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

[Amandahouse]

No just going to buy a new

Sent from my iPhone

[KatzCo]

it's just outside the warranty 😞

[Kazhil]

Hi ,
I have just been in touch with Customer support my Fitbit Charger 3 went dim , then it went black Couldn’t see a thing on it , the guy talked me through all the thing to try and get it to light up nothing worked . I live in UK my fitbit is 17 months old and they are going to replace it great, well done Fitbit great customer service .

Sent from my iPhone

[hnewsom]

Add me to the hundreds or thousands who are having display problems on the Charge 3.  Has anyone been able to determine whether Fitbit has any intent to address this issue?  I like the Charge 3 and it's features but the lack of visibility is unacceptable.   I don't understand the lack of response from the company but it's enough to tempt one to look elsewhere. 

[Gym-Dad]

Fitbit customer service let us down.  Just spoke with a rep who said we are out of warranty and offered a discount to replace the device (Charge 3), but others have reported receiving a replacement when their device was out of warranty.  Apparently the screen display issue is widespread, and Fitbit wants us to spend more on a new device that may wind up failing, too.  We’re very disappointed with Fitbit and will be looking into the Apple watches.

[jjulien35]

Same here.. offered 25% off another fitbit 3... cant see spending the money on another one to have it malfunction 6 months after warranty.. mine doesn’t have a scratch on it.. 

[babyluoi]

Same here, after reset my charge 3, the problem was not solved, so they offer me 25% off but I don’t think I gonna buy another one since this happened a lot. Won’t trust Fitbit anymore.

[rlbegrow]

Tried that. Didnt work. Now my light doesnt work at all. Even with a fully charged battery.

[jalecksae]

My charge 3 is too dim as well. The only time I can read it is in a dark room! And yes, I've tried to change the setting on the device itself and have it set to the "normal" setting which is the brightest it has. The "dim" setting can't be read at all.

[rlbegrow]

This is the second fitbit this has happened to me. I have decided to go
with a different brand. Very frusterating. It is a known problem that
doesn't get fixed. The warranty is only a year and this usually happens
just before two years.

[DharshiniT]

Hi, I have reviewed many threads regarding the fitbit charge 3 getting dimmer. None of the suggestions work. Can Fitbit support contact me witha resolution. I rather charge more often, then not see my screen

Dharshini 

[rlbegrow]

Fitbit won't do anything. They only have a 1 yrs warranty. This has
happened to me twice now so this time I bought a different brand. Pretty
sad such a wonderful company cant or won't get this issue fixed. Everything
else works but what good is it if the screen is dark and I can't see
anything. There are many other brands out there. Try something new! 😃
good luck.

[TheGrumps]

However, reading their EULA ages ago (https://www.fitbit.com/us/legal/terms-of-service) they specifically disallow such actions. They're obviously anticipating that such actions could be taken due to mass problems with their products. It's the same rule in the UK/EU. I'm sure the EU courts would just strike such a statement out of their EULA.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure we're not allowed to discuss matters such as these on this forum. So be prepared for some post deletion.

Moderator Edit: Word choice 

This post has been edited by the moderator and removed a reference to an early post from another disgruntled user.

[PaulaM55]

 Yes it was deleted.  

[DrSamCarter]

I know this is going to seem weird, but these instructions (which were given to me a year ago by Fitbit for another problem I was having) seem to have resolved my dim screen problem:

Try changing your clock face in the Fitbit app:

• With your device nearby, from the Fitbit app dashboard, tap the Account icon User (top left of the home screen in the iOS app)
• Click on Charge 3
• Tap Clock Faces  
• Select All Clocks from the tab at the top.
• Browse the available clock faces. Tap the clock face you want and tap Select to install it.
• Sync your device to see the change.

No guarantees that it will work for you (or for how long) but it seems to have worked for me (and you can change your clock-face back to what you had originally if you don't like the one you changed to!)

[DrSamCarter]

And then I set the brightness to "auto"

[hnewsom]

Changing clock face did no good, unfortunately. 

[isreedhar]

My screen also started fading just after one year. I contacted fitbit support center. This is the response I got

Response from Fit Bit on 26-MAR2020

After checking in our system, we are able to see that the warranty of your Charge 3 started back on February 12th 2019 and ended on February 12th 2020. Although this isn’t eligible for replacement since the warranty is already expired, we want to keep you in the Fitbit family and working toward your goals. Please accept a discount toward the purchase of any one of the devices on fitbit.com 

My request to the public : 

Fitbit sold defective products and offering 25% discount after the warranty. Shame on fitbit company. If you search in the google so many people gave a complaint that your screen has problem so Fitbit know that the product has defect instead of fixing the defect they are selling defective products and after one year Fitbit offering 25% discount. I am not going to buy their products any more. 

Shame on Fitbit  selling the defect products to the customer.  My request to the public please do not buy their products. You will suffer one day. 

[Knight_of_Ni]

 

I purchased my Fitbit in March 2019, same issue as everyone else here. 

If Fitbit offered at least 50% off on the latest Charge 4, or Versa, etc., that would placate me. 

If this was GM, Subaru, or any car maker, an issue of this magnitude would have had a free recall to fix the issue, or provide some other compensation for a very defective product. 

But offering a measly 25% is a slap in the face. Come on Fitbit, do the right thing!

In an era where customer support is KEY, and social media can (temporarily or longterm) sway a product’s success or demise (e.g. Facebook ad boycott) some times you have to own up to your mistake, and DO THE RIGHT THING!

[Knight_of_Ni]

I purchased my Fitbit in March 2019, same issue as everyone else here. 

If Fitbit offered at least 50% off on the latest Charge 4, or Versa, etc., that would placate me. 

If this was GM, Subaru, or any car maker, an issue of this magnitude would have had a free recall to fix the issue, or provide some other compensation for a very defective product. 

But offering a measly 25% is a slap in the face. Come on Fitbit, do the right thing!

In an era where customer support is KEY, and social media can (temporarily or longterm) sway a product’s success or demise (e.g. Facebook ad boycott) some times you have to own up to your mistake, and DO THE RIGHT THING!

[eriepa]

My brightness setting says “Normal” (only other Settings are Auto and Dim) and the display cannot be read outdoors. I have had my unit since Feb 2019 and your support team verbalized this was a known issue that was being worked on by the Support Team, but said my unit was out of warranty and only offered me 25% off on a new unit. What a poor response when you know this is a defect that many have reported. Either fix my unit or replace. I would never purchase one again in the future knowing that after a defect happens in 17 months, I’m told to “buy a new one”! Very disappointed!