This article explains how to restart or factory reset your Fitbit Charge 3—whether it’s not syncing, isn’t turning on when charged, won’t track your steps, or is otherwise acting strangely. You have two options when it comes to restarting your Charge 3: Restart the device from your wrist or use a charging cable.
What to Know
- On wrist: Swipe right and open Settings menu > select About > Reboot Device > checkmark to confirm.Charging cable: Plug USB charger into computer > place tracker on cradle > press touch sensitive button.Next, press and hold touch sensitive button for eight seconds > release > wait for smile icon and vibration.
Restarting a Fitbit Charge 3 From Your Wrist
If you’re wearing your watch and you’re not near your charging cable, you can try restarting your Fitbit Charge 3 directly from your wrist. Here’s how:
Restarting your Fitbit and resetting your Fitbit are not the same. A restart clears temporary files, while a reset removes all your data so you can start fresh.
- From the clock face, swipe right to get to the Settings screen.
- Scroll down and select About > Reboot Device.
- Select the checkmark.
- Wait for the the normal watch face to appear. This confirms your Charge 3 has restarted.
Restarting a Fitbit Charge 3 By Using the Charging Cable
If restarting your device while wearing it didn’t work, or if the battery on your device needs to be charged, you can also use the charging cable to restart the device. Here’s how:
From the clock face, swipe right to get to the Settings screen.
Scroll down and select About > Reboot Device.
Select the checkmark.
Wait for the the normal watch face to appear. This confirms your Charge 3 has restarted.
- Plug the charging cable into a USB port on your laptop or any UL-certified USB wall charger.
- Next, place your Charge 3 into the charging cradle. Make sure the charging cable is plugged in and the pins lock securely with the port on the back of the device. This is required to do the reset.
- Once your Charge 3 is in the cradle, press the touch sensitive button on the side. The watch face should light up and the device should vibrate when you press it.
- Now, press the touch sensitive button for a full eight seconds.
- After eight seconds, release the button. Wait for the smile icon to appear and the tracker to vibrate. This confirms your Charge 3 has restarted properly. After the restart, the normal watch face should appear.
- Your Fitbit should now be working normally. If you’re having issues restarting your Charge 3 or you’re still having problems, contact Fitbit Customer Support.
Why Restart Your Fitbit Charge 3?
Your Charge 3 usually works without a hitch. Most of the time. But, there are times you may need to restart it, including when:
Plug the charging cable into a USB port on your laptop or any UL-certified USB wall charger.
Next, place your Charge 3 into the charging cradle. Make sure the charging cable is plugged in and the pins lock securely with the port on the back of the device. This is required to do the reset.
Once your Charge 3 is in the cradle, press the touch sensitive button on the side. The watch face should light up and the device should vibrate when you press it.
Now, press the touch sensitive button for a full eight seconds.
After eight seconds, release the button. Wait for the smile icon to appear and the tracker to vibrate. This confirms your Charge 3 has restarted properly. After the restart, the normal watch face should appear.
Your Fitbit should now be working normally. If you’re having issues restarting your Charge 3 or you’re still having problems, contact Fitbit Customer Support.
- It’s not syncing with the app properly.It’s not tracking steps or the GPS isn’t working.It’s not responding to your button presses, taps, or swipes.It’s charged up but refuses to turn on.
Just like rebooting your computer when it’s acting up, a restart (sometimes referred to as a “soft reset”) won’t hurt your Fitbit, won’t erase your data, and can help get your activity tracker working again in just a few moments.
What’s the Difference Between a Soft Reset vs. a Factory Reset?
Restarting a Fitbit Charge 3 is not the same as doing a factory reset. A restart doesn’t erase your data. On the other hand, doing a full factory reset removes all apps, stored data, personal information, and credit/debit cards (for Fitbit Pay-enabled devices).
Factory resetting comes in handy when you’re preparing to sell your Fitbit and want to revert it to a somewhat new, data-free state.
Factory resetting is only available on the following Fitbit models: Charge 3, Aria 2, Inspire Series, Ionic Series, Versa Series, Flyer, and Ace 2.
How to Do a Factory Reset on a Fitbit Charge 3
To perform a factory reset, swipe right from the clock face to get to the Settings screen. Then select About > Clear User Data. This resets your Fitbit data to the brand new state with no synced data remaining.
Doing a factory reset erases all of your tracking data. Perform a data export to preserve this information before starting the reset. You can find the data export option in the Dashboard menu. Fitbit sends you an email with instructions on how to complete it.
- How do I change the time on my Fitbit Charge 3?
- There’s no way to change the time directly on your Fitbit Charge 3. However, changing the time on your connected smartphone and re-syncing the devices will update the time on your tracker.
- How do I pair my Fitbit Charge 3 to my smartphone?
- To pair your Fitbit to your phone, first download and install the Fitbit app. Turn on the Fitbit, making sure Bluetooth is enabled, then open the Fitbit app and select the Fitbit icon followed by the two arrows in a circle icon to begin pairing.
There’s no way to change the time directly on your Fitbit Charge 3. However, changing the time on your connected smartphone and re-syncing the devices will update the time on your tracker.
To pair your Fitbit to your phone, first download and install the Fitbit app. Turn on the Fitbit, making sure Bluetooth is enabled, then open the Fitbit app and select the Fitbit icon followed by the two arrows in a circle icon to begin pairing.
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