Charge 3 - options to increase brightness please

[DukeFan]

The charge 3 is very hard to read outside, especially when the sun is shining.  The sunlight washes out the light grey text and it is very hard to see the brighter white text.  Please release an update that increases the brightness - auto or normal brightness settings are not enough. 

[EdsonFitbit]

Hi @DukeFan, 

Thanks for sharing your suggestion to increase the brightness of the Fitbit Charge 3. We look forward to hearing what other community members think.

[JaneenC]

1000% THIS. The light grey tiny fonts are nearly impossible to read outdoors and for those with vision issues or who have aging eyes it's almost a game changer as you'll start to lose customers. The Charge 2 was actually decent for this - the Charge 3, a big design flaw.

[1dude1]

Sometimes at night the watch is very bright, during the day it's perfect. It would be great to be able to set the brightness of the watch with the sunset/sunrise times of the current location. Also if brightness levels were customizable for each period, that'd be awesome.

[TechAutoBlog]

You can change the brightness. Go to the settings app on the charge 3 and
tap the brightness tile. You can select between dim, normal, and auto. I
personally use dim at night and auto at all other times.

[LeeAK]

It is VERY difficult to read the screen in the sunlight. If possible please release an update that increases the brightness - auto or normal brightness settings are not enough. 

[Zaq12wsx]

I have the same brightness issue with my Alta HR - completely useless outside, where it is most needed!

[Hardclimber]

My wife bought me Fitbit Charge 3 for Christmas. It was not cheap. However it is entirely unusable outdoors as the daylight washes out the screen.  I can’t see what it says. I use it for weekly trail hiking with the hiking group I belong to and that’s when I really need it. It’s so useless I no longer even use it and have gone back to using apps on my iPhone 7. At least those are crisp and clear. The Fitbit Charge 3 is an engineering disaster. Will no longer be a customer.

[Megib]

Either fix this brightness issue in a timely fashion, or I will proceed with getting a refund. The performance in this area is unacceptable from a device function standpoint. Now we will see how well the company responds to issues

[LeeAK]

I am not pleased with the lack of brightness and since I live in NM and the sun is really bright. I have used a Polar 360 in the sun and it works a little better but all the other functions on the 360 are not as good as the Fitbit. Since I am mainly interested in calories I have come up with 2 workarounds. 1) Set your Fitbit for laps - I set mine to 500 calories when the Fitbit notification starts I turn around and go home for 500 calories. When you sync the Fitbit you will get all the distance stuff. 2) If you set you Fitbit to connect with your phone. Using the Track exercise click on the stopwatch in the upper right and all the movement functions show up on your phone in real time. You can see all the movement stuff from your phone in the sun. When you are done just close the track function and then sync your Fitbit and all the calorie stuff will be saved to your Fitbit.

For the money, I don't know of a better type of Fitbit. The $200 one is just too much money. If you know a better alternative let me know.

[SunsetRunner]

Had a charge 2 with no issues great product. After cracking the screen I upgraded to the 3. What a waste of money! You can't see the screen in day light. Reading all the comments on here it seems to be a common problem. Why are Fitbit sell a pruduct that is useless in day light? Should have saved my money and stayed with the 2. Will definitely think twice before buying another Fitbit product in the future

[phatlad]

Can't see it outside on "normal" setting. Did NOT have this problem with the 2.

[SunsetRunner]

A little misleading don't you think? Especially as so many people have complained about not being able to see the display in sun light.
"With a large touchscreen and backlit display that automatically adjusts to lighting conditions, it’s easier to see stats, notifications or the time in sunlight or at night." Couldn't tell the bloody time all day today in the sun! What's the point of a watch/ tracker if you can't read the display! What a waste of money. Fitbit should be refunding people as they have clearly lied about the product!!

[grimep]

This is ridiculous!!! Far too dim to read indoors or outdoors even in overcast conditions. Can't set features or initiate exercise in Auto or Normal mode. Now looking at Samsung, Apple or back to Garmin. Please get it fixed!!!!

[SunsetRunner]

Fitbit just don't care😥 they have your money now so tuff. You can return it to them for a refund at your cost even though the product is not fit for purpose and has been mis sold

[Flo71]

Totally agree was out walking today and could not see the screen there definitely needs to be a setting for outdoors 

[DHoang]

I ditched the HR today for the Charger 3, hoping to get brighter screen. However, I have issues with being able to read the screen when I am outside (I suspect older people have this same issue also). I guess I must give back this new Charger 3 and buy another brand altogether. 

[arretje]

I have issues with the Charge 3 screen as well. I got it in December 2018, after having used the Charge 2 for some years. Swimming is my sport, so I really wanted a waterproof device.

i do not recall to have so many problems with the visibility at the beginning, but the last couple of months I cannot read anything outside, and inside is also difficult. I tried changing the settings: ‘dim’ is so low, that it is almost impossible to change it again (one cannot see the settings), and ‘normal’ and ‘auto’ are about the same (both very dimmed). 

I would greatly appreciate an update to solve this problem.

thanks in advance for answering.

[Elgane]

The charge 3 screen is very hard to read while outside. It would be great to at least double it. Even if we lose a day or 2 of battery life.The bracelet connections could also be sturdier.

[Daykin]

I agree - the Connect 3 is useless to read or set outdoors. I would willingly lose 50% of battery life. What's the use of 7 days life if you can't use it? 

[BobStein3]

Absolutely!  During daylight hours it is nearly impossible to read anything other than the time on the Charge 3.

[JonDavidL]

Agree.  Now that I'm outside more this time of year, I've stopped wearing my Charge 3.  It is useless outside.  I can barely read the time.  I really wish Fitbit would create a line of LCD trackers with an always on Transreflective display (see the vivosport by Garmin).  They could call it the Fitbit Soleil (to be fancy) or the Fitbit Sun. 

[Anne210]

I would like to be able to read the screen on my Charge 3 while outside. It is very difficult and dim even on the normal setting. Please allow for added brightness in an upcoming update.

[riverdalian]

Got a new Fitbit for mother's day, just finally got around to setting it up and wearing it today.  Awful.  Can't even hardly see the screen, it's so dim even on the "normal" setting.  So much for that, taking this back for a better product that I can actually SEE the screen on.

[Adazmus]

Totally agree. Please allow us to increase brightness to strong!

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@DukeFan wrote:

The charge 3 is very hard to read outside, especially when the sun is shining.  The sunlight washes out the light grey text and it is very hard to see the brighter white text.  Please release an update that increases the brightness - auto or normal brightness settings are not enough. 

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[cookmm]

I am going to have to return this as the screen on Normal is way to dim to read - very poor - very disappointed