Fitbit Alta tracking calories burned

[Ahhitsjess]

How can Fitbit call this a fitness tracking device when it doesn't track your fitness?? There is no built in heart rate monitor which literally defeats the purpose of the entire device. You have to manually enter in what workout/machine you used and it calculates your calories burned which can be completely inaccurate. For example, how does it know what resistance setting I use on the elliptical? A level 1 resistance vs a level 7 would elicit a very different calculation of calories burned, which is why tracking HR is so important. So all I know is how many calories I've burned sleeping and sitting at my desk...I feel bad for people who think this device will help them lose weight! Calories burned during sleep DO NOT MATTER, steps DO NOT MATTER. What matters is getting your HR over 100bpm at the very least but nobody would know using this device. If this is what you are looking for, I recommend the My Fitness Pal app for free. Save yourself $100 and your phone battery cause the convenience of getting texts on the watch is no good when your phone dies. 

Moderator edit: Clarified subject 

[MaginB]

Thanks for visiting the Community @Ahhitsjess! 

With Alta you can track steps taken, distance traveled, calories burned, Active Minutes, exercise, hourly activity, and how long and how well you sleep. In addition to tracking your stats, Fitbit Alta also features a clock, a silent alarm, and Reminders to Move.

Also counts with the SmartTrack feature that recognizes continuous, high-movement activities such as:

• Walking
• Running
• Outdoor biking
• Elliptical

You can learn more about the Fitbit Alta in this great post. 

If you would like to have a tracker with heart monitor you can take a look at the Surge, Blaze or Charge 2. 

Hope it helps! 

[fitpersian]

Exactly, I'm not sure what the point of making models that cannot rack your heart rate is. It's completely inaccurate, I can be working out vigorously for hours and it will still say I only have 20 active minutes. A waste of money.

[MaginB]

Welcome aboard @fitpersian! 

Thanks for sharing your feedback, Fitbit is constantly working to improve the user experience. Please remember that minutes are only awarded after 10 minutes of continuous moderate-to-intense activity, you can also find more useful info about active minutes on this article.  

Hope it helps! 

[Jolee80]

I agree @MaginB. I am so disappointed I purchased an Alta. I naively thought that all fitness trackers had heart rate monitors installed. Isn't that the whole point?

This thing is useless to me. It claims that I burn more calories going for a stroll down the street in my lunch break than it does in a half hour CrossFit session where I am gasping for breath! It doesn't recognise the movements at all.

Not a happy customer, Alta's should no longer be sold!

[Mousee1]

For me, I have a Fitbit Alta and its tracks my heart rate, the number of steps, calorie burned, time and date, the distance and the mins I have done exercising. so I am confused why people say it has no heart rate tracker. I find that the fit bit Alta works well for me. it's not too big for my wrist and it's not too heavy. also when the box says it's rainproof, for me once I jumped in the rocks pool in a deep part of water when it was fully submerged and it did not break and I was in there for about 10 mins and it was perfectly fine  🙂 just to let you guys know 

[Mousee1]

sorry.    i got confused with the Alta HR and the Alta Fit Bit