Versa black screen

[Jbragg]

My Versa suddenly stopped working. It was during a workout and the screen just went black. Yes it was charged. Yes I held all the buttons to restart. Yes I placed it on the charger overnight. I contacted Fitbit and have not heard back. I am now wearing my daughters versa to hold me over while looking at other options. But it appears so many are having an issue since the update. Legally there must be something we can all do together because this is ridiculous. I have always been a Fitbit fan but I’m sick of replacing them all the time! 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[MarreFitbit]

Hello everyone! 

Thanks for reporting the issues you were having with your Versa smartwatches. I appreciate you've taken the time to troubleshooting them prior to contacting us. I must also say that I appreciate you helped each other in order to fix the screen of your smartwatches. I'm glad to hear you all were offered a replacement after contacting our Support Team.

Hi there @Jbragg, welcome to the Community Forums. I'm sorry to hear that your Versa's screen went black during you workout. Thank you for taking the time to restart and charge your watch prior to posting here.

We are sorry if we're taking long to respond to the email, tweet, or message your have sent to us, due to recent events affecting our operations, we may need more than 7 business days to respond.

If you're still having difficulties with your watch, please make sure to try the following steps: 

• Make sure to restart (or have restarted) your Versa as follows: How do I restart my Fitbit device? 
• If your Versa is still syncing, switch to a Fitbit clock face if you're using a third party clock face: How do I change the clock face on my Fitbit device?. Don't worry if you cannot see swipe or touch the screen, this process is done through the Fitbit app. 
• Try to change the Screen Wake setting to manual. For instructions, see: How do I see the time on my Fitbit device?

Hello @Squidgmy and @SunsetRunner. I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this situation with your Versa smartwatches as well. Note that our main purpose is to avoid negative experiences to our customers, we're always willing to help and provide troubleshooting steps. Then, if the tracker is deemed defective we review eligibility using the one year warranty option. For our full warranty terms and conditions, see our Return Policy and Warranty.

Fitbit does not warrant that the operation of the Product will be uninterrupted or error-free. See the Fitbit Terms of Service for details of your rights with respect to use of the software and related services.

Let me know if you have any questions present. 

[busterandwoody]

Hi I received my new Versa last week and very happy with it. The only thing i would say is that it's about 5 firmware updates behind and hasnt prompted me to do anymore yet. To be honest though there are so many reports of the latest updates screwing the battery life and bricking the versa (like my last one) I think I'll stick with the old firmware. Battery life is brilliant at the moment!! I await a new firmware update that fixes all the issues! 🙂

[Iamkarenann]

Well, I wish I had done a deeper dive on this issue.  Exact thing happened to me.  Versa is working but screen is totally black after firmware update.  I'm probably SOL as I ordered a V2 from Amazon to be delivered today.  Didn't see this issue on the website. 

[zChris]

This is such a perfect example of my frustration with Fitbit support.  It checks all the boxes:

The first response came more than a week after the issue was raised.

It lists suggested resolutions that the original post already says were attempted.

And it already suggests that it may take over a week for a reply.

It feels about as canned of a response as can be.

And then it includes this gem: "Note that our main purpose is to avoid negative experiences to our customers, we're always willing to help and provide troubleshooting steps." Weird. I would think a better approach might be to support the products or help customers - not "avoid negative experiences."

Add 1 more to the list of people with this problem.  We have one watch that works, and another with this same problem which has been ongoing since February.

Fitbit has created a tangled web of once-a-day responses for support so that you can't really get a resolution, and they have partnered with Square for an extended warranty that won't kick in until Fitbit's obligation is resolved.

*slow clap* I had a high opinion of Fitbit back when we had Garmins. We switched and now Fitbit support has done a masterful job of ruining what would otherwise be a good product.

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there @busterandwoody, thanks for getting back. I'm glad to hear that your replacement is working as expected. If you haven't get the latest firmware update, please see: How do I update my Fitbit device?

Hello @Iamkarenann, welcome to the Community Forums. I'm sorry to hear that your Versa's screen is blank. If you haven't done so yet, please make sure to try the following steps: 

• Make sure to restart (or have restarted) your Versa as follows: How do I restart my Fitbit device? 
• If your Versa is still syncing, switch to a Fitbit clock face if you're using a third party clock face: How do I change the clock face on my Fitbit device?. Don't worry if you cannot see swipe or touch the screen, this process is done through the Fitbit app. 
• Try to change the Screen Wake setting to manual. For instructions, see: How do I see the time on my Fitbit device?

Hello @zChris, welcome on board. We acknowledge the limitation we have on our part particularly on what you have experienced. We‘re taking into consideration your comments and sentiments with regards to our products and services. 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. 

If you're having screen issues with your Versa, I'd appreciate if you could confirm you've tried and followed the suggestions I posted above. 

I'm looking forward to your reply, keep me posted.

[zChris]

Marre,

Thank you for a quick response!  I've worked through the phone support, was sent to the twitter support and stumbled in here, and I very much appreciate your quick response!

The issue we are having is that my wife's watch has this issue (screen going black, becoming unresponsive, etc) every so often and eventually comes back up (after a week or two).

When it first happened - last February - my wife spent several hours on the phone with Square (we purchased the extended replacement plan) who told her that she had to work through Fitbit. Then she talked with Fitbit, who had her try several basic troubleshooting steps, but because by the time she got a hold of someone it was working again, there was no resolution.

I'll confirm with her that she tried those steps, but I am positive restarting the device doesn't work, because we've definitely done that.  I also know that she had a different watch face (albeit one created by Fitbit) that worked fine for 6 months or so, but that she has since changed to the original / default one.

Fitbit Support on Twitter created a case for her early last week with the promise of an email "when they're able".  Would it help to forward / email that conversation?

Again, thank you for your help!  Your quick reply is the first sign of hope I've had from Fitbit!

[MarreFitbit]

You're very welcome @zChris, Thank you so much for the details provided, I understand where you come from, I'm here to help you. 

Would you mind sending me a PM with the case number so I can check on her case? We sincerely apologize for the delay we're having in getting back to you both, due to recent events affecting our operations, we're taking longer to respond.

Keep me in the loop! 

[zChris]

@MarreFitbit You asked me to keep you in the loop, so here goes. 

I did receive an email from "David TE and the Fitbit Team" with the standard troubleshooting steps that had been suggested a few times earlier.  For completeness, we followed those steps, including another restart. After following those steps, now the watch won't turn on again.  I replied yesterday to let them know and ask what we should do next with the non-working device and haven't heard anything back. 

You were very helpful, and I finally did get a response after talking with you, so if you can work your magic to get me a reply again, I'd appreciate it as it would be incredibly frustrating to have to wait another week for their reply.  Especially as the advice was basically a copy/paste of what you had put here, what we were told on the phone in February when this problem began and what was told to us on the Twitter support.

At what point will Fitbit or Square honor their warranty?

[busterandwoody]

Soooooo I've now got a request to update the firmware. Do I or dont I?!?! May wait until after my run!! If I'm irate later you'll know why haha

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there @zChris, thanks for the update and for the details provided. I've replied to our last PM, catch you there. 😉

Hey @busterandwoody, thanks getting back. Fitbit occasionally releases free feature enhancements and bug fixes for your device through firmware and Fitbit OS updates. For details about each type of update, see What's changed in the latest Fitbit device update? and What's changed in the latest Fitbit OS update? 

I personally would recommend syncing your Versa prior the update, make sure it's fully charged (as the update may take up to an hour or more to complete) but also plug into the charger while the update is in process. 

Once the update is complete, restart your watch and log out from the Fitbit app and log back in. Afterwards, sync your Versa and let it perform as it usually does. 

I'll be around if there's anything else I may do for you, though. 😉

[Iamkarenann]

Hi:

You also sent me instructions to get the screen going again.  Whatever happened to it with the update really eats up the battery life so made sure it was recharged...again.  I did change the clock, did several restarts, and followed the instructions for the clock face.  I think it's just toast now as there is still no screen.  

[Lamis.akkad]

Mine same here  exactly same

[JHof13]

Mine did the same thing 3 days ago.  I tried the reset and followed directions online.  My dashboard on my phone is still working,  but I can't get the watch to turn on. So frustrating,  I depend on this watch daily.  

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there @JHof13, welcome on board. I totally understand where you're coming from. Thanks for restarting your watch prior to posting here. Since your Versa is still syncing, switch to a Fitbit clock face if you're using a third party clock face: How do I change the clock face on my Fitbit device?. Don't worry if you cannot see swipe or touch the screen, this process is done through the Fitbit app. 

Hi @Lamis.akkad. I've seen you contacted our Support Team after posting here and they helped you to get back on track.

Hi there @Iamkarenann, thanks for stopping by and for the details provided. We find that in some cases customers charge the device incorrectly; if you want to double check our charging instructions, you can do so at How do I charge my Fitbit device? 

Battery use is affected by various factors and settings. We provide tips for preventing battery drain at Can I extend my Fitbit device's battery life?

If the charging instructions and battery preservation tips don't help, meaning you're still seeing a rapid and unexplained battery drain, please let us know and we'll take a closer look. 

[Lamis.akkad]

No I did not get the help I needed, the support was cool they guided me through the usual procedure for about 10 days via email to the conclusion which is that my watch is toast and i cannot get a replacement due to the warantee not qualifying. This purely happened after the update before which the watch was perfect. I am upset and disappointed to say the least.

[Iamkarenann]

Telling me that I don't know how to charge something that I've owned for a while is absolutely ridiculous.  It's clear that the update ruined my Versa.  Now my daughter is afraid to do an update on hers for fear that it will fry it.

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there @Lamis.akkad. We acknowledge the limitation we have on our part particularly on what you have experienced. We‘re taking into consideration your comments and sentiments with regards to our products and services.

Hey @Iamkarenann. We understand where you're coming from. However, as we've stated above, we find that in some cases customers charge the device incorrectly; if you want to double check our charging instructions please follow the steps recommended above and also the tips about preventing battery drain. Let me know how it goes.