ECG not available in my country

[EugeneBo]

I bought Fitbit Sence. It was stated on the site that it supports ECG. That was one of the reasons to buy. But the watch says that ECG is not available in my country. Have I been deceived? Have I paid money for something that isn't there? is there a way to restore justice?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Odyssey13]

Hi @EugeneBo  the information on which countries can be found here - click to read. It is also on the page showing the Sense information - click. You were not deceived, as the information was available on the Fitbit site. Not sure what you mean about justice being restored.

[EugeneBo]

Thanks for the reply! I didn’t find any disclaimer that ecg is not available by clicking the link you provided. It states there’s ecg and other function I can buy for 279 usd. Maybe they had to put it in capital letters on the main page to warn everyone. Otherwise it’s called fraud. 

[t.parker · Accepted solution]

@EugeneBo in the first link scroll to the bottom, there is Availablity section and all countries listed.

[EugeneBo]

I think that the watch should be cheaper in case when some functions are not available 

[KKTSPORE]

I am in the same predicament as you. Indeed watch should be cheaper. And in support chat, no one can enlighten if the ECG app will be ever available in my country or if they have even submitted it for authority approval. Sad case of "buyer beware". 

[luren62]

I agree. I have had a Fitbit for over 10 yrs. I am thinking of switching to a Garmin! I’m so dissatisfied with the sense! Paying for features that are not even available! They shouldn’t sell it in the countries where the feature isn’t available! 

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello everyone. @luren62 Nice to see you around. 

I'm sorry for any inconvenience caused and thank you very much for taking the time to provide your feedback. Please note that our team is always working to enhance your experience with the Sense and your feedback is a big part of that process. 

On a side note, I appreciate your patience but we currently don't have a time frame when the ECG app will be available in other countries. While I understand how much you'd like to use this feature, my best recommendation is to keep an eye to the Help Forums or the Press Release for future updates about this or any other feature availability. 

See you around. 

[ansideris]

Well maybe you should get a time frame on ECG availability and advise your customers. I honestly didn't think of going through the pages of the site prior to purchasing Sense. Thanks for the advice, it is most useful as I'm looking to buy another smartwatch (no point in keeping Sense without all its features).

[FuzzyFizzy]

I found out the hard way too. After comparing between Sense and another famous brand, I settled with sense. Definitely one of the biggest (and expensive) mistake of my life. For limited features, couldve just gotten other brands. Huge let down!! 

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @ansideris. Welcome to the community forums. @FuzzyFizzy Nice to see you around.

I'm very sorry for the inconvenience and thank you very much for taking the time to provide your feedback. Please note that any feedback posted in the forums is always welcome as it helps to improve our products, services and overall environment. 

See you around. 

[AndrewFB]

Just found out the same thing. Pretty disappointed to find out as it was the main reason for buying the more expensive model.

It's not even that the feature isn't available, that's out of Fitbit's control, but that there's no label on the box saying it's not available in my region. Every box has a bunch of stickers all over it, there's no reason it can't also have a 2 cent sticker saying ECG NOT AVAILABLE IN THIS REGION.

After looking at the box again, it has a footnote number 2 beside the ECG feature text and in tiny, barely readable text on the side that is covered by another sticker it says it's not available in all regions.

That's why it feels fraudulent because it looks like they try to avoid people finding out until they try to use it. I can't setup the afib test either, the button to accept the setup is greyed out and I can only quit the setup.

I recently found out I have a heart problem and researched a lot about different features for weeks across different watches and narrowed it down to watches with an ECG feature, there are no warnings on marketing pages saying the feature is region-restricted. The Apple Watch ECG is region limited too but it's supported in my region where Fitbit isn't. Apple Watch ECG is approved in 147 regions, Fitbit in 30 regions.

I guess I just have to play the waiting game and hope it becomes available at some point or save up more than double the amount of money and buy an Apple Watch.

[LZeeW]

@AndrewFB   Are you in the return window to return your Fitbit?  There's no way of knowing when the ECG feature will be released in your region.

[AndrewFB]

Yes, I bought it today so I could return it but I don't have a good alternative option after returning it. The Apple Watch is more expensive than I want to spend and I don't know if the Asian brand devices have the same ECG issues. All I could really do is downgrade to a cheaper Fitbit with just heart rate monitoring and if ECG support arrived in a few months, I'd have to buy the more expensive one again, which would cost more in the long run.

I'm finding the working feature set of the Fitbit to be pretty good. The always-on display is nice, it's comfortable to wear, it seems to have good battery life so far and I can monitor my heart rate in real-time on the watch face. I've already seen the heart rate issues from watching it today. It's just disappointing to be missing out on some of the main selling points of the higher-end model without knowing exactly why it's blocked in some regions.

If it's a software block, maybe there's a way to bypass it? Maybe the ECG app can be installed directly. I wouldn't mind applying a patch to let me run an ECG to see what the outcome is, even if it's only once or twice. I had one done at the hospital and it flagged up an abnormality so I wanted to see if the watch ECG would provide more info.

I never expected an app like this to need approval, it just seems strange that the whole feature would be blocked. Government regulation is so stupid sometimes. Surely they could require a message saying the measurement take by an uncertified app or device is unapproved rather than preventing it from being used at all.