5 Easy Ways to Fix Fitbit Charge 3 Screen Gone Blank Issue : Updated Nov 2023

Mostly this issue happened to most of you randomly .. there is no reason or particular action which caused this issue. So you will remain clueless on what to do and how to resolve this Charge 3 display won’t turn on issue. Also when it happens you will face issue of quick battery drain for no reasons, fitbit charge 3 may goto 0% from full charge in no time. Issues are not only faced on iPhones connected to the watch but also Android devices.

I know you might have spent countless hours or even days to contact the customer support, tech forums, sending emails and discussing with friends to resolve this problem.

So many of you might also have already returned or about to return this beautiful smart watch for refund or replacement from fitbit. Then hold ON.

But before doing so, why not to try something… here are different methods that so many people have tried and some of them have worked successfully on How to fix the fitbit charge 3 screen gone blank issue?

Problem definitions :

There are many definitions to this problem, just check if any of below matches to what you are facing then you are on the right page … resolution is available for you –

• Charge 3 screen went blank
• When I touch the button, it vibrates and the screen stays dark.
• My Fitbit was working fine then it just went dark I’ve tried restarting it I can feel it vibrate and even on the app on my phone it’s registering my movements but it won’t allow me to update
• Screen wake and notification screen then proceeds to go blank after a couple of seconds.
• My Charge 3 display is completely blank although the tracker still syncs with the dashboard on my mobile.
• The screen just went blank but the device is able to sync with my phone

Updated for 2023

This issue is still being reported by some users, even though it was first reported in 2018. Fitbit has released several firmware updates in an attempt to fix it, but it seems that it is not always successful.

Here are the five workarounds that have been reported to work for some users:

1. Reboot the tracker. To do this, plug it into the charging cable and press and hold the button for 8 seconds. The tracker will vibrate and the smiley face icon will appear on the screen.
2. Perform a long restart. To do this, plug the tracker into the charging cable and press and hold the button for 15 seconds. The tracker will vibrate and the screen will go black. Remove the tracker from the charging cable and plug it back in. The tracker will reboot and the smiley face icon will appear on the screen.
3. Change the clock face. To do this, open the Fitbit app on your smartphone and tap on your Charge 3. Tap on “Clock Faces” and choose a new clock face. Tap on “Apply” and the new clock face will be applied to your tracker.
4. Update the tracker. To do this, open the Fitbit app on your smartphone and tap on your Charge 3. Tap on “Device Info” and then tap on “Update Available”. If an update is available, tap on “Update” and follow the instructions on the screen.
5. Check if the tracker is wet. Even though the Charge 3 is water resistant, it is possible for water to seep in and damage the display. If you think your tracker may be wet, dry it thoroughly before charging it.

I have enlisted the countermeasures to be taken in sequence, if the first one does not work then please proceed to try the next one –

Workaround ONE is to reboot the tracker – 

1) How to Reboot the tracker?

For most of the screen blank issue, you will have it due to some software issue, corrupted memory etc, so best thing to try is to reboot the tracker.

Most of the cases this workaround will work.

So lets see how to reboot fitbit charge 3 tracker – step by step

Step-1) You need to put the tracker on charging, so Plug in one end of charging cable into the USB port on your computer or any UL-certified USB wall charger.

Step-2) Plug in the the other end of the charging cable to the port on the back of the tracker. Remember that the  pins on the charging cable must lock securely with the port.

Step-3) Ensure that the button on your tracker is aligned correctly with the button opening on the charging cable. Now the tracker vibrates indicating that the connection is correct and secure, now you will also see a battery icon on your tracker’s display.

Step-4) Now, all you have to do is to Press and Hold the button on your tracker for 8 seconds. This will initiate reboot process and you see a smiley happy face icon, with a vibration the tracker will restart itself.

Step-5) You are done, please unplug your tracker from the charging cable.

Tip : If at all for some reasons, you feel that this process is too much complicated then simply leave the tracker as it is for about a day, and by that time the battery is completely dead, plug it into the charger, this will restart the tracker at its own.

Now if this soft boot does not work then proceed to next step.

Workaround TWO is to LONG RESTART the tracker – 

2) How to perform a long restart?

Step by Step guide

Step-1) Plug the tracker to the charging cable.

Step-2) While the device is plugged into the charging cable, Press and Hold the button down for 15 seconds.

Step-3) Now leave the button. This time the tracker will not show a smiley face and restart, but it will SWITCH-OFF with a black screen.

Step-4) Now you need to remove the tracker from charging cable.

Step-5) Plug the device again into the charging cable!

Step-6) The fitbit tracker will reboot itself showing the familiar smiley face icon on the screen.

Done, you have long restarted the tracker, check if the issue gets resolved, if not then please proceed to next workaround –

Workaround THREE is to CHANGE THE CLOCK FACE of the tracker – 

3) How to change the clock face?

This is again a workaround based on the practical trials.

This workaround will work correctly only if all other things are working fine like tracker is communicating to your smartphone (iPhone or Android phone).

In my opinion the reason behind this workaround to work is corrupt display data into device memory, this happens even to your smartphone or computer when it works continuously for days or hours.

Mostly when the tracker is displaying the data on device as well as transmitting it to your smartphone for synchronization and recording, somehow it gets corrupt and display may appear to stop working, displaying a blank screen.

Even in the background the watch is functioning correctly, it is not able to display the happening.

First workaround is rebooting the tracker, but even if this do not fix the corrupt issue, then one more way is to re-write the watch face to the watch, this probably corrects the errors generated and makes the display working correctly.

This is my own logic and analysis! not sure if its correct!!

So here are steps to follow to change the tracker watch face –

Step-1) Open Fitbit App on your smartphone.

Step-2) Click on your watch in the top left corner of the screen. Change your clock display face selection from your app and press Apply.

Step-3) The watch face will change and if the problem is resolved, blank screen will disappear.

Tip – If changing watch face does not resolve, issue, after Step-3, try rebooting the tracker

Step-4) Now feel free to re-apply original watch face and continue using tracker happily 🙂

Even now you are facing blank screen issue? please try next resolution –

Workaround FOUR is to UPDATE the tracker – 

4) How to update the tracker via the watch settings in the app?

Now you are going to check if the firmware is latest and update it, since many times fixes are released by Fitbit to address such ongoing issues.

So all you have to do is Update the firmware and restart the tracker.

Tip : If you are facing issues updating then simply try  Uninstall the App and reinstall

Still not updating?

Follow the instruction below –

Step-1) Turn OFF the Bluetooth for about 10 seconds and Turn it back ON..

Step-2) Now reboot your smart phone.

Step-3) Open the Fitbit App and click the ID card icon that is on the top right corner and then select Charge 3 and click “Update available” and try to update it one more time.

I am sure by now you must have the watch blank screen issue resolved, but in extremely rare cases the problem persists then Workaround FIVE is to CHECK the tracker – 

5) Check if the tracker is wet

Even though it is water resistant, there are chances that water has seeped in making the display malfunction.

Check and thoroughly dry your tracker before charging it.

If you have applied some other method which resolved your issue, then please let me know it via comments below the post 🙂

IF NOTHING WORKS! BAD LUCK!!!

Its time to escalate your case to support team (if needed).

The issues seems to have appeared as early as Oct 2018 and continued till 23 Jan 2019!

All above are temporary fixes which have worked for different people, however its is clear that sometimes Fitbit have to take care of this with a firmware update ASAP.

Answers to comments: added in November 2023

1. If your Fitbit Alta HR screen is blank and won’t turn on, try the following:
   • Make sure that the battery is charged.
   • Reboot the tracker.
   • Update the tracker.
   • Contact Fitbit support for further assistance.
2. If your Fitbit Charge 3 will charge but only last about 6 hours, try the following:
   • Make sure that you are using the official Fitbit charging cable.
   • Clean the charging contacts on the tracker and charging cable.
   • Update the tracker.
   • Contact Fitbit support for further assistance.
3. If your Fitbit Charge 3 went dark and you have tried everything on the list, but it is still tracking your steps, try the following:
   • Restart the tracker.
   • Change the clock face.
   • Update the tracker.
   • Contact Fitbit support for further assistance.
4. If you have reinstalled your Fitbit app and changed your email, but you are still having trouble connecting your tracker, try the following:
   • Restart your smartphone.
   • Make sure that Bluetooth is turned on.
   • Try connecting your tracker to a different smartphone.
   • Contact Fitbit support for further assistance.
5. It is great to hear that the first procedure worked for you! Thanks for sharing your feedback.
6. You’re welcome! I’m glad that Option #2 got your Charge 3 going again.
7. If you have tried both the 8 second and 15 second restart and your Charge 3 screen is still black, try the following:
   • Update the tracker.
   • Contact Fitbit support for further assistance.
8. If none of the steps in this post are working for you, and the screen is still black, contact Fitbit support for further assistance.

references for writing this post are taken from different forums and websites –

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-3/Charge-3-display-won-t-turn-on/td-p/2997964/page/2

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-3/Charge-3-screen-went-blank/td-p/3004182/page/4

How do I restart my Fitbit device?

Check if fitbit not charging

How do I change the clock face on my Fitbit device?