My Surge will not respond to taps or swipes

[Tressa_1Co]

My Surge will not respond to taps or swipes, even after I changed the clock face & charged the device. When I click the left button, it's stuck on, Exercise, so I can't shut it down. What to do?

Thanks!

Tressa

Moderator edit: I have moved your post to the Surge board to increase the chance of getting a response. Clarified subject.

[runningopa]

I had this very problem, and fortunate for me my Surge was still under warranty. I called customer service and was required to send them a copy of my receipt. I see that they don’t sell the Surge as anew product anymore. I have been disappointed with the Surge and when this one dies, I going with another manufacturer.

Good luck.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Tressa_1Co, it's always great to see new remembers in our Community. @runningopa thanks for jumping in! 

Sorry the time that this answer was posted, I moved your post to a different thread to make sure you will receive a faster response, in case that you need further assistance. When having issues with your Surge display the restart can solve the issue, just try to do a couple of times.

Your Surge should work normally now, keep me posted. 

[chrisfromwa]

It's a known issue with the Surge,  there is a 42 page in the community on it.  (They've now closed the thread apparently)

Even thought they mark it 'Solved' there is no permanent fix,  and the 'restart' thing may fix it temporarily,  or may not do anything.  FitBit has all but abandoned the Surge (even though they still sell it). 

[YojanaFitbit]

Nice to see that you're digging into the Forums @chrisfromwa! 

Actually, we've had a really good response from a lot users; each scenario is different though, but we're always trying to help them out! Are you having issues with your Surge display too?

Thanks for sharing this with us, we're glad to see you around! 

[motherg]

Hi I have had my surge eighteen months now and this is the first problem I have had. Thank you for the info did restart and have all the functions back again.

[Chad_runner]

Fitbit friends.....I purchased a Surge in August of '15 and had this issue less than a year later.  I reached out to Fitbit and they happily replaced it under warranty.  Now, again, less than a year later, I have the same issue.  I reached out to customer service and guess what!!  My warranty has expired on my "original" purchase so no luck.  If a $200 fitness watch won't last a year, then I will certainly not replace with a fitbit.  Hello Garmin...

[YojanaFitbit]

Nice to see in the Forums @motherg and @Chad_runner, let me give you a warm welcome to our Community! 

@Chad_runner Thanks for sharing your experience. Sorry about your Surge! Have you tried restarting your Surge a couple of times and then delete it from your Account to repeat the Setup process again. It has worked for different users. 

 @motherg I'm glad this helped you! Good to know that you're back on track! Feel free to come back at any time, in case that you have questions about your Fitbit; or you can just hand around, there is plenty information here and new ways to make friends.

Please take a moment to visit our Discussions board where you will find other members sharing their experiences and tips. This is a really good way to stay motivated towards your goals. In case that you haven't do so, check it out! You might be interested in these topics: Saturday Humor or What is the most interesting place that you have walked run?

Happy stepping! 

[Chad_runner]

I'm unable to shut down my fitbit because I can't get to settings since swiping is not working.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi there @Chad_runner! thanks for getting back! 

Got it! What I meant was that even when it is not able to swipe to the Settings, you still can restart it by doing the next steps: 

1. Press and hold the Home and Select buttons (left and bottom right) for 10 to 15 seconds, until you see the screen flash or start to dim. 
2. Let go of the buttons. 
3. After your screen turns completely off, wait 10 seconds and press the Home button to turn your Surge back on. 

If you have trouble restarting your tracker, just hold down the buttons for a longer time; don't release them until you see the screen get significantly dimmer. Did you tried this? 

Have you tried to delete the Fitbit Surge from your phone following the steps in this link. For a lot of users this did the trick. Please confirm if you're finishing all those steps. I'm very interested in keep helping you! 

Thanks for confirming! 

[AlanSA]

The Fitbit Surge. My first one lasted 6 months before it "died". Luckily the local agents replaced it free of charge. The new one has worked for about 15 months and now the LCD wont tap and swipe properly and at times the figures on the display are broken up and  or duplicated. Also the watches time sticks and requires a reset to change back to the correct time. My son bought an Apple watch at the same time as I got my first Fitbit and my niece acquired a Samsung. Neither have had any such problems. I will definitely not purchase another Fitbit and will certainly not recommend that friends get one. I will change to Apps when this thing packs up completely. Tired of struggling.

Moderator edit: Word Choice

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi there @AlanSA. Nice to see you on board, welcome! 

Sorry about your Surge, I really appreciate the feedback of your case and the information provided, since this is very useful to improve our services. I've sent you a PM, please check you PMs inbox.

I'll be waiting for your response. 

[redneckroadie]

I am also experiencing issues with the Surge not swiping... I tried "rebooting" several times, but it has had no effect.  When the machine turns back on it defaults to "Run" but I can't back out of that feature at all.... HELP!! Thanks

[AlanSA]

Our local agents are the Core group through Apple iStore. I have taken my Surge to them to repair. They ran a diagnostic test and told me that it cannot be repaired. Because it is 15 months old and the warranty is 12 months there is nothing they can do for me. They have suggested that I purchase a new Fitbit tracker or the Apple watch 2.

These products cost the equivalent of $350 for the Fitbit Surge and $450 for the cheapest Apple 2 watch in South Africa.

I communicated with Fitbit USA and explained the issue, they offered to arrange a 25% discount if I purchased a Fitbit from them. I would then have had to pay import duty etc. so the Surge would have cost even more than buying it from the iStore locally.

I think its disgraceful that these devices cannot be repaired at what should be a fraction of the price of a new one. If my Fitbit Surge was 5 years old I would not have had an issue with replacing it, but at 15 months that expectation is ridiculous.

I have since purchased a TomTom Touch for which I paid $110. It does not have GPS, but has all the other functions, so I use my iPhone when walking, running and Map my Run to track the routes.

If the TomTom stops working properly after 15 months at least the cost of a replacement wont be as tough.

There are also low cost trackers available here at between $25 and $50. I know two people who have bought the least expensive one recently and so far they seem to be performing well, that is counting steps, heart rate and the app looks good as well. So Fitbit and Apple better reconsider their attitude.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @redneckroadie! We are very excited to have you as a part of our members! Have you tried to delete the Fitbit Surge from your phone following the steps in this link, as mentioned before it might help your little buddy. Thanks for trying those steps.

@AlanSA Welcome to the forums again and thank you for the thorough feedback for the Fitbit environment, customer service, platform and devices. This has not gone unnoticed and be sure that I will pass this along. We don't want to create frustration in our customers. Fitbit has been designed to provide motivation and help you to reach your daily goals to success. Please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on what you share here.

About the information that you received, if your Surge is out of warranty as they said a replacement is not applicable. I think that using a discount to get back on track with the same or a different tracker, it'd be the best option for a person that is considering staying in the Fitbit family.If it is not your case, sorry you feel this is enough but this is an option that Fitbit gives as something extra, since most of companies don't have options after the warranty ends.

I understand you've invested in the Fitbit Family; however, Fitbit as any other company have policies to follow through.  While customer satisfaction remains our number one goal, the demands of running a global business require that we enforce our warranty consistently.   

If there any questions present, please let me know and I'll be glad to help!

[redneckroadie]

I understand keeping with policy.  Still, one expects a product costing hundreds of dollars to last more than 15 months.  The watch is worn and treated like a watch should.  I work in an office, ride a bicycle and walk.  I'm not doing crazy things with my Surge.  
The link you sent is for synchronization problems.  The Surge syncs fine,  I can't tap or scroll through the options...




Sent via the Samsung Galaxy Alpha™, an AT&T 4G LTE smartphone

[pgcoan15]

Hi All,

My surge screen no longer responds to any touch or swipe. Have tried resetting over ten times, to no avail. Seems hopeless at this point. Very upsetting and disappointed that this would happen. Waste of money. It is in great physical condition with no damage. Bought in in August 2015, so outside of the warranty. Any ideas on how to resolve this?

[YojanaFitbit]

Thanks for getting back @redneckroadie!  And t's my pleasure to extend a cheerful welcome to our new member @pgcoan15! 

Thanks for the feedback about your experience with Fitbit Surge, sorry you're having this issues.

Exactly @redneckroadie, I've noticed that if you do small changes on the Settings of the Fitbit Surge, for example turn Off and On, the Heart Rate monitor. And then you force sync it with your compatible devices after multiple restarts, can do the trick on your Surge. Give it a try @pgcoan15 and keep me post it! 

Hope this helps! 

[AlanSA]

Thanks @redneckroadie, I tried to to turn the heart rate monitor on and off and then force sync. After that I tried multiple restarts as you suggested. Unfortunately that did not work . The Surge functions are working in the background, I can see that when I sync with my Macbook and or iPhone. The screen does not work at all. When the problem, that is the screen not working properly, first started it would wake up and work for a short while after  restarting. But it steadily deteriorated until it eventually simply went blank. This is what is so frustrating, the device is working, that is recording steps, heart rate etc, but the information is not visible on the screen. The device was only 15 months old when the screen issues first started. As I have said multiple times since, it is totally ridiculous that this problem cannot be repaired at a fraction of the cost of a new device/tracker. And also very unfair that the Fitbit manufacturer expect their customers to chuck away and replace a unit costing $400 (Our price which is R4700) after only 15 months after purchase.

Since my last post I have de registered my Fitbit and tried to re register, but during the process you are required to enter a number that is sent to the tracker. But because my screen is blank I can't do that.

So very frustrating. I have to repeat what I have written in previous posts. Why cant this tracker be repaired? The fact that the only solution is to purchase a new devise is unfair and unreasonable.

[SunsetRunner]

I will add myself to this long and growing list of unsatisfied users.  I have restarted my device more times than I can count, I have changed small settings, changed the watch face, and I still cannot swipe or tap on my watch.  It is ridiculous that a watch at this price cannot last more than a year.  I have had the watch just over a year, so of course, the warranty is over.  Fascinating that everyone's watch is breaking just AFTER the warranty expires and Fitbit's option is to restart it 50 times and maybe it will work or buy a new one...