Blaze doesn't work with active zone minutes

[rlc2673]

I used to see my active minutes up until they put in the active zone. Now i get nothing. Customer support says it is only available on the new devices. Their response was to post something here instead of forwarding this to their respective department.  Very disappointed in Fitbit and will consider other smartwatches in the future. 

[MarkMM · Accepted solution]

@rlc2673 The Blaze is nearly 5 years old. It's likely not able to do some of the newer stuff like active zones. What do you want them to do? I know my Blaze doesn't have SP0, and also can't auto pause GPS workouts like even the Versa 1 can. It's just older technology. 

[Rich_Laue]

@rlc2673 no screen shots of your dashboard? 

Do you get any active minutes durring an exercise? 

[Jim1164]

I expected the app to calculate the zones from the data uploaded to the fitbit servers. Why should it matter what device collected the data?

[Rich_Laue]

It matters what device because the older models do not have the same sensors as the newer models. This may be the reason. 

Of course being fitbit users, we know little about the behind the scene data. 

[Jim1164]

We are talking about heart rate data fitting in specific zones for a length of time. This is not a device issue, it's a software placement issue. In other words, the watch should collect the data (those that have HR sensors) and the app should calculate the results. This thread is specific to one issue - the Blaze, which has a(n) HR sensor, not having its data included in Zone minutes. Age of the device has nothing to do with it. It is an arbitrary decision made by fitbit to sell the Sense. BTW, I have both the Blaze and the Sense. I wear them for different reasons and, most of the time, the transition between the two is seamless, except for Zone minutes. The data shows up on the Zone chart, but Zone minutes is 0.

[Rich_Laue]

It really doesn't matter what we are talking about, none of us fitbit users have much, if any insight on the algorithms. 

I know that with every new model, the heart rate hardware gets updated. 

[Jim1164]

I get that fitbit users don't have insight into how these devices work, so maybe it's time for someone at fitbit to chime in. Speculating doesn't help.

[Rich_Laue]

Support rarely posts anything in the community. You could contact support and they will quote the user manually or the fitbit Help pages @Jim1164. Or we can go to the help pages ourself.

According to the Blaze User Manual, it monitors Active Minutes, not Active Zone Minutes. 

Active Zone minutes are on trackers that are running the Fitbit OS. 

What are Active Zone Minutes or active minutes on my Fitbit device? 

How do I earn Active Zone Minutes

• Earn Active Zone Minutes for time spent in the fat burn, cardio, or peak heart-rate zones. To help you maximize your time, you earn
• Active Zone Minutes for each minute you’re in the cardio or peak zones. Heart-rate zones are personalized based on your fitness level and age

Active minutes looks at the users activity, rather than depending on the HR. Since not all of the older trackers record HR. 

How do I Earn Active Minutes 

Earn active minutes through 10 minutes or more of continuous moderate-to-intense activity.

How does my device calculate Active Minutes

Fitbit devices calculate active minutes through metabolic equivalents (METs). This metric, which factors in your body mass, is used to estimate exercise intensity. METs are calculated through a ratio (source😞

What is a MET

1 MET is the rate of energy you expend during rest or sitting quietly, while you typically expend 3 METs or more during a moderately-intense activity such as walking. You earn active minutes for activities at or above about 3 METs.

[Rich_Laue]

Basically, the Blaze lacking an operating system does not have Active Zone Minutes. 

[Jim1164]

This is why I said the watches (Blase, Sense, etc.) should only collect data and leave the app, whether web, pc, phone) to do the calculations. That way all resonsibility for advancements (e.g. Zone Minutes) fall on the app and all the watches become backward compatible, if they have the appropriate sensors, of course.

[MarkMM]

@Jim1164 My Versa 1 didn't have zone minutes until a firmware update last October or so. Zone minutes is on the watch, not the app or server. 

[Jim1164]

I get what's wrong - the Zone Minutes are calculated by the watch. I don't dispute that. I'm just saying fitbit should have the app process the data, whether in addition to or instead of the watch, to be backward compatible. That way, for example, your Versa didn't need the firmware update. I have both a Blaze and a Sense. I understand that my Blaze does not have Zone Minutes, and I don't care about that. What I do care is when I use my Blaze and sync its data with the app, which has Zone Minutes, that the data from my Blaze gets added to those Zone Minutes and when I move to using my Sense, that those Zone Minutes sync to the Sense.

[MarkMM]

@Jim1164 That's kind of like a feature request. Nothing gets done as easy as making a post about it around here. You would have to make a thread in the feature request section, and get like thousands of upvotes to get Fitbits attention. 

Otherwise, this is just a community forum. We are just users like you, with Fitbit moderators around to keep the piece as well as help with minor issues.

And as old as the Blaze is, you rarely see moderators in this section anymore. 

That would be cool if they did that, as I have a Blaze too. But I don't see it happening.

You haven't been able to change the Blaze clock faces on the IOS app for Months now and Fitbit knows it. But there has been no updates or solutions.

IMO they are not real concerned with the old Blaze anymore.  

[rlc2673]

yeah, when I tried to talk to fitbit about it, they said to go this route. I am sure it was just to get rid of me. I hate that these companies do not support older devices and just expect you to dish out more money for newer watches when there is nothing wrong with them. My wife and I both had blazes, but will not buy another thing from them until they show concern for their customers. If they are not going to fix the active minutes issue then bring back the old dashboard and be done with it. At least give the users the option of which dashboard they want.

[Rich_Laue]

There already is a thread for active minutes on all devices. With 32 votes. 

However we have people who love and others who hate active minutes. 

No, it is usually around 600-700 votes when a request starts to get active that will attract the attention of the developers. 

[Jim1164]

I agree. Fitbit needs to do what it can to promote customer loyalty by making at least their app backward compatible. That's all I'm asking. I don't care that my Blaze doesn't have Zone Minutes, so I don't need fitbit to release an update. Fitbit users will buy a new watch when they need to, they shouldn't be forced to because a new watch has a new "fake" feature - face it, Zone Minutes is nothing more than organizing heart rate data into "zones" and all watches that collect heart rate data can be included.