I do not have a Fitbit but bought my daughter an Alta HR.....

[Jessjess1530]

My 10 yr old daughter has been asking for a Fitbit for 2 years. Oy. I finally just purchased one - for her birthday - it is an Alta HR. I had no idea there were age limits or a kids version/the Ace, until I tried to set it up on her device. (I do not have a Fitbit of my own, didn’t know I needed one to be able to get one for her!) So, per the instructions, I then went to my own device and downloaded the app, set up the Alta HR, then went to settings and created a family account, and added my daughter. Then, went back to her device, logged in my account as directed, went to family - clicked on my daughter’s name then to add a device, and the “Ace” was then the only option showing for her there. I tried going back into my own phone & deleting this new Alta HR Fitbit from my account, but it still will not show up on hers. Can Alta HR NOT be set up through “family” ?? I find this slightly ridiculous. After all, many parents are retiring their old devices and giving to their children - so how are they doing that? I think ANY Fitbit should be able to have this option as part of the software. Now I’m stuck with a way-too-expensive bright coral strap of “no use to me” technology, and my daughter cannot actually have and use her bday gift. If multiple accounts can be shared on one device as I read in this forum, why can’t my child use the device I bought for her/setup for myself/added her to family then tried to set up for her?? Someone please help. There’s got to be a way. And no I can’t return or exchange it.  Thank you. 😕 

[Bunnybear_05]

It’s been stated on here amthat the family account is only for kids who have the ace and other members ( family who wants to join in with them with their “ adult fitbits”)

what you can do, given that you don’t have a Fitbit anyways, is set her Alta up, lie about her age( not a big deal). If she has a iPad/amazon fire tablet...or a old compatible phone of yours. 

Or set it up on your phone and she can use that to check in. 

[LZeeW]

@Jessjess1530  I am sorry that you are facing the frustration of buying a gift that you cannot return.  But to shed a little light on the "why this and why not that?" issue, you must understand that the data that is collected must comply with COPPA, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.  I do not know if Fitbit will ever develop the software to allow other trackers to be on a Family Account.  For the time being, the Ace is the only children's tracker. 

And to clarify, one account will support multiple different devices.  Multiple accounts cannot be shared on one device.

If you have a compatible phone, you can set up your phone to be your Fitbit, as long as it supports Mobile Track, and then your daughter can have her Ace.  Here is a link to Supported Devices .  Make sure your phone supports Mobile Track -- if you are an android user, this can be tough, as many phone support the app, but the phone hardware does not support Mobile Track.

@Bunnybear_05  It is a violation of the Terms of Service to set up an account and lie about the child's age.  If you are in the US, a child must be 13 an older to have his/her own account.

[Bunnybear_05]

I know it does. But realistically, many people would make it their decision as their child’s parent to decide what’s appropriate when it comes to such terms. Personally, I’d rather not throw away perfectly good money and let my kid use the Fitbit under my account and supervision. 

[KateFitbit]

@LZeeW - thanks for assistance and through in-depth response. 

@Jessjess1530 As mentioned in the thread, in the US and Canada, for purposes of child privacy and protection Fitbit requires that all registered users be at least 13 years old. Fitbit Ace features and configuration have been designed especially for children 8 years and older and is the only tracker that can be set up through a family account for a child.  

[RobN10101]

@KateFitbitI am facing the same situation as the original post.  Are Fitbit intending to extend the app to work with other models such as the Alta HR, in the kids mode?  This limitation is very surprising and disappointing.

[KateFitbit]

@RobN10101 Welcome to the Community. Currently, only Fitbit Ace has been designed especially for children. I don't know if that will ever change in the future, but currently only Ace meets all the expectations for children's trackers. 

[Vpos]

HI, I am having this same situation, we bought the HR thinking my son could use it.  So now we will have to get an ACE, but can I clarify, do I still need to have a Fitbit to have an account and thus link him to it? Because the whole point was a birthday present for him so will need to get some money back on the original purchase to fund the Ace...

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Vpos Welcome to our Fitbit Community! I'm sorry to hear about the inconvenience you had with the Fitbit models. Regarding your question, you don't need to have a Fitbit device in order to set up a Family account and your child's Ace.

Please check out this help article which explains how to set up a Family account and your son's Ace.

Let me know if you have any doubts! 

[DramaQueenDiva]

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@Vpos wrote:

HI, I am having this same situation, we bought the HR thinking my son could use it.  So now we will have to get an ACE, but can I clarify, do I still need to have a Fitbit to have an account and thus link him to it? Because the whole point was a birthday present for him so will need to get some money back on the original purchase to fund the Ace...

---

Provided that you can set up Mobile Track on your device, no, you don't need a device to set up your account, and by extension, the Family Account.  

[Vpos]

Yes I have received this same answer from Fitbit support, but could not set
up an account without a device. I have absolutely no idea what Mobile
Track is. Anyway, people are coming at it from the wrong angle, I did not
have an Ace, we wanted him to be able to use the HR. Anyway, I guess it's
a reminder to do your research and we have learned something about kids'
data and privacy.

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Vpos Thank you for your feedback. I appreciate your understanding with this.

@DramaQueenDiva Thank you for your contribution!

[Rich_Laue]

@Vpos since your posting in the community I assume you may already have an account on www.fitbit.com

If so then all you need to do is open the app and log into your account.

[JuanJoFitbit]

@Rich_Laue You are totally right my friend. Thank you so much for your help.

See you around! 

[alprieto]

My daughter just received an Inspire HR as a gift.  She is adult sized, but still under the age where she's supposed to have her own account.  This is very frustrating.  How do I get her Inspire HR to sync to her phone (not mine)?  I want to have my own fitbit sync to my phone, and not have them confused.  

[Rich_Laue]

It really doesn't matter who's phone @alprieto once the tracker is setup it will sync to any phone that has the Fitbit app logged into the proper account. 

The Inspire HR is not designed to be used on a minors account. 

[alprieto]

Thanks Rich, but do I have to log in to my fitbit account on her phone?  Then there will be two phones tracking two different fitbits, but all under me?

[Rich_Laue]

If she is logged into the child's account then her phone will only display the data connected to this child's account

Your phone will be logged into your account, yes you will be able to switch to the family - child's account to check on her status. 

[Melissa_E]

I agree.  As well as - since when is 13 an adult!?  My child will be 13 this summer and still can’t self-care properly, but he’s supposed to have the authority to monitor his own online activity!?