Interacting with Alta

[ErickFitbit]

So you've got yourself an Alta and are wondering "where's the button?" Check out how to interact with Alta!

• How do I view the time on my Alta? 

You have 2 options to view the time on your Alta. 

1. You can use Quick View to wake up your Alta's screen without touching the tracker. Just turn your wrist towards you and the time will appear for a few seconds.
   
   
2. The other option is to double-tap your Alta where the band and tracker meet. This will illuminate the Alta and display the time and date (depending on the clock face that you've selected as default).

• How do I view my daily stats?

To view your daily stats just use Quick View to bring up your clock and then single tap the Alta where the band and tracker meet (as seen in image below) to toggle between your steps, distance, calories burned and Active Minutes stats.

Alother way to do this is to double tap on the Alta to bring up the clock and then single tap the Alta where the band and tracker meet to toggle between stats.

• What's the best way to tap on my Alta?

With a bit of practice, you'll find the best way to tap on your Alta. We advise aiming toward the bottom of its display, and not tapping too hard or too softly. You shouldn't have to hit it with any significant pressure, but you should feel the tap lightly on your wrist.

Make sure to give your device time to react - you shouldn't ever be tapping more than once or twice per second, and may need to pause a moment after your tap before you see the device react. If you're having trouble, try slowing down your taps.

Video below:

[Wendyloug]

Ugh. Horrible 'tapping' design. Nothing consistent. This is going back tomorrow!

[saravara]

I got rid of the Flex because of the whole having to "tap" it thing.  It was way too sensitive... to the point if I was driving down a very bumpy road, it would put it into sleep mode.  Incredibly frustrating.  Went to a Charge just about a year ago (yay, the button!), but not entirely happy almost a  year down the line.

I'm reading a lot of people commenting on the tapping thing.  Is it as big an issue as it seems?  I like the idea of swapping out bands, and the sleaker design but the thought of having another issue with tapping makes me incredibly hesitant to get one.

I'm very interested in the thoughts of those who have an Alta, and the mods.

[Dugster]

So I completely disliked my Alta at first, mostly because of the tapping thing. But now it seems easy and I've decided it's a keeper. The trick I've found is to just tap it on the side ( easiest is the side closest to my hand ) and it works every time. I give it a pretty good hit and can can cycle through the info. Give it a try.

[Julia_G]

I don't have an Alta yet, but I have been following the forum from the first announcement. I think a lot of the issues people were experiencing with the Alta was a misunderstanding -- it is definitely not a touch screen which many people seem to have thought.

[andrea_nyc]

@Julia_G, no one here thought/thinks it is a touch screen.

[Julia_G]

Actually in the first few days many people did think exactly that.  There were numerous posts indicating that their "touch screen" wasn't working.  I answered quite a few of these posts.  Others thought it was a THUMP screen and complained that it hurt them every time they needed to check something!  My impression is once people realised that they needed to tap in a certain way and on a certain place on their tracker, most people got pretty comfortable with it.

[ErickFitbit]

@Dugster Have you tried the suggestions for interacting with the Alta that I posted about here? Now that a couple of days have passed since you posted, what has been your experience?

@RoseMarie157 Check out @CindyFitbit's post here about swimming with Alta.

@Wendyloug Did you try the suggestions here? That should help you figure out how to properly use the tap gesture and Quick View feature.

@saravara As the Alta uses tap gestures and Quick View, it may take some time to learn the proper way to use these features. Have you had a chance to check out my lead-in post? It describes how and where to tap on the Alta in order to display the clock and scroll through your daily stats. It initially took me a couple of days to learn exactly how to tap and flick my wrist to get my Alta to display what I wanted to see but it has now become 2nd nature.

@andrea_nyc Surprisingly, lots did think it was a touchscreen display. 

[jillromine]

I was able to get it going by downloading the fitbit app on my laptop.
However, I'm returning the alta. Didn't care for the flicking of my wrist
and a very sensitive tap screen. Thank you for checking back.

[Dugster]

Yes, look back a few posts and you'll see I've figured out how to get consistent tap response.

[Harrysmum]

Can anyone tell me if you can change the amount of time the display stays on for once you wake the Alta up?

[Wendyloug]

Yes, I followed the link and tried your suggestions and the suggestions of many others. It is a very poor design. One should not have to thump and look for sweet spots to get to the proper screen. I never assumed it was a touch screen, but seriously, having to thump around a few times and/or turn your wrist 2 or 3 times to turn it on is poor design. I returned mine today. And when I did, I was told I was not alone in my experience. I downgraded to the Fitbit One. Had rather have a slim wrist piece but am happier with a product that works every single time with the click of a button. Thanks for trying.

[ErickFitbit]

@Dugster Thank you! Glad to hear you were able to figure it out. 

@Harrysmum The way I currently keep it on is to continue tapping. There is no option for adjusting the display timeout. That would be a great idea to post in our Feature Request board!

@Wendyloug Thanks for your feedback, I will make sure to pass it along to the appropriate team. Glad to hear that you stayed in the family with the One.

[fitbee.orlando]

I got my Alta yesterday and I can see the watch when I move my wrist but nothing else.

I did already the re-start but it does not work

[kasidrea]

Thank you!  I've not been able to consistently get results by tapping, but your advice to tap at the bottom where the band meets the display is the tip I needed to change that!

[Jargga]

Thank you so much for the tip. I was frustrated with my display reaction, I tried this and it works so much better!!!!   Now I dont get so flustered while I am trying to run and check a notification 🙂

[cmdedee]

The ultra is the most un-user friendly device. Tapping works occasionally I have to tap all over n still does not work half the time and the steps are way off. I was so excited to wait n get this one verses the HR and I'm so DISAPPOINTED in it!!!! Putting the band on each time is ridiculous. I don't understand how instead of improving on things you went in the opposite direction

[Vision61]

I just received my device two days ago and I was frustrated with the constant thumping. I did find that when I tap the silver part of the sides (top or bottom), it displays the info easily. I only need to tap it softly and it will display the various stats. Also, had a problem with text messages not displaying the full message but I changed from using my deluxe message app back to my default message app and it works fine now. My only issue now is the 250 notification. I feel the vibration but I never see anything cross the screen

[ErickFitbit]

@fitbee.orlando @cmdedee Did you attempt to double-tap the Alta where the band and tracker meet, as explained here, yet?

@kasidrea @Jargga You're welcome! I'm glad that my suggestions helped improve your experience. Thanks for sharing that. 

If you're experiencing trouble with clasping the Alta, check out the tips that we've posted here.

@Vision61 Check out the "How to Interact with Alta" post as you must either double-tap or use Quick View to view the Reminders to Move. The Alta will not illuminate unless you interact with it. Let me know if that helps.

[bettecrockerba]

I returned my Alta

[smj34]

I was struggling, too. Tried tapping all over. I had to restart due to problems recording steps. Now it seems to be more responsive to taps, too (it kinda makes sense if it wasn't recognizing most of my steps and was overstating sleep/inactivity). Tapping now (near the bottom of the screen) works just great. You can find out how to restart in one of the Help articles...essentially plug in and press the button on the cable 3 times. So much easier than all the previous trackers.