Fitbit app isn't compatible with my Android phone - Android 6

[Gizmoe55]

Greetings,

Just got a new fitbit Inspire2 and as the quick start states, I downloaded the "Fitbit app" and wouldn't you know it will now work on my Android phone. There is actually a message in Red that says this version of the app is not compatible with this phone. Has anyone else had this issue? Can you suggest a fix? 😤 TIA!

Woops,

On my prevoius meesa I meant to type the fitbit app will NOT work on my Android phone. 

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity.

[Odyssey13]

Hi @Gizmoe55  what version of Android are you using?

[charleskn]

https://www.fitbit.com/global/us/technology/compatible-devices

[Gizmoe55]

Hi Odyssey! My phone has version 6.0.1. Thanks for your question! 

[Odyssey13 · Accepted solution]

@Gizmoe55  there is no fix for this. Android 10 is now required for setting up a new device and using the Fitbit app. Anyone in your family with a compatible smartphone they would let you use to set up?

[Gizmoe55]

Thank you Odyssey13. That's quite unfortunate. Us older customers don't tend to upgrade to the newest phones year after year. I'm very lucky to have rec'd this watch as a gift. I can probably exchange it for another product. Too bad Fitbit went with this idea. 

Thank you very much for your feedback! 🖖

PREVIEW

[LokeAa]

For the record, we cannot blame all things on FitBit. All OS has an "End of life" for Android 6 it was in august 2019. Your phone hasn't received any security updates since then, and you should consider a new phone. 

[Gizmoe55]

On the contary. The Android 6 is operating as well in all other apps except for the Fitbit app. Fitbit could certainly make their app comprehensive enough to accomodate older phones if the wanted to.

It's O.K. I'm DONE with Fitbit anyway! 

[RodrigoMFitbit]

@LokeAa @Odyssey13 @charleskn Thanks for your input and explanation. Greatly appreciated!

@Gizmoe55 Welcome to the forums. Thanks for your feedback regarding the Fitbit app. Let me elaborate on what @LokeAa meant. All OS (Operative Systems) such as Android and Windows will update over time. It is too demanding and time consuming to keep releasing updates for all apps and features for all OS versions. That is the reason the developers will then no longer keep on updating the apps for previous OS versions. 

Mobile-device security resides in the software more than it does in the hardware. That's because hardware changes somewhat more slowly, and also because the kinds of attacks most prevalent in the past several years have focused on stealing money rather than exploiting hardware. So if you no longer get security updates on your phone, it means that Android no longer has you covered against digital threats. If you have important and private information on your smartphone, I would consider getting a new phone to protect your data. You could read the following article to get an idea of what it is all about: What are Android security updates, and why do they matter?. 

[Gizmoe55]

Greetings Rodrigo!

I appreciate you taking the time to clarify what LokeAa meant. And thank you so much for the link you provided for Android security updates. Have a great weekend.