battered but it’s still going strong.
On the plus side at the moment my 3rd charge3 replacement is still working
6 months on. However I still don’t fully trust it not to stop working and I
definitely won’t buy another.

[ObscureIdeas]

I gave up with the Charge 3 and switched to the Inspire HR. I've only had it 2 months but it is working fine and that's longer than any of my Charge 3 Fitbits lasted. I'd recommend the Inspire HR, the only downside is that if you are a runner it can be hard to read the screen when running as it is smaller, you cannot adjust the brightness, and you can only see the latest message from Facebook etc. for a few seconds, then it disappears. Apart from that, it is a great device, and since it is cheaper than the Charge 3 you should get some money back when you go to FitBit 

[Bella2000]

My 4th Charge3 has actually lasted nearly 6 months and is still working but has frozen twice and i’ve had to reset. My old Charge2 is much more reliable 3 years old and still working with no problems. Don’t understand how they’ve got the Charge3 so wrong. I did ask them on my last exchange if I could swap it for a different model but was told no.

[Spell]

I have had the same exact problem. On my third one. It just went belly up today. Heading to get another one. If i didn't love the thing i would not go through this. JWM

[ACRP]

I am now waiting for my third Charge 3 replacement.  I've only had it since April.  They just completely shut down and die.  Don't respond to any of the re-sets.  If you rely on this as your alarm, you are likely to be late.  This is my first experience of a Fitbit product and I would never recommend anyone to buy.

[Bella2000]

You might be 3rd time lucky. After exchanging mine for the 3rd time I’ve
now had it for 8 months and although it’s had a couple of glitches it’s
still working. Hope I haven’t just jinxed it. Good luck

[Bella2000]

Actually should have said 4th time lucky not 3.

[ArtemusReturns]

My Alta HR is beginning to have sync issues with the fitbit Windows app, so I'm thinking of getting another fitbit after a couple of years of wearing this one. I was looking at the Charge 3 today, but after reading all these replies, a number of reviews, and your issues, I think I'll just sit on the sidelines for a while or maybe look at some competing devices. I do like my Alta HR. It does what it needs to do, except it can never find the app to update the software now. Thanks for the post.

[mstryker447]

yes ! I tried all the resets,restarts many times, to no avail. This appears to be quite common with the fitbit charge 3. $90.00 wasted

[Bella2000]

Can you exchange it. Since my final exchange( either 3 or 4 I can’t
remember), I have been using the same charge 3 now for 18 months. So there
is hope!!

[Fmweu]

I have been having the same problem. I have had my charge 3 replaced twice and frankly am tired and disappointed. I had a charge 2 and had no problems so I decided to upgrade but the charge 3 is just a flop. As I write this it has stopped working, it just keeps vibrating even as I try to reboot😡

[Bella2000]

I still have my charge 2 it’s 4 years old now and still works great. My
last exchange of my charge 3 is still working after 18 months but I
definitely wouldn’t buy another.