Fitbit smartwatches and activity trackers are easy to use and excellent for tracking health and fitness. These watches enable you to monitor various aspects of your health, including your heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, and calories burned. However, some people have complained that their Fitbit watch won’t power up even after several attempts to turn it on. But why won’t Fitbit turn on?
Your Fitbit watch is not turning on due to various reasons. These include having a low battery charge, being stuck in water lock mode, having low display brightness, being frozen, or having the automatic screen wake feature disabled. It is also possible the screen protector is preventing the screen from sensing taps and as a result, the screen can’t turn on.
In this post, I will share ways you can get your Fitbit Charge, Versa, Sense, Luxe, or Inspire to turn on again.
7 Ways to Get a Fitbit that Won’t Turn On Turn On
Listed below are ways you can get a Fitbit watch that won’t turn on to turn on.
1. Try to Charge Your Fitbit
If your Fitbit Sense, Versa, Charge, Luxe, or Inspire won’t turn on, it’s likely because it’s out of charge. To get it to turn on, you need to connect it to a charger and let it charge. Once it’s fully charged, it should turn on and you can continue tracking your activities.
2. Try to Restart Your Fitbit
Fitbit can sometimes freeze and fail to turn on, similar to a phone. To fix the freezing issue, a force restart is recommended.
To force restart your Fitbit Sense, Versa, Charge, Luxe, or Inspire, hold down the buttons on the watch simultaneously until the Fitbit logo or smiley face appears, then release.
After restarting, your Fitbit should turn on when you tap the screen, press the side button, or raise your wrist.
3. Have Fitbit or a Professional Replace Your Watch’s Battery
If your Fitbit watch is not turning on, it is likely due to a faulty battery. To resolve this issue, you should have Fitbit or a professional replace the battery. Once a new battery is installed, your Fitbit watch should turn on.
4. Get Rid of the Case and Screen Protector on Your Fitbit
While cases and screen protectors can protect your Fitbit from damage caused by falls or abrasions, they may also reduce the sensitivity of the screen. This can lead to the screen not turning on because the case and protector are preventing it from sensing wake-up taps and touches.
5. Turn off Water Lock Mode if it’s On
You will find the water lock feature on versions like the Versa 3+, Sense, Luxe, Charge, Ace, and Inspire.
When the water lock is activated the display and buttons on Fitbit are temporarily disabled.
So, it’s likely the screen on your Fitbit won’t turn on because the water lock feature is active.
To get your Fitbit to turn on you need to turn off water lock. You can turn off water lock on Fitbit Ace, Charge, Luxe, Inspire, Sense, and Versa 3 in the following way:
- Double-tap the display to open the water lock screen.
- Double tap on the water lock screen firmly and the water lock mode will turn off.
With the water lock turned off your Fitbit should turn on whenever you raise your wrist.
6. Increase the Brightness of the Screen
You may think your Fitbit isn’t turning on whereas it is already on – this happens when you dim its display and use your tracker under the direct sun or intense lighting.
Go back to the house or somewhere with less lighting and adjust the brightness of your Fitbit. To check and adjust display brightness on Fitbit follow the steps below:
- Go to Settings on your Fitbit.
- Tap on Screen Brightness.
- Turn off the Dim Screen function or change the brightness level to Max.
Note: You may also need to turn off Sleep Mode if you turned it on and forgot to turn it off.
With the display brightness increased you should be able to differentiate when the screen is on and off.
7. Turn on Screen Auto Wake
The screen auto wake feature is designed to automatically wake the screen of your Fitbit when you raise your wrist. When the screen auto wake option is turned off the display on your Fitbit won’t turn on when the wrist is up.
To wake the screen on your Fitbit (when the screen auto wake is off) tap the display or press the side button.
On the other hand, to turn on Fitbit immediately the wrist is up turn on the wake screen auto.
Follow the few steps below to turn on the screen auto wake feature on any Fitbit Watch:
- On your Fitbit open Quick Settings.
- Scroll through the quick settings options to find the Screen Wake Auto option.
- If the screen auto wake option is off tap on it to turn it on. If the screen auto wake was ON, it means your Fitbit is not turning on for other reasons, so try the next troubleshooting idea.
Have You Charged Your Fitbit But It Won’t Turn On?
If your Fitbit is fully charged but still won’t turn on when you raise your hand, it could be due to the Screen Wake Auto option being turned off. Simply turn it on, and your Fitbit should turn on immediately after you raise your wrist.
On the other hand, if your Fitbit won’t turn on because its battery is defective and not holding charge for long, you will need to have the battery replaced to fix the issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How Do I Fix My Dead Fitbit?
Don’t order a new Fitbit just yet! Try to connect the watch to a charger and wait overnight to see if it will get revived hence saving money.
Final Thoughts
If your Fitbit won’t turn on, don’t fret. You can easily fix the problem by following a few easy steps. Force restarting the device, turning off the water lock function, turning on the screen wake auto, and charging the device are all effective ways to get your Fitbit up and running again. Just follow the instructions and your Fitbit smartwatch or fitness tracker should be working properly in no time
