Longer Screen Time for Charge Trackers

[SunsetRunner]

I purchased my charge 3 after seeing it would have a Screen Time out Option.  It shipped without one.  Moderator Kate says it’s not available at this time.  The manual is now being changed to reflect that.

I really, really want/need that option.  It was the reason I chose the Charge.  That and my 50’s year old eyes.  The current screen only stays on for 3-4 seconds.  That is a very short amount of time.  I have to repeated tap the screen to read a text that comes in.  IF we are going to have the ability to get notifications, we need the ability to read them.

Please Fitbit, give us the option that was originally in the manual to change the screen time out.  The Versa has it, so I know it can be done.

Moderator edit: Title

[CityLion]

very odd this is a expected deliverable that seems simple and yet knowing on my wrist what I weighed without my phone was included?

[iaqz]

I completely agree with this comment.  A screen that "times out" after 3 or 4 seconds is impractical for a fitness tracker.  I am considering returning my device.

[Dpribble]

Yes we need an extended timeout feature!

[Orion3T]

This needs to be added, the default is frustratingly short even for a dextrous young(ish) person with good eyesight!

[UserSD]

Mine is already back in the box and will be dropped at the store in few days. Interestingly, I talked to one of their Chat online support and the lady sounds stunned about the issue and surprised that it is such a big deal. I told her to check the online forum to have an idea how big the issue is. I am a new user but it seems that the issue has been raised many weeks ago, and Fitbit is dragging its feet to solve it. Well, looking at Garmin and Apple Watches as alternative.

[Hkypatriot]

Returned the charge 3 to Best Buy. Besides the fact that it was useless as a watch it consistently counted my heart rate 30 beats higher then it is. Sometimes 50 beats higher. Tested it against palpation and a chest strap and it was woefully inaccurate. Wearing it exactly as directed on the website. Going to try a Garmin or Apple Watch instead. 

[SunsetRunner]

I find that the screen goes off too quickly. I would prefer if there was an option to have it on for 3 minutes.

[P0rtion]

I got mine for christmas and it’s alteady really annoying. I’m constantly flicking my wrist or tapping the screen so that I can see e.g., my steps being counted. Seems sily nt to have such a basic feature, but from the forums it looks like they’re not really listening to users. I’m sending mine back and getting a garmin.

[Fixthisasap]

Even having a 1 minute timeout option would help tremendously.

[Stac19]

This definitely needs to be an adjustable option.  It is way to short

[Return3]

Bought for myself as a Christmas present, not happy!

Need option to see screen longer than a few seconds!

Useless to me as is!

When will it be fixed?

[UserSD]

Hi everybody,

although the forum is the perfect place to suggest ideas, it looks like Fitbit team is more responsive on Twitter. Just checked few minutes ago and the Fitbit team does reply. So my suggestions is to send our complains to the Fitbit Support team on Twitter (

@FitbitSupport ). Cheers. 

[Greylady8]

I wholeheartedly agree. Please please do something about the ridiculously short screen time on the charge 3... It's extremely frustrating to not be able to adjust this

[Greylady8]

I'm very disappointed to hear there is another Fitbit model that allows you to control the screen time out and you didn't put it in the newest model, charge 3... That seems like poor marketing to advertise it comes with screen time out controls then doesn't.  

[tcreagh]

I bought the Fitbit Charge. Was very excited to use it as I had a Fitbit a long time ago and liked it. I clicked to see the number of steps and the screen displayed long enough for me to see the time. After a frustrating number of clicks on the Fitbit and the app trying to find the setting to increase the timeout I searched google for 35 minutes. Finally I found out that you can't change the display timeout.

What a waste of an otherwise really good product. I donated the Fitbit to my garbage can and bought an Apple Watch. After reading all these comments and seeing the Fitbit response that we'll take it out of the manual that was all I needed to see about this company.

To bad they had a very competitive product at a great price point.

[grover18]

@KateFitbit and @ErickFitbit, I appreciate that you have brought your documentation in line with the features of the Charge 3, but agree with @RJC1692 when he says, "removing the incorrect information from the manual rather than fixing the problem isn't really a solution." As of this writing, 571 users have been annoyed enough with this feature missing from the Charge 3 that they have cast their vote to have Fitbit fix it. 214 users have taken the extra time to post comments, and that's just in this thread. I received my Charge 3 on Christmas 2018 and LOVE it, but this was one of the first things I noticed.

I can't speak for the entire community, but I believe what we are looking for are some straight answers:

1. Will the ability to control screen timeout for Charge 3 users be added to the product or not?
2. If so, when?

If your answer is, "Yes, we plan to add the feature, but not for x number of months," I think that would go a long way toward pacifying your users until the fix can be rolled out. Answers like "We fixed the manual." or "Thanks for commenting..." (without anything further), do nothing but fire people up and keep the same request coming in over and over.

It's been over 2.5 months since this request first came in. That should have been sufficient time to make decisions on my basic questions above. If you could please share your decisions with the community, it would put all of our minds at ease.

[Tich1989]

When you have it set as a normal clock and not digital it takes a few seconds for your mind to catch up. By this point the screens turned off and I have no idea what time it said. Frustrating. Definitely needs a screen time out option! 

[PFuerte]

I agree.  This would be a very nice feature.  Make it optional how long we want the screen to display.

[Julie_S]

Please rush to add a screen time out adjustment to Fitbit3. Nearly impossible to read time and stats which is exactly why we all dropped $$$ to buy this tracker. Thank you!

[thskinner1407]

Agreed. I work as a vet & love my Fitbit but this is something I hoped they would’ve updated by now. I have the Alta HR which allows me to see seconds on the clock face but only for 3 seconds- hardly long enough to take a heart rate. I see there was a thread on this over a year ago stating that this was resolved- yet there is no option for me to change it on my device? 

[SunsetRunner]

Please give us this option! For us in the medical and veterinary fields, it is frustrating having to have another watch or clock because the fitbit charge 3 doesn't stay on long enough. This seems like a simple enough feature, I'm not sure why it's so difficult to incorporate.

[UserSD]

I found it disappointing that Fitbit has not made any comment on this forum saying that they have heard us. This has been dragging for 2 months, and on Twitter they even recommended to come here and post our suggestion but at the end, they are ignoring us. So, if 500 users return their Piece of Crap Charger3, that will be ~$50,000 less in their pockets. What do they think about it? So unless, I see a comment from Fitbit to acknowledge that they are listening and working of the issue in the next few days, mine is going back to the store!

[Blissful_grace]

Agreed. Way too short. Just got this as a gift, love it otherwise, but very difficult to read in the time the screen is on. Is this something that is being looked into? Can an update provide extended screen time? Or can there at least be an option to change the screen time ourselves? I’m ok if I need to charge it more often in order to do this! Lol 

[CAGustafson]

Everyone needs to comment on Twitter #FitbitSupport. Looks like those comments are actually getting reviewed and responded to. This forum thread is being completely ignored by the moderators!

[Sammie1966]

I put my request on instagram and had a respons in no time !

it seems the request is in review by moderator and as many have to vote and comment here !