New Fitbit Accounts with Existing Supervised Google Account (Documented with Photos)

[MetalDave]

I've read through a good portion of the pinned thread on this forum, and it doesn't appear that FitBit or Google have been able to address the issue.

Short story:  I have a Supervised Google Account for my 9-year-old which works great for YouTube and all the other Google apps.  We just purchased an ACE 3 (the first Fitbit product we've ever bought).  Per the instructions that came with the ACE 3, we downloaded the FitBit app, and we signed in with my account.  When I try to add the ACE 3 in the Fitbit App, I get the following message:

Fair enough.  My child's Google account is already setup and ready to go.  She's even in my Google Family Link as a Supervised User.  This should be very straightforward, but it's not.

When we attempt to sign-in using my child's Google account on the iOS app, we get the following:

When we try to do it via the website, we get a similar error:

Available documentation on the Fitbit site pertains to converting legacy Fitbit or Fitbit Family accounts to Google Accounts (a subject following the purchase of Fitbit by Google).  However, this does not pertain to existing Google users who are new to Fitbit.

After reading through the pinned thread, it appears this issue has persisted for over 6 months.  It's well documented in other threads as well, so my information is a bit redundant at this point (albeit I'm providing the photo receipts to prove it).

[MetalDave]

One community member put it best, and I quote:

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@Harry_V wrote:

Hey everyone fitbit is turning a blind eye to all of this. Your child does not need their own device you can have them login to your device. That's not the issue here. The problem is super simple but no one wants to acknowledge it. 

• Fitbit Ace 3 requires child account
• New Fitbit accounts have to be Google accounts
• Google requires child <13 to have a supervised account
• Google does not allow supervised accounts to login to the Fitbit app

Google has basically bricked every single Fitbit Ace Device out there. 

---

This appears to be the most valid summary of the situation.  In light of the lack of response by Fitbit (who I am sure has their hands tied by Google developers not addressing the problem), the most valid solution would be to return the device to the point of sale and warn others not to purchase.

For the record, this issue is not only restricted to the ACE series of devices.  Apparently, parents have purchased the more capable Fitbit devices, tried, and failed to similarly add the devices to the supervised child.  In short: Google has created an issue wherein their Supervised Accounts cannot used Fitbit devices, and they have not addressed this issue in over 6 months.

In a competitive landscape where wearables are becoming increasingly the norm, Google is "kneecapping" Fitbit in the marketplace.  I'm a first-time purchaser, and this will be my last.  I'm sure I'm not alone.

[MetalDave]

I spent an hour on Support Chat with Fitbit and went through the motions.  I even used my child's device to isolate the problem to a different device.  Same result.

It's a chicken-and-the-egg / cart-and-horse situation.  Per Fitbit, we must use a child account to add an ACE device, but Google insists a Supervised Account (i.e. Child Account) cannot be used with the Fitbit app.

I have a ticket and was told it would be escalated.  I was recommended to call their 24/7 Support Phone Line where I could ask to reference my ticket to speak to a supervisor.  I'll keep trying for the sake of the community, but I'll let you know if I hit a dead end.

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Spent some quality time on the phone this morning looking to escalate my case from the chat session the night before. I now have an e-mail thread with support that has allowed for sharing of information. I have yet to have the case escalated as they are attempting to take me through the same troubleshooting steps we utilized during the chat support session.

I'll keep you posted.

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I think it's important to note that I would not be working so diligently on this if it weren't for myself being put into the same position as the hundreds of other families that have experienced this issue over the past six-plus months.  We're trying to give our child a great gift this holiday season, and we're going to have to disappoint them because of a very arbitrary conflict between two different authentication systems.  My goal is to identify this issue clearly and bring it to the attention of those involved (Fitbit and Google) to correct what should be a simple fix.

In my estimation:  Google just needs to put Fitbit on their list of apps authorized for use with Supervised Accounts (i.e. Children).

[MetalDave]

They did send me a list of steps which I have not previously seen within the available online documentation:

Before continuing with your kid’s device set up process, please be sure of the following:

1- You have a Google account
2- Your kid has a Google account
3- Your kid has his/her own phone (only needed for the set up process)
4- You have downloaded Family Link app on your phone
5- You have downloaded the Fitbit app on your kid's phone
6- Both devices (your phone and your kids) are up-to-date. 

If you confirm the previous, please try the next:

1- Open the Family Link app Family Link. Here, you will be able to create a kid Google Account for your child if you didn't do it before
2- At the top left, tap Menu Menu and then Add child .  
3- Follow the on-screen instructions.  
4- When you're done, you'll get an on-screen confirmation.  
5- Download the Fitbit app on your Kid's device   
6- Sign in with Google using the Kid's account email   
7- Accept and continue with account terms   
8- Ask A parent to help click next   
9- Then tap on privacy information for kids in Fitbit... accept and continue 
10- Parental consent pops up... enter your parents password and tap accept 
11- Continue to enter the kid's information and set up the Ace device.

If you see that the kid's account is supervised and the process does not let you to continue, let's try to stop supervision. To stop supervision with a parent's device:

1- On your parent device, open the Family Link app  .
2- Select your child.
3- Tap Controls  Account Settings  Account Info.
4- Tap Stop supervision.
5- Follow the on-screen instructions.

Stop supervision with your child's device If you added supervision to your child's existing Google Account, your child
can also turn off supervision themselves. If your child turns off supervision without your permission, you'll be
notified and their supervised Android devices will lock temporarily. Important: To stop supervision on your child’s
device, it must have Android 7.0 or higher.

On your child's device, open Settings:

1- On Android versions 8.1 (O) and later, tap Digital Wellbeing & parental controls.
2- On other Android versions, tap Google  Parental controls.
3- At the top right, tap More   Stop supervision.
4- To verify you are a parent, sign in or use your Parent Access Code.
5- To turn off supervision, follow the on-screen instructions.

https://support.google.com/families/answer/9055704?hl=en#zippy=%2Cstop-supervision-with-a-parents-device%2Cstop-supervision-with-your-childs-device

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us or visit help.fitbit.com

The steps provided are consistent with the steps we attempted during my Support Chat.  I did use a secondary device (an iPhone we'd dedicated for my child's use), and I downloaded the Fitbit app to that phone.  Our Google Supervised Account is setup in the Family Link app (also found via the Family Link web portal).  We get stopped at Step 6 of the second set of instructions.  When we attempt to sign-in with the Supervised Account, we get the error page we shared previously:

This error is generated from Google and indicates the Fitbit app is not authorized for use with Supervised (i.e. Child) Accounts.  This creates a catch-22 wherein Fitbit will not allow adults to add ACE-series devices to their accounts, but Children are not allowed to use the Fitbit app (because of Google's restrictions).

I sent the above in my reply to their troubleshooting steps, and I'll keep you posted on what happens next.

[MetalDave]

I just wanted to add an update to give you the status of my case with Fitbit Support.  They circled back around to ask if I would create a new Supervised Google Account via the Google Family Portal.  I asked them to clarify if the intent was to test to see if new accounts would work whereas my existing account will not.  I went on to further indicate this would be a less desirable work-around (creating a second Google account for my single child) than addressing the underlying problem (Google needing to allow Supervised Accounts - existing or new - to use the Fitbit app).\

My response to their request is below:

This sounds like it plays into the hypotheses that existing Supervised Google Accounts are, somehow, not being
allowed to access / use the Fitbit app whereas a new Supervised Google Account may be authorized.
Is this your suggestion?

While creating a new Google Account may be a viable work-around, I have stopped short of trying this.  First,
I think it’s a waste of resources to create a second email account for my child.  Secondly (and most directly),
it doesn’t address the underlying problem. Wouldn’t it be more efficient to address the issue with Google and
resolve the issue for the existing accounts?

I can, certainly, try setting up a new Supervised Google Account, but I don’t believe this was the intended
solution from Google’s perspective.  Can we please escalate this to their attention?  It would make this
experience far easier and more desirable for your user base, and, ultimately, it's the right thing to do for
the customer. 

[JackGman]

This is the EXACT problem I am having with my 10-year old daughter.  I'll follow the progress here to see if they ever fix it.

[MetalDave]

It's been a few days since I sent that prior message to support, and they did respond with their intent to escalate the matter accordingly.  As I haven't received a response, I sent another message:

Good morning.  It's been a few days, and I wanted to see if we had any success
in escalating this issue to the Google Developers.  Again, it appears Google
needs to authorize existing Supervised Accounts to authenticate and use the
Fitbit App.

Alternatively, Fitbit could alleviate the matter and create a workaround by
allowing ACE Series devices to be paired with adult accounts.  While not
desirable from a business-case perspective, this would provide some level of
satisfaction for the consumers until the Google authorization issue is resolved.

Being the only way to use an ACE Series device is with a youth account, it's
critical that one or the other of these solutions is quickly implemented as
we're in the throes of the holiday season, and I'm sure that, from a corporate
strategy perspective, Fitbit does not want a whole lot of unhappy children this
holiday season.  That will translate to loyalty and consumer acceptance issues
with those children's parents.

As always, I'll keep you posted on my progress one way or the other.

[Naydar]

I'm also running into the same issue on my phone when trying to add a supervised google account through the Fitbit App. However, I was able to find a workaround by following the instructions on https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/2346.htm under the section My child has their own phone or tablet. Obviously, this requires that your kid has a device where they can install the Fitbit App using their own supervised google account. I did this on each of my kids chromebooks and it worked. I hope Fitbit/Google finds a permanent fix.

[JohnMike418]

This workaround doesn't work because it's not possible to remove supervision from kid account (less than 13yo).

[Tonik243]

Merci Metaldave pour tes démarches durant le temps des fêtes. Je viens de passer plusieurs heures du 25 décembre en passant par toutes ses étapes afin de faire plaisir à ma fille et aussi car ce cadeau est vendu au Québec à 80$ et plus sans aucune mention de ce problème qui a été identifié sur des forums depuis plusieurs mois voir année. J’aurais jamais pensé qu’une entreprise comme fitbit/google laisserait traîner un problème de la sorte en proposant aux utilisateurs le jour de la marmotte! Merci encore et joyeuses fêtes! 

[sggatecl]

This whole experience has been very disappointing but I thank you for putting in so much legwork to address the problem.

Unfortunately if this hasn't been fixed in 6 months, it clearly doesn't have priority with Google.  Would rather return the watch while I can rather than sit on it and hope it gets fixed.

[TGGW]

Any good word on this? I'm about to start a return to the Google Store for the Versa 4 we got for my 11 year old because he isn't ready to be unsupervised just yet. 

[sggatecl]

I tried one last time this morning before I returned my son's Ace 3.  No change, still need an unsupervised account.  Disappointed.

[Bokya]

I spent since Christmas to fix my niece Fitbit ace3 now I’m heartbroken because she is disappointed that she cannot wear it I’m back in forth with cannot log in to this Google account to log out I tried everything nothing happens I give up I just waste my money and time to this issue they give the same instructions over in over and I said don’t work 

[MetalDave]

@Naydar I did add my child's Google Supervised Account to their own, dedicated device (iPhone), but this does not bypass the issue.

To further clarify, my child's Google Supervised Account existed prior to working with the Fitbit app.  We are located in the North American region (USA).  When trying to add the Child Account, we're required to use the Google authentication.  Google currently does not authorize Supervised Accounts to use the Fitbit app.

That said, the last word I received from Fitbit Support was to try and create a new Google Supervised Account.  This may work, but I don't really want to have a second Google Account for my child.  It seems like a perfect waste when all that needs to happen is to have Google authorize these accounts to use the Fitbit app.

@Naydar - Please clarify if you're in the same region, using new Google Supervised Accounts, etc.

[MetalDave · Accepted solution]

This seems to be the end of the road with Fitbit.  I received this response on December 16th:

We'd like to take this chance and apologize for the disappointment and
inconvenience this has caused, this is not the experience we want you to have.
We acknowledge your feedback and rest assured, this won’t go unnoticed as we
want to ensure that we are delivering on what our customers need and want.

We reinforce that checking the case with the specialized team from fitbit, it is
necessary for you in this case to create a new account and if you want to
contact google you can do it with the following information:

How do I reach a human at Google?
Contacting Google Support via Phone Call

According to Google, you can contact Google customer support via phone by
dialing 1.866.2.Google or 1.866.246.6453 or 1.650.955.6653. This allows you to
talk directly to a live person and can be used for any problem related to
Google's product suite.

other options:

follow the IVR options below: Dial Google's phone number 1.888.5.Google
or 1.888.570.1595 between 6 am and 5 pm PST, Monday through Friday, and
choose your language. For other Google products, please call 888.570.1595 from
your phone.

My response:

Thank you for your response.

Although I've chosen to dedicate time and effort to work with your Support Team
through your troubleshooting processes, this is above and beyond what can be
reasonably expected from your customers. For a consumer, the most expeditious
recourse is to simply return the product for a refund and explore other options.
There is absolutely no incentive (nor should there be an expectation) for a
customer to reach out to your parent company, Google, and solve the problem.

This is a problem Fitbit needs to address; Don't try and make this the
responsibility for your customers. It's unfortunate this message is not being
received by the appropriate parties within your company, and I will do my best
to reach out to your corporate offices with the information contained herein.

In summary, Google Supervised Accounts are not authorized to use the Fitbit app.
As these accounts are required for users under the age of 13 in North America to
use the ACE series product, this is something that needs to be addressed by
Fitbit with their parent company, Google. Creating a second Google Supervised
Account for a child that already has one is not an acceptable workaround and
would, assuredly, be seconded by Google themselves.

Again, I suspect the issue is just not being communicated with Google by Fitbit.
This is your responsibility, Fitbit Support Team. Please take this seriously.

Thank you.

[MetalDave]

To follow-up:  I am returning the Fitbit ACE product and the various accessories I purchased. 

I'm very disappointed that I couldn't convince Fitbit they could and should fix the issue with their parent company, Google.  I certainly gave them the time before the holidays to take action, and they attempted to put it back in my hands to resolve with Google.  I helped them gather the appropriate data, and the Fitbit Support Team doesn't seem to be willing or able to do anything with that information.

[Bokya]

I Purchase versa 4 and I returning it going to change for another smartwatch. Seems like Fitbit don't  care I always recommend Fitbit to all my friends and family in europe Asia and US now I told them do not buy it because Fitbit don’t .

[Paoloflo]

Thanks for the screenshots, it's confirming that I wasn't going crazy.  

I've had no issues with my son's Ace 3 for a year and decided to get my daughter one too.  At the same time, I figured I'd move my account from Fitbit to Google.  That proved to be an irreversible error.  

[ctech2124]

I am in agreement with the frustration with this thread.

I purchased a Fitbit Inspire3 for my 16 year old and I also received the same error:

Can't use Fitbit with this Google Account

This could be because you're using a Google Workspace account, or because your account is supervised.

Learn more about using Fitbit with a Google Account

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It appears, however, @Taekwondoforfun 's solution worked for me: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Ace-Family-Accounts/Cannot-setup-Fitbit-device-for-child-under-Googl...

1. Remove supervision from your child's account (you may need to reboot the phone after doing this)
2. Setup the fitbit as normal (using the now unsupervised account).
3. After fitbit is setup and syncing between the phone and the device, add Parental Supervision again ( Settings > Google > Parental Controls or something like that).

So far it is working for my supervised child's account.  Who knows if it will keep working.