We all know how smartwatches have revolutionized our everyday life. We are now hugely dependent on our smartwatches. Therefore, we panic every time we notice any unusual activity on our smartwatches.
However, as a Garmin smartwatch user, you may notice that the Garmin screen goes dark or the Garmin screen goes off on some rare occasions. If you have already faced any such issues, don’t get panicked. There are very simple solutions to this problem.
Here, in this article, we are going to discuss a few of the most common problems that you may face as a Garmin smartwatch user. We will try to provide the solution to those problems as well.
Here is a related article that might interest you: Which Garmin Watch has the Best Display and Best Battery Life?
So, without further due, let’s get into the problems!
Whether the Garmin screen goes dark or the Garmin screen goes off, you can solve the issue yourself. And here is the complete guideline for you.
Table of Contents
How To Fix A Dark Or Off Screen on Garmin Watches?
If you feel any vibration of the watch, yet the screen remains dark and you can’t see anything on the screen, you can solve this problem by following different methods.
Method 1:
The first method is to force restart the device. To force restart your device, simply press the power button and back button together. Don’t let go of the buttons, until you see the Garmin logo appear on the screen.
Method 2:
If the first method doesn’t work out, this time, try plugging in the charger. Let the device charge for a few minutes, and wait for 3 to 5 minutes of charging until you try again.
Then, just like the first method, press the power button and back button together, until you see the logo appear. Follow the process while the device is still plugged in with the charger.
Method 3:
If you don’t see any results after following methods 1 and 2, then you can try out the next method. Your Garmin smartwatch may get a black screen if the buttons are jammed with lotion sweat or any other liquid.
In this case, firstly, press and unpress the buttons (power button and back button) several times. It will help to loosen up the jammed materials around the buttons.
Then follow method 1 to force restart the device. If the device still remains dark, follow method 2 by plugging the device with the charger. Charge the device for a few minutes, and press the buttons together. Hopefully, the screen will be back this time.
Method 4:
If none of the methods mentioned above doesn’t work for you, then you may have to follow the last option, which is a factory reset. However, one thing you should know is that you will lose all your data once you do a factory reset.
So, be cautious before doing so. You may contact the manufacturer to resolve the issues as well.
However, To Factory Reset, Follow The Next Steps:
- Power off the device by long pressing the power button. The device will power off through a vibration.
- Then press the two buttons on the right side, named ‘start/stop’ and ‘back/lap’ buttons.
- The watch will power on this time, but you should still hold the buttons.
- After that, you are going to hear a beep. After the first beep, you should release the start/stop button.
- And then, when you hear the second beep, release the back/lap button as well.
- Thus the watch will start on factory settings.
The methods mentioned above should solve the dark screen problem of your Garmin watch. If any of these methods doesn’t work for you, then you should contact the manufacturer or the seller or you can bring your watch to a professional.
Have you got further issues with your Garmin watches? You may find the solution to those problems in the next section of the article. So, let’s keep going!
Why Is My Garmin Watch Screen Dark?
There can be several reasons behind the dark screen of your Garmin smartwatch. Firstly, the screen can go dark if you have battery saver mode on. When the battery-saver mode is on, the brightness of the screen becomes low and the screen seems dark.
Along with that, the battery of the watch may have died. In this case, simply charging your device can solve the issue. Besides, outdated software, any third-party software, or even any physical damage can cause your watch screen to go dark.
Related article: Best Garmin Watch And Settings For Crossfit And Gym.
How To Keep The Garmin Screen On Longer?
To maximize the battery life of your watch, Garmin has a very short screen time. You can simply turn on the screen by pressing a button or touching the screen. It improves the screen and battery longevity. However, if you want to keep the screen on for a long period of time, you can do that too.
Follow The Steps To Keep The Screen On Longer:
- Press on the “menu” button of your watch, which is usually on the left side, in the middle.
- Now, scroll down the menu by pressing the “down” button on the left side of the watch.
- Then select “Settings” by pressing the “GPS” button on the right side.
- Then scroll down again by pressing the “down” button. Select the “system” option by pressing the “GPS” button.
- After that, scroll down again and select “backlight”/ “Display”, by pressing the “GPS” button.
- Then scroll again, and select the “not during activity” option.
- Scroll again and select the “timeout” option.
- You will find different timeout options, you can also select the “no timeout” option by simply pressing the “GPS” button.
- However, if you want to change the timeout during the activity, select the “During activity” from the “backlight” option. You can also select the “No timeout” option from here.
Why Is My Garmin Stuck On One Screen?
There are several symptoms. If those happen to your smartwatch, then your screen might have probably locked or stuck or frozen. Those symptoms are as follow:
- The screen is stuck on the Garmin logo.
- The time is incorrectly shown and does not change.
- On the screen, the menu option seems to be frozen.
- Button and screen presses don’t have any effect on the device.
If you have encountered any of these problems, then you might have to do a “hard reset” to solve the problem. However, the hard reset is going to erase all the information stored in your smartwatch like your heart rate, your daily steps, etc. So, be careful before hard resetting your watch.
To Do The “hard Reset”, Follow The Next Steps:
- Firstly, press the power button, and hold it for a few seconds, until the device is powered off.
- Once the device is powered off, press the power button again to power on the device.
- However, if it doesn’t power on, then plug the device to charge it for a few minutes.
- Then, again hold the power button, while the device is still connected to the power source. It may take 10 to 20 seconds until the device turns on.
The whole process may cause a factory reset to your device. So, you will need to set up the device, before using it again.
Why Does The Garmin GPS Screen Go Dark When Plugged In?
Your Garmin watch may take some time or cause the screen to go dark when you try to plug in the device with a GPS system. That’s because the GPS connection may take some time to lock with the satellite. However, the screen may appear after a few moments.
But, if you are annoyed by the process, you can follow a few steps to avoid this problem.
Method 1:
The first method is syncing all the data of your watch with the “Garmin Connect” app. If the data are synced with the app, the watch won’t take much time to connect with the GPS.
Method 2:
You can activate the GPS outdoors, or in a place with less physical interfaces like buildings or trees, etc. This also makes the connection process quick and easy.
Method 3:
If your Garmin watch has more than one positioning system, go to the “system settings”, then select “sensor”. After that select “GPS”, then choose a system that you want to use by simply activating the toggle. That should solve your problem.
However, if the problem isn’t resolved yet, check out the software version of your watch, and update it, if a new version is available.
How Do I Brighten My Garmin Watch Screen?
Just like other smartwatches, you can also adjust the brightness of your Garmin watch. The procedure is also really simple. Just follow the steps, as mentioned below:
- Select the “settings” option from the menu bar of the watch.
- Then scroll down and find the option named “Display”.
- Select the “Display” option, and then select the “Brightness” option.
- Then you can slide the “brightness” bar, to adjust the brightness of your watch.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this article on ‘Garmin screen goes dark or off ’ has been able to save your day!
However, we suggest not to get panicked about your smartwatch issues. Just follow the simple procedures, and hopefully, you will be able to solve the problems.
You can also check your manufacturer’s website to address your issue and get a solution. Apart from this, you can also contact a professional, to resolve your issues.
Best of luck!
As a professional trainer and a gadget lover, I’ve spent a lot of money and time buying wearable activity trackers, smartwatches, and gadgets, and checking them out. My site is focused on helping you with your activity tracking and smart technology journey. I try to provide the most helpful updated content on this subject. Hopefully, you will love my blogs and be a regular around here.
