Charge 3 screen too dim

[747pilot]

My Charge 3 screen is excessively dim, even with a full charge.  I've tried restarting it with no result. It will occasionally come on bright but after a few seconds it's dim again and I can't get it back. This is indoors and is still difficult to read. Outside with any amount of sunlight, it's impossible to read.

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[caprilyn]

I finally got a replacement offer. Just the core device replacement under warranty minus the bands or a 50% offer for any other fitbit. Have to decide what should be the right choice.

[dhgibson]

My Charge 3 all of a sudden is so dim I can't read it, online help says it is a known issue so they won't replace it.   This is my second fitbit and neither has lasted long.  Don't buy these!

[TheGrumps]

If they call it a software/firmware fault then they should have a team working on it. But this has been going on since day 1. They have nobody working on a solution because it is a hardware fault and they are just palming you off.

[SunsetRunner]

When will this be fixed? I have had the problem for 3 months now! I contacted someone here on a livechat about a week after I noticed how bad it was, and they said that they will be doing a firmware fix soon and that I shouldn't have to wait long... still waiting. That's a lot of people with Charge 3's with a crappy dim screen. I just bought a Charge 3 for my wife for her Christmas, but I am tempted to get a refund on it now, since this issue still isn't resolved despite assurances. 😠

[NFDL]

Have complained about dim display on my Charge 3 via the chat and phone call. Multiple resets (about 20) deleting app and reloading, resetting tracker, and EVERY OTHER HELP SUGGESTION that I could find has been tried multiple times. Don't insult me by suggesting that the setting is on dim, it's not. I believe it is a software/firmware problem not a hardware problem, and here's why. During two of the reset's when the tracker is syncing with the phone the display actually came on bright for about 3 seconds at the end of the sync process. Fitbit support is polite and apologetic but can not inform me of any progress on a known problem. This  has been an issue for the last 6 months. I will be leaving Fitbit and going to a Garmin due to the fact that a device that is less than a year is worthless.

[dawnmarie135]

I called again today, after having called two weeks ago. Today I was told that this is an issue they are working to correct, and to check periodically on the app to see if there is an update. This thing is now useless as a watch and to see anything on the screen! I would consider just getting a new one but this one isn’t even a year old. Not happy!

[SunsetRunner]

They just emailed to say:

"Thank you for getting back to us.

We understand how you feel. We’re currently working to resolve it and hope to have a fix soon. Be sure to keep your Fitbit device and app up-to-date to ensure you receive the quickest resolution.

We're sorry for any trouble. We appreciate your patience and look forward to getting you back on track.

Please let us know if there's anything we can do to assist you in the meantime.". 

[Dleadley]

Well let’s hope they sort this out soon

Sent from my iPhone

[BWSEMS]

I have the same problem and the screen is too dark to even see what screen I have swiped too?

[SunsetRunner]

I agree this is totally unacceptable. I received my Charge 3 in June and it's been rendered useless barely 6 months later. It's beyond frustrating. I've had issues with two Charge HRs (version 2) and now this Charge 3. Three strikes = Fitbit is out for me. After more than 5 years my next tracker is going to be something other than Fitbit.

[DavidInCanada]

I had a Charge 2 that was great until after 2 years the screen cracked and my second band failed. I inherited a Charge 3 from my ex son in law. Charged it up and it was dim, dim, dim like the ex SIL. Went on line and found out how to change brightness. Went to Settlings to see if I could get it brighter and must have hit Auto. Black screen. Had to go into a pitch black room to find my way back to Settings. Set to Normal.  Now it's just dim. And the text is too small and you have to scroll for steps. Bottom line in my opinion is Charge 3 is a step back from Charge 2 but really 2 years life span for the 2? I read that Fitbit is losing market share. Gosh I wonder why. Bye bye Fitbit. Hello virtually any other brand.

[BmiFlyer]

Exactly, the charge 3 is not as good as the charge 2.  The charge 2 is a great device other than the poor battery life.  I am actually wearing my old charge 2 today since my charge 3 is only useful as a paperweight right now.  I will have to take it off around 3pm to charge the battery for a while, but at least I can read it.

Add to that the Fitbit refuses to acknowledge that the Charge 3 has a defect and to replace devices with this dim screen issue.  Poor product + poor customer service = no more customers.  Hopefully they will wise up an actually honor their warranty soon, instead of making us wait months for a possible software fix.

[TheGrumps]

I wonder did Google read these forums before stumping up $2billion.

[DavidInCanada]

Good question. I have a Nest thermostat and Google also bought Nest. It's bullet proof and a fabulous product. Fitbit not. By the way I get up to a week out of my Charge 2 battery and it still works with a broken screen. Sort of like the old Timex ad "takes a licking and keeps on ticking ". 

[Akikotori]

I got the same canned response as well.

I think now they don't even look into individual cases because it's known issue that has been there for long.....

I think they should recall this product if they can't fix the issue for half a year.

[PaulaM55]

My Charge 3 started doing this same thing about a month ago.  Super dim and very hard to reset the lighting.  Even when I do it goes back to very dim within a day or two.  How do we solve this?  It's useless if you can't read the screen.

[Gab123456]

Went with Apple Watch. Significantly better!

Sent from my iPad

[SunsetRunner]

Fitbit obviously don't care about anything other than the sales, or they'd bother to reply to this thread with an actual solution or a timescale. How about managing some customer expectations guys? Not some generic response about "having a resolution as soon as possible", but an actual estimated timescale. 😠

[Crichton58]

Swiping to dim makes my screen unseeable. When setting to bright, it looks like it is on very dim. When outside, I can’t see the screen at all. 

[PaulaM55]

I had to go into our dark walk-in closet to even see what setting it was on!