Charge 3 screen too dim, fixes didn't work.

[stanhilliard]

My wife's Charge 3 screen only has shown the hour, not minute, bright for the last few months. It only shows when I press the button, and then goes off in a few seconds. No other items are readable. There are times when I can get a few pixels to show - nothing readable.

1) I cleaned the charger and the back of the tracker well and charged it to 100%.

2) I updated the software from the Fitbit App on her Android Moto G Power.

3) I rebooted the Charge 3 and got a weak smiley face.

4) This did not fix or change the problem.

5) I can't change the clock-face, "sleep mode", or "do not disturb" mode on the tracker because I can't read its screen.

6) I tried to run the Fitbit App from Playstore. Where Playstore would normally show the [Open] button it showed [Update]. I selected the update button but it didn't work.

7) I uninstalled the app from the phone and tried to reinstall from Playstore. The button on Playstore said [Install] but it also didn't work. When I touched the Fitbit icon next to [Install] a message said
"Something went wrong" [Try again]

😎 A google search revealed that the Moto G Power doesn't work well with Fitbits. That raises the question that maybe the update I had performed (step 2 above) was flawed. How can I find out if the previous update is good?

9) Also, is it certain that the update of software OS includes both software and firmware? The statements by the app were not clear about that.

10) Is there a way to determine the version of the firmware and the version of the OS on the tracker - when I can't read the screen?

FYI: I have a Sense and access it every day with no problems from the Fitbit App on my Google Pixel 6.

[stanhilliard]

Update:

After several attempts at a long restart, I can now move between screens and can (barely) make out what they say. One screen looks like DMD at the top and sleep at the bottom. I don't know whether they are on or off -- because I don't understand how to set them. When I first found this screen there was some kind of icon thing in the middle. I touched it and now it is not there. What should I do to have these set properly?

[stanhilliard]

Update2:
I succeeded in linking the tracker to my (retired) Pixel 2. I was able to read the 4 digit code on the trackers screen because the letters were wider than normal. but dim.
With the phone, I synced the tracker and changed the clock-face to "Change 2 Retro". Now the problem is I can't see anything on the screen. The only response of the tracker is I get a short vibration when I press the button.

[stanhilliard]

I started this thread 6 months ago.

I still haven't seen any way to fix my wife's defective Charge 3. Is the company offering any discount to those who bought the defective product? I don't know if the device would be under warrantee. I don't even remember which store I bought it at. Also, I am wondering if the black screen problem has been solved for the Charge 5.

[caf80]

#5 - exactly!  I can't read the screen to change the options.  I tried to put it in front of my iphone camera on zoom and that helped a little bit.  But finally just gave up - it's going in the recycling bin.