Charge 3 screen not responding

[alexisbehilo]

This Fitbit Charge 3 that I have is not responding. I was wearing it and I went to look at the time, and the screen was just black. The screen is completely black, but I know it's on because there is a flashing green light at the bottom and when I plug it in to charge it vibrates. Everything is on, but the screen is completely black. I've tried pressing and holding the button on the side while it's plugged in, but that doesn't work either. Any advice as to what I should do?

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[AlejandraFitbit · Accepted solution]

It's great to welcome you @alexisbehilo.

Thanks for troubleshooting this by yourself. Please confirm these are the steps you followed to restart your tracker:

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 to restart your tracker:
   • 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. Unplug your tracker from the charging cable.

Hope to hear from you soon. 

[alexisbehilo]

I followed the steps and it worked. Thank you!

[LynnPeeler]

My screen is black on my Charge 3. I have tried setting it up with the charger & pressing the thing for 8 seconds. I feel the vibrations  but screen is still black. 

[alexisbehilo]

That also happened to me, but what I had to do was wait to feel two short vibrations and a medium. Make sure you press and hold it without letting up on the button and press it directly in the middle. I think that might work.  @LynnPeeler

[LynnPeeler]

Thanks for your reply. I tried that. Felt the two short vibrations followed by another vibration. No luck. My screen is still black.

Sent from my iPad

[sfjogger]

This was the second time I've had the all-black screen in the two months I've had my charge 3. The first time, I was ready to look for solutions; but the firmware update corrected it. This time I tried your solution, and it worked. Goodness, am I going to have to do this once a month for the life of my tracker? Must be a permanent fix for this annoying problem. When the screen is having its black tantrum, all other functions are working - tracking, reporting, charging, syncing, all functions but the screen.

[alexisbehilo]

When I had the Charge 3 connected, it was to my computer and I had it connected for a bit. Then I had pressed and held the button down for 15 seconds. There was a short vibration and a medium vibration that happened and then a smiley face popped up. Hopefully, that helps. Another thing that might help is going to FitBit support and doing a live chat, those are really helpful. @LynnPeeler

[LynnPeeler]

I’ve only had my Fitbit since December. I should not already be having trouble with it. 

[AlejandraFitbit]

Hey guys, I hope you are doing fine.

@alexisbehilo and @sfjogger, it's great to see you here and to hear that the instructions provided worked and that your tracker are now working properly. If there is anything else we can help you with, do not hesitate to post it.

@LynnPeeler, welcome to the Community. Thanks for troubleshooting this display issue by yourself. Since the steps provided didn't work, I've gone ahead and escalated your case to our support team, for them to take a deeper look at this. Please keep an eye on your inbox for further instructions.

Keep me posted. 

[LynnPeeler]

Thank you!

Sent from my iPhone

[Jooloo92]

Hello! I'm wondering if you can help me, I'm having a problem with my screen, its not responding to touch, i have tried the reset 3 times, after each time the screen was just black until i changed the clock face on my app. The screen is still not responding. Any help would be greatly appreciated 🙂

[alexisbehilo]

Make sure you have the fit bit in the charger when you try to reset it. Once it’s in the charger, press the button really hard without letting up on it for 15 seconds. Even when you feel a vibration, don’t let up on the button, make sure it’s pressed really hard. Then when you feel a short vibration and a medium vibration, a smiley face will pop up. If that doesn’t work go to the fit bit live chat online, that really helped. @Jooloo92

[TinyWiny]

Holding the side button for the full 8 secs+ was the key factory. Then I saw a long "flatline". Released it then the smiley face came. Halleluha! Days of not knowing what happened.

[ashleybriggett]

I've tried ALL of these tricks to make screen appear but it's still black. Nothing is working, it still vibrates for notifications but that's it:exclamation_mark:️Please help my Fitbit:exclamation_mark:️

[NithaMammen]

Hi Alejandra, Im facing the same issue now.. tried the reset option while it was played it but it doesn't work. Nothing comes on the screen. No battery icon and no smile icon. Now it just tracks and vibrates. Please help. Its new and I hv been using it perfectly for 2 weeks before the screen went blank

[alexisbehilo]

@ashleybriggett @NithaMammen  One thing I found helpful to do was pressing really hard on the button. Since there is no real button, just an indent, it’s kind of hard to keep your finger on it. Press really hard and don’t let go for at least 15 seconds. Keep trying this if it doesn’t work the first time. And if it doesn’t work at all, do a live chat with the Fitbit people, they’re very helpful. 

Hopefully that will work! 

[TinyWiny]

Called directly to Fitbit warranty line two days ago. Yes you have to hold the indent in. I had to restart my screen 3X as it blanked out. Then when it did reset, it didn’t hold the correct time over a few hours.Didn’t notice and missed an appt, lol. Service person said to keep sync on. It was, always is. Regardless, he said they are working on a fix for the screen going blank. Just no time line. Mine was a Christmas present. It’s past 48 day warranty. Guess we all have to put up with this and follow procedure till the fix. The person on the warranty line was otherwise helpful.

[Run4Ever19]

I have completed  the recommended steps 3 times. But still my fitbit charge 3 screen   Remains black & it will not sync

[alexisbehilo]

@Run4Ever19  This is definitely a problem the Fitbit people need to fix. But they’re very helpful. Calling them or live chat helped me. 😊