6 mile run in the rain with the Surge

[jmitchel53]

Hello,

I've been happily using my Surge for the last 9 months and went out for an early 6 mile run in the rain today and found that condensation had accumulated under the touch screen, which rendered the touch screen unusable.  Is this expected and any ideas on how to fix it?  I was under the impression that the Surge should be water resistant, so running in the rain shouldn't be a problem, right?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Justin

[ThreePhase]

Did the condensation appear just after you stopped running or during the run itself? It may just be a bit of moisture in the air inside the device that condensed out in the cold outside... I'd imagine it will be fine once it heats up again, might be a good idea to turn it off for now (hold the left button and bottom right button until the screen dims) and turn it on again in about 24 hours once it's warmed up indoors. Pop it in a bowl of uncooked rice whilst it's turned off to remove any additional moisture.

[jmitchel53]

I honestly don't know if it occured during or after because I rely on the vibrations from my watch to tell me when I've completed each mile and only noticed the condensation once I got into the coffee shop where my running buddy and I met up.  The condensation is worse now:

but the cosmetic issue is the least of my worries.  It's the touch screen that no longer works which is my biggest concern because I can no longer access any of the additional stats or scroll through screens.  Fortunately, the buttons all work and my phone shows that my HR/steps are still being tracked.

I tried powering off the watch and turning it back on, but that didn't help fix the touch screen issue.  Looks like I'll just have to wait and see if things improve with time, but given that the rainy season is just starting and not exercising outdoors isn't an option for me, the problem may unfortunately just come back 😞

[ThreePhase]

As with any electronics I'd advise turning it off for now, submit a customer support ticket and they will probably replace the unit for you as it's not managing to withstand the rain...

[SunsetRunner]

This should not happen. While it may begin working again after it dries (rice bag trick etc.) there is still something inherentily wrong that it happened. If you send that picture to Fitbit support they will send you a new Surge.

[Aes905]

I teach a bootcamp course and mine was rained on for about 20 minutes yesterday. It died shortly after, and I charged it the next morning. I had way less condensation than this and it eventually disappeared. I also can't swipe, but only when it's on my wrist. It lets me swipe when it's off of my wrist and a few minutes after I put it back on, the next stops again. 

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Aes905, I can see that you're new around, welcome! @jmitchel53, @ThreePhase and @SunsetRunner it's nice to see you again in the Forums! 

@jmitchel53 and @Aes905 thanks for posting your concern about your Surge condition! Indeed Fitbit Surge is water resistance which means that it can take sweat and splash, but if it was pouring when you were using it under the rain you might have to let it dry more time. @ThreePhase's advice is a good one! You can put it in a bowl of uncooked rice for at least 48 hours, but I'd suggest to turn it off and let it drain off completely. After condensation disappears restart your Surge a couple of times. 

As you know Fitbit Surge tracks floors and it has an altimeter which measures atmospheric pressure, you can see a tiny little hole locate in the back of the Surge, that's the altimeter; you have to be careful to don't get wet that specific area! Regularly Fitbit Surge can take this type of situations but in this case as I told you before I would give it a try a few more days to make sure it's ready to be used again. If condensation keeps appearing we will have to get in touch with our Support Team to check warranty options!

Please keep me posted! 

PS thanks for the pictures @jmitchel53!