Fitbit Charge 3 (Graphite/Black)

The screen is a bit brighter than the Charge 2, but it's still a little hard to see in direct sunlight. It seems to be behaving now, so time will tell how it compares in accuracy to the charge 2. Definitely needs more watch faces. Update 1. Fitbit charge 3 failed suddenly, after 4 days. Returned and received a new one from Amazon 2 days later. New one works as the other. So far. I hope it was just a fluke, but I am seeing people having issues thru reviews. Perhaps it was released prematurely and they are working out the bugs. They have stated (Fitbit) they will have more watch faces soon that include the date. I like this new version of the charge and I think it will be an improvement if the bugs are worked out and it lives long enough to prove it.

I love this tracker, it has a few useful tools; like weather, timers and agenda. It can track your sleep, it has lots of exercise modes, it can set alarms, it has Fitbit Wallet (Which is like Apple/Google Pay I think), one of my favorite features is that I can read all of my notifications, and in some cases, respond to some of them with the watch! The Fitbit Charge 3 has great battery life lasting me an estimated 5-6 days per full charging of battery. It can track your HR. (heart rate) And that pretty much wraps it up for this cool little fitness tracker! *some smaller features include changing the clock style, sleep mode, and DND (Do not disturb). This watch is water resistant, and swimming is included in exercise modes.

This watch is really comfortable to wear, even for long periods of time or to bed. I normally don’t wear bracelets or watches much because they bother my wrist, but this rarely ever does. The charge lasts a long time so I am not constantly recharging it, and the bands are changeable. I wear the bands in the smaller size and they fit well. I love how this tracks my steps and my sleep, as I have been using it to try to improve my sleep habits and track how much I walk daily. It connects to the app pretty well and has features to set timers, stopwatches, silent alarms, etc. It has a weather feature, but that doesn’t work until you have synced the watch to the app each day so I don’t really use it. I wish this device had an option to play music as I work out, but ... MoreThis watch is really comfortable to wear, even for long periods of time or to bed. I normally don’t wear bracelets or watches much because they bother my wrist, but this rarely ever does. The charge lasts a long time so I am not constantly recharging it, and the bands are changeable. I wear the bands in the smaller size and they fit well. I love how this tracks my steps and my sleep, as I have been using it to try to improve my sleep habits and track how much I walk daily. It connects to the app pretty well and has features to set timers, stopwatches, silent alarms, etc. It has a weather feature, but that doesn’t work until you have synced the watch to the app each day so I don’t really use it. I wish this device had an option to play music as I work out, but otherwise, I really enjoy it I did have an issue at one point where my watch band ripped (it must have gotten caught on something at work). Since it was still in the warranty, Fitbit sent me a new band with minimal hassle at no charge, so that was good too.

BUYER BEWARE!!

This is my second Fitbit in the Charge line; my first tracker was a Charge 2. Just like my first Fitbit, the Charge 3 stopped working after 14 months... 2 months past the warranty (which is two years if you live in the EU). I bought the second tracker because I figured maybe I got a bum tracker... it happens. But then the same issues began with the new one in the same time frame as the old. It starts with the screen slowly getting lines of blank pixels-- first one row, then two, until it looks as if one is viewing the screen through louvers. Eventually, the screen will go completely black. Fitbit customer service (terrible, by the way) will give a list of "magic tricks" that will remedy the issue, but none work. At this point though, even though the face stays black ... MoreThis is my second Fitbit in the Charge line; my first tracker was a Charge 2. Just like my first Fitbit, the Charge 3 stopped working after 14 months... 2 months past the warranty (which is two years if you live in the EU). I bought the second tracker because I figured maybe I got a bum tracker... it happens. But then the same issues began with the new one in the same time frame as the old. It starts with the screen slowly getting lines of blank pixels-- first one row, then two, until it looks as if one is viewing the screen through louvers. Eventually, the screen will go completely black. Fitbit customer service (terrible, by the way) will give a list of "magic tricks" that will remedy the issue, but none work. At this point though, even though the face stays black it will still track activity which can be viewed in the app (which has issues of its own). What good is a tracker if I can see the screen to start tracking a jog, or look at heart BPM, or hell even the time? I don't always carry my phone on me. Eventually the tracker will no longer sync to your phone and that's it-- dead. Fitbit's customer support honest to god told me that the best fix for me was to go and buy another tracker-- which I WILL NOT be doing. I don't feel that I should be spending $170 (after tax) for a fitness tracker every year. I wore my Fitbit everyday as I would a regular watch. My profession does not require me to do physical labor, nor am I an extreme sports type of guy -- I jog, walk, hike, swim, play tennis. My point is that my tracker is not abused or misused, and I never left it on the charger overnight. Bottom line, this tracker is great when you first start using it, and the app issues, while frustrating, one can get past them. But be prepared to buy another one shortly after the warranty expires. According to Fitbit customer service that's the best way to fix your issues.

Good to go

Although 'refurbished' it was easily linked to my existing Fitbit dashboard, on my laptop. Haven't yet managed to make it vibrate at 10mins before the hour to tell me how many more steps I need to take to achieve to get my total for the day. (I have checked that the Fitbit unit actually vibrates itself.) Came with original box, charger cable, and a strap with standard and larger options, in dark grey. This tones well with the rose gold unit, making it a stylish everyday wear. Charges quickly and retains the charge well so I only have to recharge it about once a week. Using the Fitbit app I was able to change the style of display for the clock/date/steps on my 'home' face. Feel this was a 'good buy' after offering only 1 more than last offer and about 55% of the cost ... MoreAlthough 'refurbished' it was easily linked to my existing Fitbit dashboard, on my laptop. Haven't yet managed to make it vibrate at 10mins before the hour to tell me how many more steps I need to take to achieve to get my total for the day. (I have checked that the Fitbit unit actually vibrates itself.) Came with original box, charger cable, and a strap with standard and larger options, in dark grey. This tones well with the rose gold unit, making it a stylish everyday wear. Charges quickly and retains the charge well so I only have to recharge it about once a week. Using the Fitbit app I was able to change the style of display for the clock/date/steps on my 'home' face. Feel this was a 'good buy' after offering only 1 more than last offer and about 55% of the cost of a new unit.

Google has ruined Fitbit; Charge 3 useless

This tracker would be decent if I could actually see the screen. I lost my Charge 2 which worked much better than this one purchased at least two years later! Considered purchasing a new one until my research uncovered the fact that Google’s acquisition of the company had led to REMOVING several features I guess in an effort to push customers to their Pixel Watch.Way to go, Google! You have made any remaining items subpar to the competition. I won’t buy the Pixel Watch because I don’t like the Android interface.You’ve given me no other choice than to have to purchase an Apple Watch after being a Fitbit customer for nearly 20 years. I don’t even really like Apple that much but at least their products have the features I’m looking for: READABLE screen, ECG, MUSIC ... MoreThis tracker would be decent if I could actually see the screen. I lost my Charge 2 which worked much better than this one purchased at least two years later! Considered purchasing a new one until my research uncovered the fact that Google’s acquisition of the company had led to REMOVING several features I guess in an effort to push customers to their Pixel Watch.Way to go, Google! You have made any remaining items subpar to the competition. I won’t buy the Pixel Watch because I don’t like the Android interface.You’ve given me no other choice than to have to purchase an Apple Watch after being a Fitbit customer for nearly 20 years. I don’t even really like Apple that much but at least their products have the features I’m looking for: READABLE screen, ECG, MUSIC support, etc. The battery life isn’t great, but st least it should be USABLE.

Great features, beware faulty hardware

I've owned my charge 3 for a year and a half. I was super happy with it when I got it, because it motivated me to be a healthier person through sleep tracking and step goals, and the battery life is amazing! The way it tracked workouts made me want to run harder! I'm definitely in much better shape due to this device, and it's been helpful as a smartwatch that shows text messages and allows you to accept or deny incoming calls, but...If you purchase a fitbit device, I highly recommend getting the insurance due to the hardware problems. Warranty only covers one repair/replacement(fitbit doesn't distinguish between the two) for a year, and you may need more than just the one replacement within a year. I did. The band is not that durable and the screen is sensitive ... MoreI've owned my charge 3 for a year and a half. I was super happy with it when I got it, because it motivated me to be a healthier person through sleep tracking and step goals, and the battery life is amazing! The way it tracked workouts made me want to run harder! I'm definitely in much better shape due to this device, and it's been helpful as a smartwatch that shows text messages and allows you to accept or deny incoming calls, but...If you purchase a fitbit device, I highly recommend getting the insurance due to the hardware problems. Warranty only covers one repair/replacement(fitbit doesn't distinguish between the two) for a year, and you may need more than just the one replacement within a year. I did. The band is not that durable and the screen is sensitive to water and lots of sweat, despite it saying "splash resistent" in the features. To specify, my band broke after 7 months of use, and I had to claim warranty to get a new one. On the fitbit forums, it's mentioned that this is a common issue. Flash forward another 8 months, after my screen got wet from washing my hands, black lines cut off the display so that "10:58 am" looks like "0:5E." I never had that issue with it reacting to water like that (even accidentally jumped in the shower with it on a few times and it was fine), so I assume it was due to long term exposure to sweat and water. Guess what? This is another common issue. Sometimes you can resolve this with resetting it, which is the apparent cure-all for customer support, but oftentimes it's a hardware issue that needs replacing.I tried to contact fitbit again to get the screen display fixed, but unfortunately, even if you are willing to pay for the repairs out of pocket, they will not fix your device unless you have warranty or insurance.So, now that my device is broken and fitbit support won't help me, I have to purchase a new fitbit. I would have thought my charge 3 would at least last as long as an iphone would without breaking, but no. With everyday use it can and will break, and you better hope you still have your warranty when it does!So, summary, Be Careful with your device and water, and Get The Insurance! The $16 fee to get the 2 year insurance is much cheaper than spending $100 on a new device. And trust me, you will need it.

Great value , accurate and very low power

This is an additional, second purchase of an additional Fitbit charge 3 bought first for wife.Pros; every lightweight easy to wear and excellent battery life between charges (around a week) Also unlike competitors this recharges fairly quickly.The distance measuring application (with cellular phone assist) I found to be 99.5% accurate compared to a precision GPS watch .The heart rate sensing and measurement is also very good and the web interface works quite well and is easy to assimilate.The device is easy to use with the single button once you get the hang of it , moving between screens, which are uncluttered and easy to read which is useful when you in a hurry.I have been using this for continuous swimming and is waterproof as describedCons------The ... MoreThis is an additional, second purchase of an additional Fitbit charge 3 bought first for wife.Pros; every lightweight easy to wear and excellent battery life between charges (around a week) Also unlike competitors this recharges fairly quickly.The distance measuring application (with cellular phone assist) I found to be 99.5% accurate compared to a precision GPS watch .The heart rate sensing and measurement is also very good and the web interface works quite well and is easy to assimilate.The device is easy to use with the single button once you get the hang of it , moving between screens, which are uncluttered and easy to read which is useful when you in a hurry.I have been using this for continuous swimming and is waterproof as describedCons------The swimming distance measurement is not as accurate as desired as others have reported. This is especially true if you mix strokes and swim in shorter pools/laps.It is probably much more accurate over a longer distance if you solely swim freestyle/crawl, the software is probably geared to recognizing this signal motion.The software needs to be optimized for breast stroke and backstroke as well.This a side the one weakness we found was the fragile glass mounting , the first unit was dropped several feet (only) causing a fracture in the corner (hence purchase of second unit) but it does still work two months later and interestingly the crack has not increased unlike many cell phones. Obviously this unit is now not used for swimming .I would ideally score this product 9/10 or 4 1/2 stars on features and battery life and for the price it i sway ahead of the competition.

Product’s length of life is extremely disappointing!

Charge 3 is great when it works & while it lasts. These things are pre-programmed to die after the 1 year warranty expires (planned obsolescence) so they can sell you another one for nearly $200. At these prices you’d hope they’d last at least 5 years! I have a 30 year old Timex sports watch in my jewelry box that still runs, but my fit-bit’s have only lasted 20 to 26 months & I’m not alone in this experience! Fitbit admits the problem is in the hard drive, but won’t cover it. You’d think after this many years they’d have the “bugs” worked out, but the “bug” has been put there intentionally- so it’ll never be “worked out”!!I’m a 5’3” tall, homebound, woman with low to normal weight- so it certainly doesn’t receive any heavy duty use & was fully charged routinely ... MoreCharge 3 is great when it works & while it lasts. These things are pre-programmed to die after the 1 year warranty expires (planned obsolescence) so they can sell you another one for nearly $200. At these prices you’d hope they’d last at least 5 years! I have a 30 year old Timex sports watch in my jewelry box that still runs, but my fit-bit’s have only lasted 20 to 26 months & I’m not alone in this experience! Fitbit admits the problem is in the hard drive, but won’t cover it. You’d think after this many years they’d have the “bugs” worked out, but the “bug” has been put there intentionally- so it’ll never be “worked out”!!I’m a 5’3” tall, homebound, woman with low to normal weight- so it certainly doesn’t receive any heavy duty use & was fully charged routinely according to the instructions! Because of suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis- (ME) & postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), I use it to track my heart rate & sleep. Initially I had problems getting it to sync with the Bluetooth- so for months I couldn’t get any of the app information without spending hours of trying one fix after another & repeating the processes until at some point it magically worked! Then, I enjoyed about 8 months of it working like it should until the screen abruptly went black! None of the “fixes“ worked- so I gave up & had to look at my iPhone app to see what was going on! Then it wouldn’t take a charge, but after purchasing a new charger for a hopeful fix, it still didn’t work. So I threw it out & reluctantly purchased another one! I’m looking for a different company this time!

was nice for a while

Worked very well for about a year. The strap broke and I bought one for half the price on Amazon and it lasted longer. My texts and calls stopped coming to my Fitbit after a while, and I did all the troubleshooting steps and it still didn't work. Whatever. Then after 2 years, the screen just kept getting dimmer and dimmer and dimmer until I can barely see it indoors. Outside..not a chance. When I'm on a run, I have to completely guess because the screen is so dark. I brought this to the attention of customer care, and of course my warranty is done, so they offered a 35% discount on a new device. I really don't want to have to a buy a new Fitbit every two years, so I am giving it one more chance and then moving on. I love it when it's working properly, but that ... MoreWorked very well for about a year. The strap broke and I bought one for half the price on Amazon and it lasted longer. My texts and calls stopped coming to my Fitbit after a while, and I did all the troubleshooting steps and it still didn't work. Whatever. Then after 2 years, the screen just kept getting dimmer and dimmer and dimmer until I can barely see it indoors. Outside..not a chance. When I'm on a run, I have to completely guess because the screen is so dark. I brought this to the attention of customer care, and of course my warranty is done, so they offered a 35% discount on a new device. I really don't want to have to a buy a new Fitbit every two years, so I am giving it one more chance and then moving on. I love it when it's working properly, but that doesn't really seem to last.