Inspire Black Screen - fitbit does not restart.

[glb1982]

My fitbit Inspire HR has a black screen since I charged it fully yesterday. I have tried all the solutions on this forum - restarting it doesn`t work (no smiling face, the watch does still buzz though.) Changing the clock face doesn't work. It buzzes when I press the button, and remains on. 

This is the third fitbit I have owned in 15 months, the first one stopped working for no reason, the second had this issue after I went for a swim. Now after three weeks, this replacement has gone "black" also.

I'm very frustrated as I love the product.

I would have liked to contact customer support directly but I do not use twitter.

Can anyone help me fix the problem? I really do not want to return it for a fourth device in a year and a half.

TIA.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @glb1982 , have you tried holding the button for extra long - instead of the recommended 5 seconds, try 20-30 seconds?  Make sure it is securely attached to the charging cable and plugged in the entire time, as it will not restart unless it is charging.

If you do need to contact Customer Support there are several options if you do not use Twitter.  You can see your options on Contact.fitbit.com 

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.  Welcome to the forums!

[glb1982]

 So... I have done as you suggested and it has switched back on and I can see the clock face. My fitbit app is registering my steps and data. Thank you for that.

But... now the clock face won't swipe up or down for me to see my data on the actual device. Do you think this will resolve itself?

TIA

[Pattylsp]

 Thank you! I was having the same problem this morning.I did what you suggested and it rebooted within 15 seconds & is scrolling

[Julia_G]

@glb1982 , I am super glad that worked for you (and you too @Pattylsp )!  The long button hold is a good trick to have up your sleeve for an unresponsive Fitbit.

As for the swiping issue, I would suggest giving it another restart, which may fix this issue.  But it also could be either of two things - either you are giving it more of a tap than a swipe (the swipe has to be quite light and gentle, and can take some practice) or, possibly you have very dry fingers.  I have this problem with my cellphone - if it often just doesn’t register my touch at all (my son says I have zombie fingers).  If that is the case, sometimes keeping your hands moisturised helps (though not so much that you finger sticks to the screen!)

My guess is this will probably resolve either with another restart or as you get used to the swiping motion required.

[Jukia_rosebud]

I have had the same thing happen this morning and I have held the button down for over 30 seconds with no response on the charger.  It was fully charged yesterday and for some reason this morning it went blank today.

[KathyM218]

Thank you!  My screen went totally black last night.  I got a buzz when I pushed the button but nothing displayed.  I tried to reset it holding it for 5 seconds.  Didn't work. Then I read your suggestion to hold it for a longer period of time. That worked!  After about 30 seconds, I had a smiley face looking at me and then everything worked just fine.  I'm so excited.  Thank you for this information.  You made my day!!

[Julia_G]

@Jukia_rosebud I would suggest giving it a little bit of time to charge and then trying the long hod again making super sure that it has full contact with the charger the whole time you are holding.

If it does not come to life after two hours of charging and trying the long hold 3 times, then it is time to get in touch with Fitbit Customer Support.  A link to their contact details is in one of my posts above.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

[Julia_G]

@KathyM218 , I am so glad to be of help.  And have a great day!

[DrLiz1212]

I had the same problem and was just in queue on the helpline when I looked through this forum and found your thread. THANKS for the reply that suggested holding the button down longer and restarting. It solved my problem and my Inspire HR is again displaying.

[DrLiz1212]

Thank you. This solved my problem and I hope it solves that original poster's as well.

[Jukia_rosebud]

I will give that a try but it was fully charged I also just tried to forget the device from my iPhone to see if that would wake it up by trying to set it up again...NOPE.

[Julia_G]

@Jukia_rosebud , I am sorry!  Removing your device from your account is almost ALWAYS a really bad idea.  You can achieve the same result, but without the extra problems, by instead setting it up as a replacement device.

Advice for anyone reading this: if you are tempted to remove and reinstall your Fitbit from your account, don’t do it!  Instead, don’t remove, but go to your account and choose “set up a device”.  From the drop down list choose your device.  you will get a message saying you already have x device connected to your account, do you want to replace it? Then you can say yes, because if the new set up fails your device is still there and you can try other fixes.  If you have removed and the device won’t set up, there are a lot more problems!

[Julia_G]

@DrLiz1212 I am so glad that that worked for you as well.  Happy stepping.

[Jukia_rosebud]

Well I don't think that should have any issue regarding the device itself as it is just completely dead and this started very early this morning when I woke up and the screen was blank.  Oddly it came back on all by itself but this time it is not.  Removing it from my phone app as a developer should not be an issue at all as it can be reset to the APP if it ever turns back on.  I will contact support as I have tried now multiple times and it seems awfully odd that many people have had this issue today.