Fitbit Blaze support

[MissToned]

If Fitbit has decided to leave the Blaze community blazing behind and not cared about, they should at the very least allow the users who still very much care to develop watch faces but the developing app does not work with Blaze.  

It is ridiculously unprofessional and unsupportive for Fitbit to forget a whole community.  

So disappointing...

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity 

[RicardoFitbit]

Hi @MissToned, welcome to the Community Forums! Sorry for the delayed reply.

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and personal experience with your Fitbit device, I understand your situation and how frustrating this matter can be for you. I'd like to let you know that we are always striving to improve the Fitbit experience with our products and services, therefore, the feedback that's shared here in the Community Forums is always appreciated and really helpful for us.

Keep in mind that even though our Fitbit Blaze was discontinued, this doesn't mean that we forget or do not provide support for such product. Don't hesitate to contact me back if you require assistance or if you have any additional questions for me to answer.

See you around.

[SamMurano]

Hi,

Speaking of blaze discontinued but still supported.

At what point could fitbit decide to stop supporting the device on a software standpoint ?

Everyone knows that there's no standalone mode for the blaze (fitbit devices generally speaking), and it's a real catch 22 from my point of view.

For everyone of us who have a blaze (i just bought a brand new one), what garantees us that if our watch is still working in ten years (optimistic guy here), fitbit or must i say google will continue supporting the device (from a software standpoint)

My understanding is that we're tied to fitbit/google goodwill about the device and they could force us to abandon that device whenver they want.

It's not that the blaze is a good tracker, it's just because it looks unique that i own it....and you can customize the hardware a lot.

If at least keeping the old version of the app would garantee support but yet, the app needs to sync with the web at some point.....

True or not ?

[RicardoFitbit]

Hi @SamMurano, welcome to the Community Forums too, sorry for the delayed reply.

I totally understand your concern about the Fitbit Blaze, the input that was shared in your post is really appreciated. At this moment I'm unable to let you know when we will stop providing support for our Blaze users or if this is going to happen because we still provide support to devices that were released several years ago. 

Don't hesitate to contact me back if you need anything else, I'll be around.

[SamMurano]

Hi Ricardo,

Thanks for the prompt reply.

What is the oldest product fitbit software still supports ?

The problem it that the blaze is one of its kind: the design is simply genius.

The other problem is that for me it's a a watch with goodies

And from fitbit it's yet another healt-tracking device.

I'm pretty sure that there's a lot of people like me who bought the blaze for it's ambitious futuristic design with a lot of harware configuration options.

What i'd like to send as a message to fitibit is: the blaze is going to become a useless masterpiece of art and design if fitbit drops its support for it.

and for sure fitbit will lose a lot of credibility: being tied to the software is not a good idea.

[RicardoFitbit]

Your update is appreciated @SamMurano, my apologies once again for the delayed reply.

The oldest Fitbit product we support at this moment is Fitbit Zip and One, devices that were released to the market on 2012. I'm really happy to know that you're satisfied with your Blaze, device that was released on 2016 but I totally understand why you're concerned about when we are going to stop providing support for such product.

We are always adapting to the needs of our users and the global market, thanks for sharing your thoughts with us and being part of the Fitbit family.

I'll be here if you need anything else.

[thenameless1]

When did the blaze last receive a firmware update?

When was the last release of clock faces for the blaze?

If its still supported by fitbit/google then why isn't it receiving regular updates like the ionic/versa?

Does supported just mean having a section in the forum?

[SamMurano]

Totally agree  with the fact  that nothing moves for the blaze.

BUT

Imagine that in their database they have your account and mine and many others, and for each of us, we're identified as owning a blaze.

Tomorrow, they could simply, by only  one command, without updating the ios/android/windows32 apps, turn off  support for our blaze...

SIMPLE AS THAT.

And don't even think  about making the blaze work standalone: IMPOSSIBLE.

The only reason i bought the blaze was for it's retro-futuristic look as a "watch-o-phile"...

My project is to find a way to design a similar watch to the blaze, with the same functionalities: foot,heart, activity and so on.

And make that watch able to work standalone.

I'll keep the frame, band, module concept and i'll  ride with it: fitbit have  designed a masterpiece of art and they didn't catch they did it.

missed opportunity.......

They decided to create the ugly ionic and versa,  they'll probably create the apple watch soon.

Bad business decisions.

Indiegogo, here  we  go.

[MarkMM]

What's so great about the Blaze? I find it square and clunky. It was Ok 4 years ago.

Versa looks much more modern. Popping it out of the case to charge it was a sorry design as well. People didn't snap it back properly and lost it. Then it was Fitbits fault.

Heart rate sensor is better on the newer products. I had to average over 10 MPH biking to get activity on the Blaze. With the Versa, I can ride in windy 15 degree weather, not necessarily fast, but calories and activity will count.

More apps with Fitbit OS.

Doubt many agree it's a missed opportunity. Look at the new clockface suggestion thread. Didn't even get enough votes for Fitbit to even remotely take it serious.

[SamMurano]

What's so great...?

It's a matter of taste  only.

This device is simply stunning to my eyes.

The pop-out feature is great: you could combine the module with  any frame  of any form and any colours.

There's nothing that compares really to it on the market.

and you're right: "versa looks so much modern"

What is great about the blaze is the "retro-futuristic" look....

But hey, it's  only  me

[thenameless1]

I think this thread just kind of points out that despite Fitbit saying the blaze is supported it really isn't.

Most if not all of the issues brought up were resolved to some extent by 3rd party products.  The argument could be made that had fitbit supported the product  instead of "forgetting it" and moving on to the ionic that it would be a different situation now.

- Charging: there are various 3rd party chargers out there that don't require popping the blaze out to charge

-Heart Rate Sensor: Fitbit updated the Heart Rate Sensor in the Fitbit OS 4.1. I'm sure if they "supported" the blaze and updated the algorithm in it you would find i just as accurate as the versa

- Clock Faces: I'm pretty sure if it did get enough votes that fitbit wouldn't have provided anymore clock faces. Just look at all the other suggestions that were denied.  Apple Health and Google Fit were denied despite receiving a ton of votes. iOS widget denied.

-Fitbit Bands: Fitbit could have designed a band that totally encompassed the blaze  to prevent any sort of issue with losing the tracker. A lot of 3rd parties did.  Some of the 3rd party bands even did away with the frame.

The included link outlines some of the differences between the trackers

https://www.fitrated.com/fitbit-versa-vs-blaze/

[SamMurano]

I think you're right it's not supported anymore

But i bought 4 of them, because of the look, the removable frame, and all the bands available.

I also bought two external chargers.

Overall, if this was a watch : it would be a really nice watch.

As long as fitbit supports all the blaze they sold (remember that they could do worse than what tehy do at this moment) , it gives me plenty of time to initiate a project for the blaze survival.

Missed opportunity for them.