Alta HR not tracking sleep stages.

[eawinnyc]

I’ve read other posts. I too am not getting consistent readings of sleep stages. Yes the band is set properly on my wrist. Yes the HR is charged. Yes my heart rate tracks all night. Given everything I’ve read, could it be that Fitbit is having a software problem?  Any thoughts?  Any suggestions? 

[Westchesterwalk]

Same here.

[SleepingBesuty]

Ferdinand the Fitbit moderator replied to this problem in August 2018. It is now Jan 2020. I just bought an Alta HR to track my sleep. It worked fine for the first night, and nothing but the blue bar in the second night. What’s up with this, Fitbit????

[SunsetRunner]

I have had the same problem for several months now (Alta HR and only get simplified sleep). Have had countless email conversations with tech support and tried their every suggestion, none of which has solved the problem. Product still under guarantee but they refuse to replace it as they say the problem isn’t the watch but the app. Yet my sister has same model bought 2 months earlier than me and doesn’t have this problem. I bought this product specifically to track sleep which is what it claims to do. If it fails to do that then it isn’t fit for purpose I should be entitled to a replacement or a refund both of which have been refused. Fitbit shouldn’t be getting away with this. 

[Westchesterwalk]

Hi,

Very similar to my experience — so I went to Amazon (where I bought the Alta) and within hours they offered replacement device. It hasn’t come yet but I’m hopeful. I think.

Anyway post something on social media and see what happens. They really do have a problem.

Thanks for being in touch.
Sent from my iPhone

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[Westchesterwalk]

Try social media; if you bought it from Amazon post a review.  I struggled with this for months and they finally agreed to replace it.  Mine gave sleep details less than 50 % of the time.

[SunsetRunner]

 Thank you for your suggestion about Amazon. I contacted them and they are sending a replacement.  Very happy now  and keeping fingers crossed that the replacement works okay ! 

[kgabelsb]

I chatted with Fitbit support on 1/10 and the person submitted a "ticket".  Unfortunately, I had not read this forum thread at that time.  It appears to me that this is an ongoing problem that they have not been able to resolve.  I have always bought my Fitbit directly from the company, but after reading above, I am going to order a replacement from Amazon since my Fitbit Alta HR is out of warranty.  I did not have a problem getting sleep stages and scores until 5 days ago, and now, even after restarting my Fitbit, it is still not showing sleep stages and scores.  Hopefully, a new one will work.  I love the information I get from this Fitbit and would like to have one that does what it is supposed to do.

[KTMoye]

I did the exact same thing--ordered a new Alta HR from Amazon after speaking with FitBit customer service. Got my new FItbit Alta HR yesterday from Amazon and set it up. It also does not track sleep score--same problem as with my "broken" one. I was also told by fitbit to sit tight and wait until it was resolved. I decided to return the ALta HR back to Amazon and try an Inspire HR instead--again from Amazon. Thankfully they are easy to work with. If this does not work, I will try a cheaper LetsFit product instead. Or spend more money on a Garman and be done with Fitbit. 

[KTMoye]

Well my replacement came yesterday, and it also does not track sleep correctly. That did not solve my problem. I am going to try an Inspire HR to see if that works. 

[KTMoye]

Has anyone tried a LetsFit tracker? Surprised at how much cheaper it is for similar features. 

[Westchesterwalk]

I did persuade Fitbit to replace my Alta HR that I had purchased from Amazon. Having trouble with the replacement!

I will say the value of buying through Amazon is that you can go back and post a review—which is what persuaded Fitbit to replace mine.

Good luck!

Sent from my iPhone

[Westchesterwalk]

To clarify—Fitbit replaced my device, but only after I posted a negative review on Amazon. Sorry for the confusion.  The replacement has not worked consistently but it’s only been a few days.

[kgabelsb]

Thanks, everyone for these additional posts.  Now, I am more frustrated than ever!  I went ahead and ordered from Amazon and mine will be here on Tuesday, but now, am afraid it may not work either.  I did additional research, and I see that Fitbit is not selling the Alta HR any longer, it has been replaced by the Inspire HR.  And, the reviews and comments indicate that the Inspire can potentially have the same problem.  Ugh! I will post back here later next week on how my new one works.  At least, I can be aware of the problem and return to Amazon within the replacement period if it doesn't work out of the box ...

[SunsetRunner]

Thought you might be interested to know the sequel to my problem. Amazon were very good and replaced the Fitbit 3 days before 2 year warranty expired.

I deleted the app then reinstalled it and registered the watch under a new email address and nickname so there could be no ‘electronic contamination ‘ from my previous device (which I duly returned to amazon)

Have used it for 3 nights now and feeling very annoyed and frustrated. All these steps have made no difference. First night simplified sleep, 2nd night recorded properly but reading changed back to simplified sleep after a couple of hours, 3rd night simplified sleep again (despite reset and fastening strap tighter and slightly higher up wrist)

Can only conclude it must be down to the wearer even tho it all worked fine for first 18 months. When I next see my sister who has same model we will try swapping over for a couple of nights and see what happens. We live in different countries so it won’t be for a while

Hope you have better luck. Maybe now that Fitbit have been acquired by google we might get more sense out of them. It’s really not good enough to keep fobbing us off with no proper explanation

[KTMoye]

I had not thought of swapping devices with my husband...he has the same model and has had no issues with his. 
I am returning both Altas to Amazon and have ordered the Inspire HR--should arrive tomorrow. Hoping to have better luck with that model. 

[ConnieV1950]

I think there's more to this than faulty trackers.  I have the Alta HR and it worked fine for about 6 months then it stopped tracking sleep.  I tried all the fixes on their website but nothing worked so I called support.  They did something that fixed it and it worked fine for a few nights then stopped tracking sleep again.  I repeated the steps and the call to support fixed the problem but again only for a short time.  After the fifth time in about 2 months I gave up and started looking for a different model.  About 2 weeks later, without doing anything to it, it started working again and I've had no trouble with it for 4 months now.  I don't know what the issue might be but I think there's more to it than Fitbit is telling us.

[SunsetRunner]

My husband has just suggested wearing watch upside down with its face against underside of wrist where pulse is strongest rather than on top. Will give it a go tonight and see what happens!

[kgabelsb]

Yes, I agree.  It would be very interesting to get information from a software developer.  My device worked for 7 months, and has not worked for the last 5 days.  I do see the heart rate logging on the Heart Rate page and I can see that it is being recorded up to midnight on one day and after midnight on the next day, so it doesn't seem as if the heart rate is not being logged.  Not knowing what the Fitbit algorithm is and how it calculates sleep based on heart rate and movements, it may be difficult to narrow down the problem area.  And, then, to complicate matters even further, it appears to be an intermittent problem that doesn't affect all users any specific time.  Apparently, the algorithm needs further refinement ...

[kgabelsb]

Interesting suggestion.  I am going to try it tonight too.

[kgabelsb]

I don't see how it can be the wearer since many of us have had a device that worked for some time, then stopped working.  It seems to me that it has to be the device or the software.  Maybe if the problem is solved for the Inspire, it will also fix the same problem on the Alta.