Fix the Fitbit Charge 3 Display Not Working Problem

The Fitbit Charge 3 display not working issue is rather random and does not seem to have a particular cause. The issue may be resolved by rebooting the watch, changing the clock face, or carrying out a long restart on the device. 

What happens is that the screen on your Fitbit fitness tracking device suddenly goes blank, but the device remains on and active. It will vibrate when you press the buttons and when you receive notifications, but the screen will not display anything. 

The watch will successfully sync with the App on your phone or computer, even though you can’t see anything on its display. Throughout this guide, you will learn the various methods that may be used to fix the Fitbit charge 3 blank screen issue. 

Solutions to the Fitbit Charge 3 Blank Display Problem 

Before trying anything else, ensure that your fitness watch is charged. If not, connect it to its charger and allow it some time to charge. Once charged, check to see if the display is working. If the screen is still blank, use the following methods to fix the issue:

Method 1: Remove Any Case or Screen Protector from the watch 

If you have a case or screen protector on your Fitbit charge 3 watches, you should first remove it and check whether the display is responsive. Having a case or screen protector on the watch may block the ambient light sensor, rendering the screen unresponsive. 

The ambient light sensor on your Fitbit watch is the black dot on one side of the device. If this sensor is blocked, the screen will automatically dim out. Check to see whether something is blocking this sensor and remove it. 

Method 2: Check the Display Brightness Settings 

Is the display totally blacked out or you can make something out of it? Just go to a dark place and check to see if you can see anything on the screen. If you can make out something on the display, the problem is most likely the brightness settings on your Fitbit device. 

This often happens when the display is dimmed. To fix the problem, in this case, you only need to configure the brightness settings on the watch accordingly. Here is how you should go about it:

Step 1: While in the dark space, try to open the Settings app on the watch

Step 2: Next, you need to tap on the screen brightness setting and set it to either Max or Normal from the list of options. Alternatively, you could just set the ‘Dim screen’s option to Off, from the brightness settings menu. 

Step 4: Now open the ‘Sleep Mode’ under the brightness settings and ensure that it is set to Off. Just navigate to Settings > Quiet Modes > Sleep Mode.

The Sleep Mode on your Fitbit Charge 3 watch does not go off automatically unless you have set up a Sleep mode schedule on the device. Alternatively, you could just go to ‘Quick settings’ and then tap the half-moon icon to deactivate the Sleep Mode. 

Step 5: If you need to use the Sleep Mode on your device, it is advisable to set up a sleep mode schedule. 

Method 3: Reboot the Fitbit Charge 3 Watch  

The blank screen problem on the Fitbit Charge 3 device may also be a result of mild software issues or corrupted memory. Such an issue may be resolved by just rebooting the watch. Before trying out the more advanced solutions, you should first reboot the tracker. 

The following procedure will help you reboot the Fitbit Charge 3 fitness tracker: 

Step 1: Plug the charging cable into the tracker and the other end to a USB port on your computer or a UL-certified USB wall charger. Ensure that the pins on the charging cable lock securely into the charging port on your watch. 

Step 2: The button on your tracker needs to be properly aligned with the button opening in your charging cable. The tracker should vibrate to indicate that the connection is secure and correct. If the connection was made properly, a battery icon should appear on the fitness tracker display. 

Step 3: Now press and hold the button on the Fitbit Charge 3 tracker for about 8 seconds to initiate the reboot process. A smiley happy face icon will appear on the display. The device will then vibrate and automatically restart. 

Step 4: You can now unplug the watch from its charging cable and check to see whether the display is working.

Alternatively, you could just leave the watch as is until its battery is completely drained. Once drained, plug it into the charging cable. This should automatically restart the device and possibly fix the Fitbit Charge 3 display not working issue. 

Method 4: Long Restart the Fitness Tracker 

If the above-described methods did not solve the problem, you should consider resetting (long restart) the Fitbit Charge 3 fitness tracker. To do this, you need to lug the watch into the charging cable the way you normally do. 

Once the device is plugged and charging, press and hold the button on the watch for about 15 seconds. This time, the fitness tracker will not display the Smiley face icon and restart. Instead, it will shut down with a black screen. Release the button after 15 seconds. 

Once it is off, disconnect the charging cable from the device, wait a few seconds, and then plug the charging cable into the watch once again. Once plugged in, the device will display the smiley face icon and automatically reboot itself. 

Method 5: Change the Clock Face on Your Fitbit Charge 3 

Changing the Clock face on your watch to a standard Fitbit clock face may also fix the Fitbit Charge 3 display not working problem. This is particularly helpful if the fitness tracker appears to connect and communicate successfully with the Fitbit App on your phone or computer. 

Place the Fitbit Charge 3 device near the computer or phone with the Fitbit App or Fitbit Connect application installed. Next, you need to launch the application and tap on the Today tab. You should then select your profile icon or tap on your profile picture and then select your device.

Now tap on the ‘Clock Faces’ option and then select ‘All Clocks’ from the tabs at the top. At this point, you need to choose any of the standard Fitbit clocks faces displayed. Just tap on any of them and then tap on Select to install it. Finally, tap on Sync to check whether the Fitbit display will activate and become responsive.  

Method 6: Update the Fitbit Tracker from the App

If nothing seems to work, you may need to update the software on your watch. Since the display I not working, you need to do this from the Settings on your Fitbit App. The update may have the patch you need to fix the bug on your software. 

To update the firmware, turn the Bluetooth on your phone OFF for about 10 seconds and then turn it back On. Next, you need to reboot the smartphone or computer. Now launch the Fitbit application on your phone, and tap on the ‘ID card’ icon—located at the top-right corner of the screen. 

You should then select the ‘Charge 3’ option from the displayed list of devices. Tap on the ‘Updates available’ option to update the software. 

Once done, reboot the watch using the steps described in method 3 and sync it with your phone. Check whether the Fitbit Charge 3 display not working issue has been resolved. 

Final Verdict 

The Fit bit display not working issue is random and can occur to any user regardless of whether the device is paired to an Android or iOS device. While it is hard to tell what really causes the problem, different methods may be used to fix it. For instance, you can reboot, long restart, or change the clock face on your watch to solve the problem. With this guide, you should be able to fix the blank screen problem on your Fitbit Charge 3 device in no time.