Display is barely visible

[WallyK213]

I can barely see the display on my charge hr3 and have the brightness set to normal. 

[Patriciao]

Same with mine. It syncs but a total black screen

[LessLisa]

Mine has done the same thing all of a sudden.  I can barely see it.  I logged in to see if there were brightness options (never saw them before), but nothing.  It's driving me crazy because I cant read anything including messages coming through

[Buddy07]

Same issue. I've set mine to auto and there's a slight improvement 

[vitalis]

Same for me. It is barely visible when I use my Charge 3 outdoor, even without a direct sun light. Is it degradation of the OLED-display over time?

[Amx_nda]

My Fitbit is 1 1/2 old now. And I have the same problem as you. And the screen is fading  on both sides, and I can barely see it even indoors (let alone outside!). All they told me was to reset the Fitbit or sync it. Useless advice. So I’m looking for another opinion. Nothing as of yet. 

but I’m hoping to get a Apple Watch in the new year. As I’m fed up with Fitbit. 

[SherriNC]

Yes mine was like that two weeks ago and now has almost went out completely. Apparently nothing can be done as they offered me a 25 percent discount. I think, considering the price, these things should be lasting longer than they are. The only activity that I do is walking so it's not like it got beat up every day.

[LessLisa]

I did find in my settings on my watch, there is the brightness that you can change from dim to bright or to auto.  That did fix mine

[SherriNC]

Mine was doing the same way - I told Fitbit that I started having problems with seeing the display about one year into the purchase. It just kept getting worse. I'm buying a less expensive brand this time!

[vitalis]

My Charge 3 is also about 1.5 years old. I do expect OLED display degradation, but not that fast, keeping in mind that the display is Off most of the time.

If this is degradation it is sad and it is definitely a huge "no-go" sign for me, time to say goodby for a brand after so many years

[vitalis]

---

@LessLisa wrote:

I did find in my settings on my watch, there is the brightness that you can change from dim to bright or to auto.  That did fix mine

---

Do you mean that "Normal" brightness is not the same as "maximum one" and "Auto" can reach bigger level of display brightness?

[LessLisa]

There is 'normal' (which is what mine is set to and is much better), 'dim', and 'auto', which changes from inside and out depending on how bright the area is that you're in

[Amx_nda]

I can’t even see my screen properly to change the settings. As I can only just  see the bottom half. 

mines on auto and hasn’t had a problem until a few weeks back. 

[vitalis]

---

.. wrote:

There is 'normal' (which is what mine is set to and is much better), 'dim', and 'auto', which changes from inside and out depending on how bright the area is that you're in

---

Yes, I know about those settings. My question was about something else: can display brightness in 'auto' mode be higher then in 'normal' mode, in some circumstances?  

Or 'normal' settings is the maximum brightness display's hardware can deliver?

P.S. Quick experiment shows that 'auto' sometimes can be brighter then 'normal', but there is quite annoying delay before getting to the maximum brightness. For example, if Charge 3 was under the sleeve of a shirt, then in the 'auto' mode, the initial brightness is very small. And often the display turns off by timeout before it 'realizes' that it is necessary to increase the brightness.

[vitalis]

---

@Amx_nda wrote:

I can’t even see my screen properly to change the settings. As I can only just  see the bottom half. 

mines on auto and hasn’t had a problem until a few weeks back. 

---

This looks like a hardware problem.

[Amx_nda]

it’s even worse then that now. It’s almost completely black. And from what I’ve read I’m not the only one. 

im hoping to get an Apple Watch in the new year. But until then I need either a refund or a replacement Fitbit. I’m fed up with Fitbit. After having 4 in the years I’ve had them. 

[SherriNC]

This is just one of several Youtube videos about the problem, so when you consider all the owners who either don't post to that site or don't come on the forum, it just the tip of the iceberg. I have NEVER been able to use my watch outside - even in shade could not see the display, so why buy it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ik0LO7ZLrQ

[WallyK213]

I all together gave up on the charge hr3. This happened to me three times
already. I winded up getting a different tracker altogether.

[vitalis]

That's sad. I've been using Fitbit devices for many years. But every time I think that I need to upgrade, some problems make me think that this was the last Fitbit I've used.

[vitalis]

My son took my old Charge 2. Today I have compared both trackers in outdoor light condition. The old one has brighter display! I would say, quite visible.

I wonder is this covered by warranty. Although money back will be better.