Charge 3 screen went blank

[Dsimi]

I've had my Charge 3 a little over a month. Last night my screen went blank. It was at 100% battery. It is still syncing with the app so I can see that it is still tracking my steps and sleep, etc. When I tried to restart it by placing it on the charger and holding down the side button for 8 secs. When I hold the button down it does a very quick pulse vibe about 4 times and then nothing. I've tried holding it longer than 8 secs also and still nothing. Very frustrated to be having this issue with a brand new product. Contemplating returning the one I bought my husband for Christmas and returning mine as well if not resolved immediately.

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[DerezzedDragon]

I have been using it for 3 weeks now and I got the black screen sometime last night. Boyfriend got me it in Nov but wasn't able to open it until Christmas ha. 

I charged it Friday 17 and the screen went black sometime between 18 and 19. Last night I had been wearing it under 3 layers of clothing while out in a blizzard. Not sure if the pressure of the clothing, cold temps, or water could have trigger this. I don't know if it was on when I got home as I was super tired 😴 

I got it working using the 15 sec method. I did it for 20 seconds and it didn't seem to work initially. I placed it back on the charger and tilted it to see if I got it in right, and the tilt screen was working again. I never got the smile. 

Battery was the same as on the phone. 

[Pinktiger2180]

I never got mine back to working but sounds like the same thing as mine about three weeks. I sent mine back. If you get a hold of fitbit they maybe able to help you? Another comment that was I heard was they replaced it with another one. I sent mine back and got a versa 2 so I am hoping with better luck.Sent from my U.S. Cellular® Smartphone

[beals5]

As one of the original posters and offering continuing suggestions on this thread and been keeping my Fitbit going through all the resets for many months now, my Charge3 finally developed another issue.  The screen even when working became very dim and blotchy, so clearly something else going wrong.  It was time to finally give up and replace it.  Since it is past its warrantee, it is a purchase.

After much thought, I'm getting another Charge3.  I've seen lots of posts here where folk have had this issue an declaring Fitbit bad and going to another brand or even a different Fitbit model.  The reality is Fitbit makes millions of these and they are not all going to be perfect.  I'm not a Fitbit employee, but did work in the consumer electronics industry making millions of devices and there are going to be defects.  We are the unlucky ones for this defect.  There is clearly something wrong with our devices, but if you think even if there are 10x the problems compared to the folk posting here, it is a pretty marginal issue, and as long as the problem surfaces within the warrantee, folk have been getting replacements.  I just waited too long--my fault!

Good luck to you all, the reported fix at the beginning of this thread and the later suggestion to just change clock faces both seem to help some, but not entirely.  Hopefully I'll not need to post again.  My replacement is getting charged up and updating right now.

will

[Bish50]

Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone

[Gem147]

Hi, my fitbit stopped syncing a few weeks ago (followed every recommended step and coyldnt get it to work). Now my screen has gone black. Followed the steps recommended on here. When i hold button for 15 secs i get a little white line. Take it out and put it back in and smiley face comes up... Then nothing. Tried several times. Any other suggestions please? 

[Pinktiger2180]

Same thing here I ended up sending mine back it was only three weeks old.Sent from my U.S. Cellular® Smartphone

[TSCID]

My Fitbit has also gone to a blank screen. It picks up my movement and beeps to remind me to move every hour to get 250 steps, still syncs to my phone, but the screen is black. I did the reset process recommended here and it did not work. When I press the side button to reset, I can feel the vibrations and it seems like it doesn't detect my finger. When I release after 15 seconds, the fitbit doesn't vibrate to acknowledge the release. 

What should I do now? 

Thanks.

[joycebrann]

While charging hold button in til it comes in on

Sent from my iPhone

[Pinktiger2180]

Same thing here unfortunately I sent mine back it was only three weeks oldSent from my U.S. Cellular® Smartphone

[Pinktiger2180]

You should see a smily face. I tried everything with no luck sent mine backSent from my U.S. Cellular® Smartphone

[joycebrann]

I pushed on the button while charging and mine finally came on, good luck

[MacBett]

I contacted the help desk about mine - the various resets didn't work, nor did changing the clock face, and actually I wasn't getting the regular vibrations that say a reset is happening - and I'm now waiting for a replacement unit. Last night the screen came back on briefly and when it went off again, I did manage a reset, and a clock face change. This morning, though, the screen was first of all incomplete, with multiple white lines, and then the horizontal hold failed and it constantly slipped sideways. I tried the reset again and got a battery indication split into four distinct quadrants in the wrong order, left to right.

Still broken, I think...!

[Thehig50]

Didn’t take long - hopefully my black screen will be gone!!

[Pinktiger2180]

Unsure I sent mine back. Although I may have a theory I charged mine every day when I showered I am wondering if this the cause of the back screens? Did you charge yours daily?Sent from my U.S. Cellular® Smartphone

[beals5]

I charged daily too--also while showering!  As an experiment one time to check out battery theories, I purposely didn't charge it daily and let it run all the way down to shutting down and then charged it back up again.  If there was a difference in how often the problem occurred, I couldn't tell.

will

[Pinktiger2180]

I wonder if charging everyday was the start if the back screen issue. It would be nice to get more feed back from other with the issue. Fitbit should be looking at this as well!Sent from my U.S. Cellular® Smartphone

[beals5]

After buying my replacement Charge3, being a good engineer, I felt compelled to do an autopsy on the old failing one.  It was past it's warrantee, so useless for an exchange, so in the interest of science, it was time to take a look.  Two big observations:

 - I was amazed at how much brighter the display is on the replacement unit compared to my original one even before it started getting "blotchy".  There was definitely something wrong with the old one well before it's final issue.

 - While disassembling my failed Fitbit, one of the two cables between the main board and the display fell apart on me.  One side is supposed to be glued to the display while the other side is a connector to the main board.  The glued side came loose with little/no force.  Both cables were glued the same, but one of them clearly didn't stick and peeled off the display.  Clearly this was a manufacturing defect.

Our Fitbits may be failing for different reasons and the blank vs blotchy display may be unrelated, but in both cases I doubt it.  And, while the reset and clock face change may re-start the display after a temporary issue with that cable, it isn't solving the root problem.  It certainly wasn't in my case.

Net-net, if you have the problem and either of the proposed fixes results it never coming back, great.  If it is a re-occuring issue, odds are it is a manufacturing defect and don't waste time getting it replaced while it is still in warrantee. 

will

[hcreilly]

Good to know!  All I had to do was plug it in to the charger. 

[Thehig50]

Thanks for that. Mine was new for Christmas!!

Sent from my iPhone

[Francopogo]

So the smiley face comes on when I try the suggestions. Then the screen flashes on with the time and then it goes black again. Now what?