Charge 3 - B&W vs Gray Scale (Brightness Issue)

[Cyric]

Right now, The "gray scaled" text isn't visible in the sunlight and forget about it if I'm wearing sun glasses. We should be able to either chose between simple B&W display (eliminating the gray scale) or the ability to adjust the brightness even higher then it  is currently.

[JWLef]

I recently gave my charge 3 to my college daughter and bought an Apple Watch Series 4, 44 mm.  The font is large and bright and I can easily read it while working out.  

[rboetger]

It may be time to consider an Apple Watch!!!

[Karen0305]

I have been on their chat helpline tonight - bit of a waste of time as they just directed me to this page (where I will find a lot more dissatisfied customers - really helpful)     This watch is a waste of time if you cannot read it whilst out doors.  What a joke!!!

[rboetger]

To Fitbit - There has been plenty of posts regarding this.  Again this cannot be that hard to program different watch faces!!!

[JWLef]

I have no issues with readability with my Apple Watch!  Will never go back to Fitbit.  Sorry Fitbit.  

[kronkie]

Sent from Samsung tablet.

[Karen0305]

Yep - Fitbit are the losers here! I have just had a full refund from my supplier (I bought it in October) explained not happy - no problem FULL REFUND. Now off to buy a Garmin!

[rboetger]

Which Garmin are you getting.  I have not looked at those yet.

[rdrunner1948]

Since they updated the clock face options which some include the date I’m very happy with my Fitbit charge 3. Viewing it outdoors has improved.

Sent from Roseann

[Karen0305]

I used to have a Garmin Vivosport - that was great but the strap didnt last more than a month and cannot be replaced. I originally chose it because it was small. Hence the switch to the new Fitbit Charge 3 - only a little bit larger. So disappointed with the Fitbit it could be a great little watch. Have now moved onto buying Garmin Vivoactive 3.

[Karen0305]

Updated my watch but it made no difference. Oh well - had a Garmin before so happy to back to them.

[TechMike]

As a retired electronics analogue design engineer, and product support engineer, I am very aware of the problems with recalls, and stock upgrades. My advice, which is completely free and in full compliance with your terms, is the following.

The brightness auto setting indicates that there is a light sensor and these, plus the illumination efficiency of the display, can be very variable.

Brightness is most likely being controlled by pulse width, where say dim = 1, normal = 5, and auto is controlled in a comparitor bridge circuit against a photocell. The answer to this is so very easy. Turn the brightness button into an up button, and display 1 through to 9, returning to one. In this way dim and normal can be set by user, and 9 = full on.

No recall, no stock rework because it’s a firmware change only. There is also a cost reduction in later stock.

Now, about that problem with comms dropout on other posts. I have experienced this with serial communications where a noise spike or a mobile phone transmission occurs. Another firmware upgrade to add at least 3 try agains when the communications check bit fails.

Anymore problems, us oldies have their uses.

TechMike

[Karen0305]

Unfortunate this watch cannot be adjusted for brightness. It is simply a choice of Low, Normal or Auto. Normal and Auto are almost the same!!! So no changing up to 9 on a Charge 3. Pretty rubbish in my opinion. 

[daniel.mad]

normaly it works for me [with auto} but if it doesn't for other people something should be done

[TechMike]

My wife and I both bought a charge 3 in September. Hers is bright, mine is dim on the same settings. A new clock face where large digit steps that can be read with a swipe would be acceptable, and would maintain battery life. Such a shame, it’s worth the money however for the sleep analysis, so will live with the brightness problems.

Sent from my iPad

[Karen0305]

It’s madness how the two can be so different! I want mine for more than sleep patterns and incidentally most smart watches have this facility. Can’t understand why Fit Bit are so complacent about this brightness problem - hence why I got a full refund and have gone back to Garmin!!


Please note that I have decided to stop using my Yahoo account and to switch to my iCloud account. Please therefore contact me in future at;

karen0305@icloud.com

Thank you









Sent from my iPhone

[TechMike]

 I tHoughton I would try other clock faces to see if I could find a brighter one. Assymtrical clock came up almost as bright in auto as my wife’s, then after about 5-seconds it dimmed down. I dare not select the dim setting as the display goes blank in a dark room. This is in Lanzarote, where the sunlight is bright in a clear sky, auto should bring the display fully on.

[LizFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for sharing this suggestion. We're always striving to enhance Fitbit products and services, and we appreciate all of the input we receive from our customers. We do not currently have plans to release this feature. You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs. For now, we will leave this suggestion open for votes (and closed to comments) so that we can continue to track community demand over time. Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us and we will let you know if anything changes.

[sanbro26]

.just the same old complaint! My husband and I both have Charge and can't see in the sun!!!Help

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @sanbro26, thanks for explaining why you would like to have the option to improve brightness Issue on Charge 3. This feature suggestion already exists, so I’ve moved your post here. While we don’t currently have plans to release this feature, we always appreciate the passion and creativity that comes out of this Community. Since we know this idea is important to many of you, we have left voting open to continue tracking interest and will post another update if anything changes. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.