So, the other day, my Fitbit Charge 6 just decided to go completely black on me. Annoying, right? One minute it was fine, tracking my steps, the next – nothing. Just a blank, dead screen.
First thing I did, naturally, was tap the screen like a madman. Nothing. Then I pressed the side button. Still zip. My initial thought was, okay, maybe the battery’s just totally drained, though I thought I’d charged it recently.
So, I grabbed the charger, clipped the Fitbit onto it nice and snug. Made sure the pins were lined up. Usually, you get a little buzz or see the charging icon pop up, but nope, still black. Left it on the charger for a good half hour, hoping it just needed some juice to wake up.
Came back, took it off the charger, screen still black. Put it back on the charger. Okay, time for the next step: the restart.
Trying the Restart Method
I remembered reading somewhere that restarting can fix a lot of weird glitches. With the Charge 6 still connected to the charging cable, I tried the restart procedure:
- I pressed the side button.
- Waited a second.
- Pressed it again.
- Waited another second.
- Pressed it a third time.
Basically, three quick presses on the button, spaced about a second apart, all while it was plugged in and charging. You have to do it relatively quickly, like within 8 seconds or so.
On the first try, nothing happened immediately. Still that frustrating black screen. I almost gave up, thinking it was properly broken.
But I decided to give it one more shot. Did the three-button-press sequence again. Waited a few seconds… and boom! The Fitbit logo finally appeared on the screen. What a relief!
After the logo, it booted up as normal, and the clock face reappeared. Everything seemed to be working fine again – tracking steps, heart rate, the lot. Sync’d up with my phone okay too.
So yeah, if your Charge 6 screen goes black, don’t panic straight away. Make sure it’s clipped onto the charger properly and try that three-button-press restart method. It did the trick for me. Saved me a headache of contacting support or thinking about a replacement. Just a simple restart fixed it.