Surge - Dim screen feedback

[Dismay]

I've just bought a Fitbit Surge.

Turns out I should have looked more carefully at the known issue of the poor backlight display.

Mine is already packed back up and going back to the store tomorrow.

The surge is simply not fit for for purpose as the screen is very difficult to see in low light.

It's putting it mildly that it is poor that this product is still for sale after years of this known issue.

Moderator edit: Clarified subject

[marinegundoctor]

I have no problem seeing my Surge display in low light. I just tap the screen and the backlight comes on.

[Dismay]

Surge now returned to the store.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Dismay and @marinegundoctor! Please receive a warm welcome to the Fitbit Family! It's great to see you participating in our Community! 

We appreciate your feedback, so sorry to hear you're no longer stepping with us @Dismay! I encourage you to check our new models of trackers and compare the features, in case that you're still considering using a tracker.

Thanks for thoughts in regards to this matter @marinegundoctor! Hope to keep seeing you around! 

Have a nice day guys! 

[Dismay]

My wife bought an Alta HR the same time that I bought the Surge. 

The Alta HR has a display that is crisp, clear and easy to read in all conditions - unlike the Surge. It's just a little small for my taste.

I have certainly been put off by the substandard display of the Surge and I can't believe that it's still being produced with such a glaring design flaw.

I blame myself for not doing enough research. If I had I would have found out that it had owners reporting this issue.

The only good thing to come out of this was that I manage to get a full refund. When I showed the store staff the display in low light they immediately agreed that it was very poor and refunded me.

I may buy another Fitbit or other brand fitness watch at some point but I'll certainly be wary of units with a poor display.

[YojanaFitbit]

I really appreciate you're getting back to me @Dismay! 

I don't want you to feel guilty, since you like the model and you needed to test it. Now, Fitbit Surge has a backlight that can be use in "Auto, On or Off". If you tried those options and it didn't work for you. Then Fitbit Surge is not a good option for you. There are lot of users that keep using their Surge since it came out, but still, I understand where you coming from. 

I'll definitely pass this information along. And I hope you can keep using Fitbit to improve your workouts and compete with your wife through friendly challenges. If you need more information about any of our trackers or specif features, let me know so I can lend you a hand with that! I can see that you're committed to improve your fitness level.

I encourage you to keep up going and don't let this bump in the road apart you from your final goal! 

[MonteC]

[GrumpyGraham]

 I too was worried about the 'dim screen' I had read about. Until you actually play with the settings it does appear 'dim', but in my view once you understand how the watch works it is a brilliant screen. Either a quick flick of the wrist or a finger tap makes it instantly visible in ANY light.  A fantastic piece of equipment my only gripe is that it does not display the more detailed sleep settings as on my wife's Charge 2.....why is that I ask, but yet to receive an answer.

[marinegundoctor]

Have you tried turning the back light on?

[MonteC]

---

@GrumpyGraham wrote:

 I too was worried about the 'dim screen' I had read about. Until you actually play with the settings it does appear 'dim', but in my view once you understand how the watch works it is a brilliant screen. Either a quick flick of the wrist or a finger tap makes it instantly visible in ANY light.  A fantastic piece of equipment my only gripe is that it does not display the more detailed sleep settings as on my wife's Charge 2.....why is that I ask, but yet to receive an answer.

---

Mine is not like this at all.  I see the display change slightly with the tap or wrist flick but still very dim.  

Works ok in the dark...but I would guess that 95% of us run and hike bike etc in the daylight.

Understand how it works?  What is to understand?  What am I missing?  Please tell me because I want this thing to be usable.

[MonteC]

---

@marinegundoctor wrote:
Have you tried turning the back light on?

---

Of course...

[Dismay]

The watch doesn't work properly in dim light - that's the bottom line.

The advertised images of it are not what it's like in reality at all.

I ended up getting a full refund for mine and then got a Charge 2 which has a screen display of about a million percent better than the display of the Surge.

The Surge is simply not fit for purpose in certain light conditions.

[GrumpyGraham]

Trust me, I too had the same issues as you to start with and was on the verge of taking it back, but once I had fiddled around with the settings I now have no trouble with the display in any light dark or bright!

Yes the Charge 2 is bright (my wife has one) but the Surge is just a better tool as a stand alone piece of kit. Granted the Charge 2 teamed with Endomondo can give it a run for its money, but personally i like the analogue watch display rather than the too bright Charge display in the middle of the night

[Dismay]

There was no setting that enabled a clear view of the screen in dim light. I followed the instructions provided by Fitbit to the letter and nothing worked.

It was fine in good natural light and usable in darkness. In dim light it was unusable.

[marinegundoctor]

I thought you were talking about in dim lighting. I keep the back light off
on mine. I don't have a problem seeing the screen either, but I agree they
need to have more customization on this thing for the price.
The ability to invert the display during a user - initiated event
/exercise would solve this issue. Like I said, I can read it now ok, but
that would make it even better.

[MonteC]

---

@GrumpyGraham wrote:

Trust me, I too had the same issues as you to start with and was on the verge of taking it back, but once I had fiddled around with the settings I now have no trouble with the display in any light dark or bright!

---

Please tell me about these "settings" you fiddled with.  I have not found a setting that can be adjusted.

This is what my Surge looks like.

[Dismay]

I'd be interested as well.

[MonteC]

Let me update this my message.

I had been using the Surge initially in very low light conditions, dawn runs and late evening walks.  In these conditions the display is next to impossible to see.

Today, for the first time I took it out for a hike in good light and I was able to see the display very well.  It appears to work off of reflective light, so when there is little light it is not very efficient.  

Having said that I would still like to see an adjustment for us dawn runners.  Poorly thought out in my opinion.

[GrumpyGraham]

I have just taken pictures in standby mode and with the back light on to show the absolute difference, but unfortunately I cannot see how to embed the pictures in this message board as you have done.  For interest the (I assume software) Version number is: 16.34.5.14

Standby modeBacklight onSoftware version

What I would say is that the bright view is not a permanent feature but lasts for circa 10 secs or for as long as you are scanning through the various screens so that you ample time to view the relevant info, e.g. time, heart rate, distance etc, presumably in order to retain battery life. I have bluetooth, heart rate etc permanently on and wear the watch at night so as to generate proper heart rate measures but only have to recharge every 2nd or 3rd day depending just how long I have using gps continuously whilst running, say for 40mins at a time. I use it whilst playing squash and badminton so its working pretty hard for a couple of hours at a time.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi guys! It's nice to see all you comments and feedback about Fitbit Surge! 

This information is important to us! I'd like to remind you that if you already try to use the "Backlight" option on the Surge and it is not working you can restart your tracker in case that your tracker is having hardware issues. At the end you can check your options with Support Team. I can request a new case for you if you wish! Sorry about the inconvenience you're having since this tracker doesn't have an option to modify brightness. 

You can request this option in our Feature Suggestion Board. And if you need help with anything else I'm here to help. 

See you around!