Your sleep tracking just got more accurate

[StefanieFitbit]

If you’ve noticed that your sleep stages, sleep time and awake time have changed recently, you’re seeing our latest improvement in action. This is the first step in a series of upcoming improvements to improving our sleep tracking — so stay tuned to hear about these changes as soon as they happen. 

We understand that changes in your data can be surprising and appreciate your feedback. 

What changed?

We've updated our tracking technology. This is to provide a more precise measurement of your sleep stages. Our goal is to always give you the clearest and most accurate view of your health.

For example, you may see your awake time increase slightly as we now capture brief awakenings the old system missed. This is a normal part of sleep.

What this means for you

The sleep data you see now is a more accurate reflection of your night's rest. This more detailed data will help you better understand how your body is recovering each night.

We appreciate you being such an engaged member of our community.

[Stormblaze1393]

Fitbit worked great when it was owned by Fitbit and continued to when Google took over. I read a news article about the updates to make it more sensitive then  boom I saw their not so great work. Couple days later Sleep Tracking to bugged to hell. It was already sometimes too sensitive for me. ie I get up to go bathroom, thats ok with the old Fitbit. If I go bathroom and spend a minute a minute to say good morning to my wife. Old Fitbit would keep going but later say I stayed awake from that time! I'd edit the time and sometimes work, sometimes lost the Sleep Stages stats. 

Now after the update I wish there was an option to set it Less Sensitive or how it was before the so-called improvement! No luck just Normal and Sensitive. I've been a Google addict for decades and had a premium membership to Fitbit even before Google bought it. I loved having everything on Google, able to use in most Google products. I'm not a privacy stickler, even joke how Google knows so much about me, it's the Big G. 

I've canceled the membership for now and trying various other Sleep Tracking apps. Thanks to Google Health Connect some can still merge it's data back into Google. Being disabled didn't use Fitbit for it's excersise tracking but sleeping was a big part along with heart tracking and other health tracking. Would be nice to get it back working and have everything on Google then multiple products and trying to merge them back into one.

Screenshots of the new Sleep Tracking after updated. Using a Google Pixel 7 (not A or Pro) & Google Pixel Watch 2. 

[Stormblaze1393]

According to the New updated Google Fitbit I managed to sleep over 20 hours one day, waking up at around 9am in the morning! That day it logged 3 overlapping sleep sessions. It wouldn't let me overlap sessions via Edit times. I guess Google doesn't play by the same rules. 🙄 Looking at the past dates August 13th is when Google broke Fitbit for me. 

August 13th when Google went crazy on my Google Pixel phone & Watch.

[Stormblaze1393]

You're lucky. No such luck here and using all Google. Google Pixel 7 phone & Google Pixel 2 Watch. I've loved Google since way back. This is the first "downgrade" improvement that hit hard for me. Was a paying user but canceled for now. Checking out alternative apps which will likely also ask for a subscription to get the  bells & whistles. I'd prefer to keep everything Google since use most of their services but need something more stable!

[Angelicans]

I woke up to new details in my app. Instead of showing, REM, deep and awake time it now has some lame titles of awake, restless and asleep with no totals other than the sleep timeline, which apparently can't do simple math. Bring back the old one please. This is not what I signed up for. This fitbit has been plagued with issues since Google bought it. I paid over $500 for this to track my sleep properly and despite doing all the tips to get it to show accurately it is still very unreliable. Get it together and fix it or I will dump it and buy a more accurate and reliable brand.

[edheim]

Agreed. In fact, the web based app was far better than the phone app.

[Stormblaze1393]

On my Google pixel 2 watch with the premium membership it would show Awake, Rem (possible dreaming), Light Sleep, Deep sleep. 

It's still does sometimes. Everyday now I get 2 or 3 overlapping sleep sessions with slightly different start and end times. Fitbit now combines those into the total time slept.

Of the multiple sleep sessions one will usually have all the stages. The others have the simple ones as you describe which I think free members get. The extra ones with the simple time I just delete to get the real time... hopefully. Like yesterday Fitbit showed 11 hours but after deleting the second session it really was only five and a half.

For now I've canceled my membership till they fix this and also install other apps like Sleep which can connect to multiple devices and what I used before Fitbit. 

Google also has its app Health Connect which I believe merges data from other apps into its own. Since different apps track different things before I had Sleep and Google Fit data going into Google Fitbit.

[FBBill]

My sleep scores have dropped dramatically. Now says I'm awake much more every night,  even if I do get 7-9 hours of sleep. I haven't had a "good" night, let alone excellent, much at all in the past month or so. I do not like seeing scores in the 60s or 70 s or even 50s. Change back. 

[LawnPaul]

is it possible you have sleep apnea? 

[FBBill]

I don't think so --- the timeline of the lower sleep scores in the past month lines up with the revision that I just discovered here. I had been wondering what's going on, so I went looking and found this thread. Most of my scores have been in the 70s and 80s, although I've had some in the 90s. Now I'm getting mostly 60s and 70s, with some even below that. Seems to be an issue with how it's tracking now.

[Copland]

Sleep apnea @LawnPaul - anything is possible but a sudden outbreak of Sleep Apnea on 23 June 2025 of a number of people using Fitbit seems kind of unlikely.  Besides my raw sleep data in telling me I am getting over 8 hours sleep a night, but the App is telling me that I am getting about 5 hours.  Given that I am feeling well and ready to go in the morning I suspect that I am getting 8 hours of sleep a night.

[LawnPaul]

that could be apnea.

and maybe all the ones posting do have it. they said it is more accurate now. 

out of all the people that use Fitbit, 50 complaining could be the actual data of apnea. i have apnea, and even with the machine i get around 5 hours. both from fitbit app, and the CPAP machine match.

the one's complaining about past data changing, could be that they retroactively fixed the data.

i could be wrong, but still...

[whollis]

Users are used to their results overall and know the ups and downs of nightly sleep.  My scores have now dropped into the low 70s and YTD monthly averages were 82 - 84.  It’s a seriously flawed algorithm they need to admit was a mistake and revert back to the previous 6/23 version.  There are other symptoms of apnea so highly unlikely all of us suddenly “developed” it.

---

I don’t have sleep apnea but a Fitbit Charge user for years. The flawed new algorithm is bs - not validated by experts and people only after 6/24 when they secretly changed th4 algorithm is highly suspicious. They are monitoring feedback and comments on the Forum. I’m working with a tech escalation supervisor and sharing several screen shots weekly of my garbage results. She agreed and is trying escalation to Engineering leadership there is a problem with the flawed algorithm. I would know if I were awake in the middle of the night for 2, 3 and even 4 solid blocks of “awake’ time.

[Glenn47]

This is an unmitigated disaster. I have relied on Fitbit sleep tracking for many years and valued the results. The current results are wildly inaccurate and misleading if you are using them to track sleep health. I also notice that there are no differences between the Normal and Sensitive sleep settings. You should use this new algorithm only for the Sensitive setting and return to the previous one for Normal sleep tracking. If this isn’t changed, this will be my last Fitbit Charge device - there’s too many other options available to suffer with an inferior product. I think Google has gone totally off track for loyal Fitbit users.

[Purrstachio]

I am getting similar responses - between 2 and 3 hours of so-called "Awake" time with sleep scores in the 50's and 60's. I've been using the Fitbit Premium, especially the sleep data for several years now. My scores used to be in the mid-70's to mid-80's. I set up probably 4 cases with Support and tried every troubleshooting technique they suggested with no luck. Finally, an agent told me about this algorithm change. It's awful - please correct it. I am considering not renewing my Fitbit Premium since data like this is worthless. However, my new Pixel Watch 4 will provide 6 months Premium free, so maybe you all can clean up this mess by then.

[Copland]

It seems Fitbit have left it to support to deal with the issues arising from the Algorithm change.  Certainly not one of the Community leaders including  @StephanieFitbit  @CrisVillaFitbit  or @JuanFitbit have been completely silent on the matter although they are aware of it.  They do not seem to be concerned about the changes at all - in fact you can see from the original post here that they are promoting it like it's the new sliced white bread. 

[Copland]

See updates on the issue in this thread https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-6/Sharing-Latest-update-on-the-Sleep-Algorithm-Disaster/m-p/5...

[QRDuke]

I'm out. Purchased another product. (Guess I'll hang on to the watch in
case they ever seem to get it corrected.) Good luck.

[Copland]

Hi All

Here’s a list of all the separate posts regarding the sleep algorithm change in June 2025.  I doubt the list is complete as it only covers the Fitbit Charge 6.  Possibly the moderators could put together a complete list, or combine all the sperate posts into one. 

Better yet, perhaps they could advise the Community as to whether or not Fitbit believe there is any current issue with the sleep tracking accuracy and, if there is an issue, when does Fitbit intend to address it with an update?

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-6/Inaccurate-sleep-on-Charge-6/m-p/5763799

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-6/Charge-6-sleep-data-inaccurate/m-p/5767680

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Android-App/Your-sleep-tracking-just-got-more-accurate/m-p/5779917#M...

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Android-App/Sleep-timeline-June-24-changed-the-next-day-and-sleep-st...

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-6/Fitbit-recently-changed-Sleep-Algorithm-massive-increase-in...

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-6/Sharing-Latest-update-on-the-Sleep-Algorithm-Disaster/m-p/5...

[Copland]

Time to toss my Fitbit in the trash and find a new device that works, thanks for all your amazing help guys @StephanieFitbit  @CrisVillaFitbit  or @JuanFitbit you really are legends!