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

[whybenorm]

Wow! And here I thought we were the forgotten department when they sold out!  For the first time since the beginning of September, a moderator actually posted!  I think they are all bots since they seem to post the same thing: "Great Idea, it's under consideration".  What a thankless job, to be a moderator for a product that has been abandoned to the scrap heap! I don't think I could do it.

[WVFD1800]

Why? It has been more than a year. Most of us have already returned our
Fitbits and gotten a competitor. Fitbit is unsatisfactory in its customer
service and therefore I warn everyone to buy anything but Fitbit!

[Kay123456789]

Just got the Charge 3 for Christmas for my mom, but will probably return it because 3 seconds timeout is too short, and makes it un-useable as a watch.  Just letting you know Fitbit, that we are pretty disappointed.  All other features are fine.

[Mel-H]

Dear Fitbit,

Like many others on this forum, I am work in health care and use my watch all day. This requires using the second hand for more than a few seconds. I was gifted the Charge 3 as a way to track heart rate and steps. I am so disappointed to learn the screen display time cannot be adjusted. I was even more disheartened to search for options to change it, and find so many comments dating back more than a year requesting this feature to be updated. I can't understand how this has been an issue for so many of your customers, and yet nothing has been done to improve the situation. I have to agree with previous comments that it feels rather insulting that you can acknowledge you are aware of this, but have shown no sign of improving the situation. I now have an expensive pedometer that I won't likely wear to work because I need a functional watch! I'm not going to wear a watch on one wrist, and a Charge 3 on the other. 

Please show your customers you are listening to the valuable feedback they are offering. This option is available on other devices you make, which tells me you considered it worthwhile for those pieces of equipment. I want to love your product and your services, but currently you are not living up to the hype.

[brrneenee]

I agree with most everyone on this thread -- I was shocked at how short the screen timeout is after JUST getting my Charge 3.  Makes dashboard content and alerts unreadable and useless...

[Jaycee00]

Yes, please allow a option for longer screen time.   I just purchased mine to “upgrade” my charge 2.  I set a 15 sec timer and the screen timed out before it went off which is frustrating.  What is the point?  Also, I would like to remove some of the screen items or at least change the order.  I could do this on the charge 2 so I don’t understand why that is not an option.   I like how the thickness of the 3 is more comfortable but not sure it is worth it.  Love being able to see the full text message until I clear it but I have to reawaken up the watch at least once to read it all.  Going to give it a week.

[Sammie1966]

Return while you still can !! Fitbit is not going to fix this !! They don’t care !! C3 is a useless item with this 3 sec screen timeout !

[amesm08]

I am a seasoned worker outer but as of late I've decided to really get into HIIT workouts so I specifically bought the Charge 3 because of the size, ease, and for tracking my heart rate. But after learning I cannot keep the screen on for more than like 3 seconds I might return it 😞 The point of HIIT is to stay in your Red Zone and I need to be able to see my heart rate for decently time intervals (definitely longer than 3 seconds) to make sure I am not dipping below the red. 

Would love to be able to keep the screen on at all times, but as others suggested 30-60 seconds option would work as well. Seems like this should be a basic feature.

[Ianmb73]

Well my new (Xmas 2019) Charge 3 device is constantly on my wrist and I have the same comment as MANY others with this timeout. Talk and listen to your customers please,  and esp have a thought for the older generation whose eyesight is no where near as good as younger people's. As many have suggested use a disclaimer if necessary but note that I support all those who tell you that having to tap the screen multiple times the get the screen to light up during a workout makes the device almost useless.  

Also mine vibrates a LOT during workouts but the screen doesn't light up so I have no idea why.  If the vibration is meant alert me to something then why doesn't it turn on and tell me !? 

This can happen 30/40 times  minute and is frankly annoying and totally useless.  I searched in the app but didn't find any messages etc to correlate with all the vibrations. 

Anyone have similar experience ? 

[Yahgiggle]

take it back, they wont fix this

[Espanolito]

My spouse loves her Charge 3. The timeout is annoying, though. Starts getting old, having to continually press the button when you are looking at info on the watch. Can't be a complicated upgrade...

[Yahgiggle]

I do coding so have an idea of how long this takes, it takes months for
upper management to decided to do the upgrade then once the go ahead has
been done it takes about an hour of coding and testing then upper
management takes another look and decides when or if they should push the
update, 99.9% of the time, by the time management make up there mind a new
model is ready and all the focus goes on that model and most the talking
from management is about what profit they expect and how many units they
should be able to ship

[Ianmb73]

Everyone can see that many people are unhappy with screen timeouts on multiple devices.i'll add that a device that vibrates but doesn't show any screen message is useless. Screen wake-up and timeout periods should be obvious parameters to allow a user to change either in the app or on device. It's absence suggests Fit bit is hiding something and the number if people before me who claim you don't change such things / listen to the community makes me wonder about your strategy to have a community at all.  You'll diminish your brand value unless you at least respond to such requests 

[icab]

Make it a tunable parameter (number of seconds or, on all the time) so that those like me who want a longer display time can customise it to their own taste and others who value long battery life can sharpen their visual acuity! Surely it can't be that hard to do?

[Ianmb73]

I suggested the same but the only reaction was from peers saying fit bit
will never fix it. Might be true and the'longer fit bit takes to reply the
worse their brand gets in my opinion. Brands that don't listen to their
customers Dont deserve them especially for such a small issue that has huge
user impact. On the community page it's easy to see how many we are that
are upset enough to take the time to write about it, I wonder How many
don't bother and just move to a different brand

[icab]

Perhaps Tim Rosa doesn’t know about this poor PR and needs a direct email?

Sent from my mobile

[Espanolito]

I purchased a Charge 3 for my spouse for Christmas. She loves it. But I am having a bit of a safety concern with the quick time out.

If you are jogging or on a treadmill and want to check your heart rate, the quick time out does not give you enough time for a quick cursory glance. You have to continuously press the side button with your other hand and your head is down looking at the watch as you press the button trying to read your heart rate. You cannot just give a quick cursory glance, which means that you are looking down too much and not ahead when you are jogging or running. 

I have a Versa 2 and it's very easy to read your heart rate with a quick lift of the wrist. Not so with the Charge 3 because the screen times out too quickly. It's especially difficult for us older folks whose eyesight is no longer 20/20.

Anyway, a bit of a concern I've been having lately with my spouse's Charge 3, with the fiddling you have to do to see if you heart rate is in the right range while you are jogging or on a treadmill.

[Ianmb73]

Precisely well put. When starting a workout I choose the activity menu so
the device knows that I am going to want to see its readout. That's at least
the right moment to leave the screen on or with a 15-30s timeout

[Tynesider]

There have been 945 comments on this problem so far and Fitbit have not answered 1.

The only times I did get a reply but still no answer to my question was when I did an Amazon review, even though I didn't puchase it from there and also on Twitter.

I think it's obvious by now that they don't read the comments in the community pages and I don't think they are even slightly bothered about the screen time.

The best we can do is to tell people not to purchase a Fitbit because if I had of known of their ignorance I would have chosen a different brand.

[Timmyee]

I know i personally have talked several people out of buying a fitbit. I wonder how many others have done the same. But i guess they don’t mind loosing money.

Tim Evans
Synergy Electric
(601)572-5565
tim@synergyelec.com
Sent from my iPhone

[MortenHansen]

I really need this feature

The screen time is way too short 

I just received my charge 3 and after 1 hour i am already annoyed with the short screen time. Like in VERY annoyed.

I do not get why this has not been tested and found worthy of improvement yet. ANY serious test person (i suspect Fitbit does not use such a person) would clearly see this as a problem because it involves every single interaction on the fitbit Cahrge 3 ... EVERY SINGLE INTERACTION GET TURN OF AFTER 4 SECONDS .... had i just known this before hand.

I REALLY hope you will update this sooner than later. 

But it will probably not happen since it has been suggested since Nov. 2018

Why do you even have a forum with feature suggestions when sooo many people express that this is a major issue, and you do NOT react and do something about it?

Its not too late to change to become one of the good companies that learn and improve their customer service processes, based on customer feedback.

[Tamzyn]

Can I suggest an increase in the screen display time, which is currently around three seconds. I don’t know why it was ever set so short, but it’s quite frustrating when you’re trying to read your stats at a glance and have to activate again. Not sure if this is something that could be included in a software update or if it’s a hardware issue, but it really would be helpful 

[NikkiJC]

I love my new Charge 3 and am completely obsessed with the apps on the phone.  However, I agree the timeout is far too short to make the device useful during exercise or even checking your heartbeat

Fitbit please give us the option to change this function..

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Tamzyn, thanks for explaining why you would like to have this option. I've moved it into a similar suggestion which has been updated as "Under Consideration". You can learn more about here. Keep adding your suggestions!

[jennifer2882]

@YojanaFitbit , you moved my comment here over a year ago.  Please stop moving comments here when you know FitBit has no intention on correcting this much needed, easy fix.

@Tamzyn if you are still in the return window, I’d recommend retuning your Charge 3 and get a device that will actually accommodate this.  I would also look for a company that actually listens to the needs of their consumers.