Switching from kid to parent view

[Roni_S]

When in kid view and you want to switch back to parent view, you need to enter a password and then instead of actually switching you back, it completely logs the parent out of the Fitbit app!  Why require a password if you then have to log back in again with email and password from scratch?!

Moderator edit: subject format

[SyncProblems]

Agreed. Completely disappointed still.
Fitbit should refund all purchase moneys. In my opinion.

Sent from my iPad

[NicF]

Just got my kids Fitbit ace 2. Can’t switch to kid view. Spent an hour on the phone to Fitbit this morning and felt like I was being fobbed off. Anyone out their had any success? I was told they were working on the problem and I was just to keep trying periodically. I have done the usual turning off and on, reinstalling app and restoring to factory settings. Even set up a new child account. Would appreciate responses as will return them as faulty if no fix. We all use Fitbit and have had no previous issues, so it seemed like the obvious step to get the kids up and running on Fitbit. 

[TeamGrammyGirls]

I moved the kids accounts (their DEVICES) to my iPad and removed them from my iPhone.
It worked!! Like you, I was frustrated and a mess, but this has worked like a charm.
Now I can view their stats in “My Family” on my iPhone and they get to do their stuff on my iPad to sync and play the family challenge games.
Hope this helps!
Don’t give up. It’s SOOOOO much fun having a Fitbit household.

Sincerely,
April (Grammy)

[Erica6623]

I totally agree. It’s awful. I have three kids and it’s extremely tedious going back and forth millions of times. I just want to see everyone’s data and not have to enter a password. Majority of the time little kids are the ones using ACE’s so why in the word would they have their parents phones and be contacting friends, etc?? Older kids would want regular fitbits not kid ones.

Same happens to me and it’s two years later!

[Krnew2]

I completely agree!!! Why isn’t there a parent dashboard so we can see everything at once that is connected. The logging in and out is an absolute pain. It’s nice they have the kids bands but the app is very frustrating to say the least. 

[Erica6623]

Totally agree!

[Jonathan808]

Looks like our feedback simply doesn’t matter as Fitbit reps have just paid lip service. Too bad because I have three children and I just got an Ace 3 for one of them 2 weeks ago to see how easy it would be to use. Having to constantly log back in to see my own profile is a real pain so I’m returning the Ace 3 and none of them will get Fitbits until this is resolved.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @Jonathan808 , there is a workaround if you would like to try a little further.  You can set up a second Fitbit account (if, like most of us, you have more than one email address).  Set up your Fitbit on one of the accounts and your child’s Fitbit on the other.  Then you can leave your account permanently set on your view and the other on child view.  If you are using only device, you will have to log out of one account and log into the other, but that is quite quick and not subject to the issues of switching back and forth that you are experiencing.

Just a thought!  I appreciate that this is a workaround and not as it is designed to work.

Welcome to the forums.

[FbitUser5321]

I agree. It is cumbersome. Even more so than what you describe, other usability issues present themselves during this whole flow.

[Jtalant]

It’s been 4 years since this post and literally nothing has been updated. The kids fitbits don’t sync unless the parent is logged in near their child. And then you have to log out, back to the parent view, just to switch to another kid. How have there been no fixes when this has been an issue for so long?? Makes me regret buying these for my kids. 

[TeamGrammyGirls]

No kidding! I bought one for both of my granddaughters and they don’t wear them anymore because of this. If Fitbit can’t get a fix made I don’t think any parent should buy Fitbits for kids. And I am an avid lover of Fitbit so I say that with a very heavy heart.

[Spc337]

I just received a Fitbit for my birthday and thought it was good to start getting in better shape.  My kids were interested so we bought them ACE3s.  I was a little disappointed that I had not read the product info to notice it didn’t have a heart rate monitor (turned on).  Ideall that would be a parents choice since the device actually has the sensor, it’s just disabled.  But the frustration with switching between Parent and Child views is what brought me to this thread.  Not only is the user experience complete crap but it’s even worse with multi factor security turned on.  As a software engineer, I can’t fathom who came up with this design (fire them).  But since this thread started in 2018 without a solution being provided, I would say the entire community engagement team should reconsider their career choices.

what a joke and sadly very disappointing.

[halocline]

+1

The lack of an HR monitor on a $80 fitness tracker is shocking. Especially because the hardware appears to be present in the device. I could buy 3 or 4 no-name trackers for the same money and all would provide HR tracking.

However, while this is frustrating the app experience for a parent managing multiple kids is appalling. You'd imagine there would be a family "leader board" showing everyones activity for the day, but no such view thing exists. Simply trying to see how many step your kid has taken at the end of the day requires switching to kid view, syncing the device, and then back to parent view. And since there's no face ID or other biometric integration that means entering your password for each child (great way to encourage weak passwords!). And even after doing all that there's still no family activity view so you're out of luck to have some healthy competition or encourage conversations about what people did that day.

The age of this thread would seem to indicate that FitBit simply don't care. They're happy to sell premium priced devices -- likely priced that way because they include unused hardware/sensors -- and then underinvest in the app experience that would make the devices a compelling part of family life and encourage repeat business/customers. I'm going back to the no-name trackers who may not have the app quality, but their UX for families leaves FitBit in the dust.

[jamstin090492]

omygosh sameee! Tell me about it! I got 5 kids, 1 only got a phone coz shes a teenager, the rest i dont allow phone so 4 of them plus mine is connected my phone. Hard to sync all the time 😭😭😭