How do I restart Charge 3?

[multiverse]

So many problems with syncing and sleep tracking!  Spent hours on Christmas fiddling with this well-marketed bracelet, just like when I got my Ionic a year earlier. 

Many posts say to restart and wait for the smiley face `r=<:..  I see no smiley face at any point, neither on my charge 3 nor on my own face!  How do you actually restart this thing?  If it has been restarting all 100 times I've tried, it hasn't fixed a **ahem** thing.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[MarreFitbit]

Hey there @multiverse, thanks for jumping in here! I appreciate your efforts in trying to troubleshoot the inconveniences with your Charge 3, nice way to go!

While reading your post I was wondering if you are getting anything on the display? Battery icon? A message? Anything?

I'd recommend to restart Charge 3 using the 15-second method: 

1. Connect the device to the charging cable. 
2. While the device is plugged into the charging cable, press and hold the button down for 15 seconds. 
3. The device turns on and shows a battery icon. Two vibrations occur: first a short vibration, then a medium vibration. 
4. The device turns off.
5. The device turns on and shows a progress bar and short vibrations occur. The progress bar completes. Note: A total of 7 short vibrations occur. 
6. Remove the device from the charging cable. The device shuts down.
7. Important: Plug the device into the charging cable again. 

Give this a shot and let me know the outcome! 

[Svensin]

I tried the holding button down but didnt seem to work. The problem is you dont see or notice it restart. It doesn't say anything.  If you swipe left 3 times... go to settings...scroll up to "about" then scroll up again there is 2 options to clear user data or restart. Press the tick and it does it.... then comes back on. The only way you know is the button doesnt work after you press the tick.

[Chukalu]

Yes. This did work for me. I was able to restart the device. But I still cannot sync. I cannot even pair my device with my phone again.

[Jo.d]

When this used to happen with my last one I had to restart my phone too

[MarreFitbit]

Welcome on board @Chukalu, it's nice to see a new member around! If the restart didn't help to get you back on track, I'd like to know what's the model phone you're syncing with? Please make sure it's included at: Which phones and tablets can I use with my Fitbit watch or tracker?

If so, please try following the tips and recommendations provided in the help article: Why won't my Fitbit device sync?

Hey @Jo.d, thanks so much for helping out and for jumping in here!

Let us know if the steps work! 

[BluebellK]

This solution worked.  Thanks!

[Gruffy1]

I got mine to restart too. Like you, it won't pair back to my phone (even after restarting both Bluetooth and the phone itself). Interested to see what, if anything, you're told.

[MarreFitbit]

Hey there @BluebellK, it's nice to see you around! I'm happy to hear you're back on track after following the tips and recommendations provided here. 

Welcome on board @Gruffy1! Thanks for restarting your Charge 3. If your device is not pairing, I'd recommend to follow the suggestions at: Why can't I set up my Fitbit device? 

Give this a go and let me know the outcome! 

[Gruffy1]

---

@MarreFitbit wrote:

Hey there @BluebellK, it's nice to see you around! I'm happy to hear you're back on track after following the tips and recommendations provided here. 

Welcome on board @Gruffy1! Thanks for restarting your Charge 3. If your device is not pairing, I'd recommend to follow the suggestions at: Why can't I set up my Fitbit device? 

Give this a go and let me know the outcome! 

---

Thanks. After a good 20 minutes, it finally paired.

[BluebellK]

Mine is working now. Restarted phone and charger then synced. The syncing took some time but now it’s ok.

Sent from my iPhone

[MarreFitbit]

Music to my ears @Gruffy1  and @BluebellK! I'm glad to hear that your Charge 3 devices are working fine now. Thanks so much for your efforts while troubleshooting them. 

Don't hesitate to ping me out if you need further assistance. I'll be around! 

[abersweet]

I feel like I shouldn't have to go through these processes. I NEVER had a problem with my Charge 2. I noticed last night my Charge 3 hadn't synced since Friday. I tried to follow some online instructions for fixing it, they didn't work. I ended up repairing and losing 4 days of data. Everything seemed fine until I tried to sync again today. Finally got it to work with a Fitbit restart and a phone restart, although the syncing took SO LONG I thought it still wasn't working. Part of the reason for upgrading to Charge 3 from Charge 2 was hopefully faster syncing times, since I figured my Charge 2 was old and that was why it took so long to sync. Guess I was wrong and disappointed. I LOVE my Fitbit and all that it does, but syncing is not one of those things. I'm pretty irritated about it right now. 

[MarreFitbit]

Welcome on board @abersweet! Thank you for the thorough feedback for the Fitbit devices. Fitbit has been designed to provide motivation and help you to reach your daily goals to success. Please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on that feedback.

What happened to you is an expected behavior. You should have logged in to sync the tracker before you began wearing it.

If you remember the exact amount of steps or the name of the activity you performed, you can try manually logging the activity. To get more information about this, check the article: How do I manually log an activity or exercise?

Additionally, it'd be great to take a look at How do Fitbit devices sync their data? to get more information about how your Charge 3 syncs. 

Also, while reading your post I was wondering if the mobile device you're syncing with is included in our list of supported devices? You can see the list at: Which phones and tablets can I use with my Fitbit watch or tracker?

Please keep in mind that when a device is not supported we cannot guarantee its functionality with the Fitbit app. It might work at a certain time and then it can stop working out of nowhere after an update. This is because the app is not optimized to that device and any change could impact the performance. 

If your device is compatible, but the issue persists. In order to solve this, please go to the Bluetooth settings on your phone and remove the tracker. In the list of Bluetooth devices you'll see the Charge 3 and next to it, this symbol "!". Hit the symbol and it will take you to the next step, once you're there select the option that says "Forget this device" or "Unpair".

Once you've made sure about that, go back to the Fitbit app, go to the "Account" option in the upper right corner and select "Set up a Device". This should start the setup process for your device. 

If the issue is not solved after the above steps, please take a look at the help articles: Why can't I set up my Fitbit device? or  Why won't my Fitbit device sync?

Give this a go and let me know the outcome.

[abersweet]

@MarreFitbit thanks for the response. 

Please clarify "You should have logged in to sync the tracker before you began wearing it." I pretty much wear my tracker 24/7. My Charge 2 always synced regardless of being worn or not. 

Somehow it managed to keep my step data for the 4 days, but no sleep tracking.

I have all-day sync or auto sync turned on. 

I guess my brand new Galaxy S10+ isn't a device my tracker is guaranteed to work with.

Yeah, I unpaired the tracker and set it back up as a new device, that's why I lost the data. But I figured it was worth it for a chance the tracker would sync. When I got the restart to work the next day, I was finally syncing normally again. It continously synced through last night. Now it's not syncing again. I'll try the restart method again, since that's what helped last time. 

[MarreFitbit]

Hi @abersweet, thanks for coming back and for clarifying your post.

The Galaxy S10+ is not yet a supported device by the Fitbit app. As mentioned above, when a device is not supported we cannot guarantee its functionality with the Fitbit app. It might work at a certain time and then it can stop working out of nowhere after an update. This is because the app is not optimized to that device and any change could impact the performance. 

If the steps you've tried did not work, I was wondering if your Galaxy S10+ is already running Android 9.0 (Pie)? If so, I'd recommend taking a look at this post and follow those troubleshooting suggestions. 

Hope that helps, I'll be around if you need further assistance.

[StenderMichelle]

When trying to rest do you hold toward the Fitbit logo or away from it for 15 sec?

[DaPro]

As you mentioned 15 sec method: 

I did hold button for 15 sec and got horizontal bar which got complete with 7 short vibes. What to do next? I tried to take out from charging cable and it got smiley face. But nothing after that. Screen turn black again. I get vibration if I press side button but not getting charging bar or anything els on screen. 

[smafra]

I’m having problems with vibration that sometimes works and then stops for unknown reason. Fitbit’s support told me to perform the 15 secs long duration reset but the procedure that you’ve described here it’s different for what I’m experiencing. My Fitbit is a Charge 3. 

This is what it’s happening:

1. With Fitbit on, attached it in the cradle with power from usb.

2. The quantity of battery left appears

3. Press the button firmly

4. A progress bar appears

5. When the bar reachable its end, nothing happens.

6. Depress the button

7. Take Fitbit out of cradle and put it back again

8. A smile face appears

Tks

[Daveshar]

I followed the steps and the fitbit stopped.  I removed it from the cable.  Then I reconnected it but the time is still wrong.