Many issues with Blaze

[Sassori]

I bought a Garmin Vivosmart HR+ GPS but could not even get the computer to recognize it; I was not going to be spending hours on the phone dealing with "If you have a Garmin product, press Eleventy-four"

It's not what I spent $300 buying a product to do!

So now I get the Blaze; and I have multiple issues.

Tapping on the face does nothing. When I have the clock face with the three icons above the numbers, tapping anywhere does nothing at all. I can swipe forward to "Today" IF I hold down three buttons for ten seconds but then for the life of me can't get the clock face back, no matter which button I push or how many times I try tro tap or swipe. Just the number of steps etc. until I shut down the whole thing or do something else drastic. Tap tap tap, swipe swipe swipe, NOTHING. Buttoms don't work. It should not be this unintuitive!

I should be able to get the clock face back in ONE TAP or swipe. Nothing!

Then, for no apparent reason at all, it stopped logging my sleep. I was delighted that it had the first couple of nights—frankly, it was one of the only reasons to keep it—but I don't really like wearing a device when I sleep, so I only was wearing it to see the sleep function. And of course, last night, when I really wanted it to work, it didn''t log my sleep!

How can I know whether or not it's logging my sleep if I"M SLEEPING? And then when I wake up it's a gamble whether or not it logged the night's sleep? FAIL. Now for the life of me I can't get it to log last night;s sleep. Obviously it WASN'T WORKING ALL NIGHT. How can I depend on something if it just decides to NOT WORK out of the blue?

When I go to settings, I can change parameters, but there is nowhere to press "Save changes" or "Submit." If I tap on the parameter, say, "Bluetooth Classic" and "Pair" and "Off" it just keeps cycling between "Pair" and "Off." I want to pair, but how? No "Save" or "Submit" option.

So badly designed. Now I can't get out of that screen! How do I get out of the settings screen? What, some arcane button combination? It Should NOT be that complicated. (I finally had to Shutdown).

But what really annoys me is that it did not log my sleep last night. Finally, I find a reason to keep the **ahem** thing, and the first thing it dioes is fail.

Please do NOT tell me to call Tech Support. The last thing I am going to do is the "Press One" Hell, talk to some bored guy from the Phillipines and spend two hours on the phone only to be told to send the watch back.

So here I am again in the "Today" screen and I can't get out. Anyone???

[Sassori]

I mean, all of a sudden, I'm in a menu called "FitStar." What is this? IT DOES NOT EVEN DO ONE SIMPLE THING CORRECTLY and all of a sudden I'm shown some ridiculous menu that I will never use ("Cat and crows?" Huh? What a waste of resources!) and the thing won't simply just return me to a clock face without a struggle.

I don't need "Features." I didn't buy this thing to work on my ABS or go on some exercise program designed by Fitbit. I bought this thing to do SIMPLE THINGS WELL.

Log my sleep without worrying about it. Log my walks without having to worry about it. Return my clock face and STAY BRIGHT SO I CAN READ IT IN THE SUN.

Now please: not the "We're sorry you feel this way." Don't be sorry. Just give me solutions without the "Call tech support" answer. I am going to sell this watch before I call Tech Support, so sorry.

[Rich_Laue]

Have you downloaded your manual yet, scroll down, click help then the picture of your tracker, here ypu will find the interactive help guide along with Blaze101 and the manual. There is also access ro help theough Help in the app.
Aa for tapping, it is like your phone, a touch and release.
There isn't any 3 button command, it is the left and lower right for 12 seconds.
The left button is the back button and it will get you out of the Fitstar.
As for aleep thisnt recorded while tou are sleeping but calculated on the server, after waking up. Someone's i find it takes a few hours to show, or clicking through to the sleep logs speed up the process.

[jmattwood]

Have you got the watch in the frame the correct way round? Is it correctly seated?

[Sassori]

Really quickly

(I'm going out to see whether it "tracks" my walk)

The left button does nothing when I hold it down or press it (I am in my "Today" screen with my "Steps" and BPM) and I can't swipe any way to get out of that screen. Plus, it goes black in like, two seconds.

In addition, when it's black, trying to get it to light up for *anything* requires several hard taps or holding down on the screen—very inconvenient when you're walking and just want to have a look at the time.

It should always go back to the clock screen BY DEFAULT no matter what screen you left it in—that is only common sense. It is, after all, A WATCH FIRST.

I don't know how the Apple Watch is, but I would like to sit down with the designers of this one and have a long, long talk.

"Intuitive" is a word they should look up in the dictionary and put Number One on the top of any list they come up with.

I should not need an instruction manual to be able to see what time it is. Sorry.

Quickly: there is still no record of last night's sleep on the server, on my watch or anywhere else.

[Rich_Laue]

I agree it should go back to the clock screen by default, but there whare many requist for the Surge to be changed so that it doesn't return by default. I beleive Fitbit set the Blaze up the way the Fitbit users wanted it, now the users don't like it.
As @jmattwood pointed out, or you sure the Blaze is in its frame correctly?
Two very light touxhes on the display, pressing any button or lifting the arm up should turn tge display on. When tapping hard, if the finger slides any it is not interpreted as a tap

[Sassori]

Thanks, guys, for your replies.

I've calmed down a bit since earlier, but let me just explain my irritation: I had bought a Garmin Vivosmart HR+ with GPS just last week, and had received it.

Now this was the Rolls-Royce of fitness trackers, thought I—I and bought it AFTER I had bought the Blaze just because it had onboard GPS.

But the Vivosmart failed even in an attempt to create an account (without which it does NOT FUNCTION AT ALL!)—I kept getting an error message when I clicked "Submit." Imagine that! Out of the box, a $300 piece of technology fails even to go through one simple step! Then, it refused to connect by Bluetooth to my computer(s).

What was Garmin's brilliant solution? CALL TECH SUPPORT! Yep, that was their answer. Trouble is, tech support these days is NOT what it used to be. You dial the number and then have to navigate a forest of options, most of which tell you to go to their website, and when you FINALLY get a human being, more often that not they treat you like a small child and ask you fatherly questions to which you just say "Yes, yes, I've done that, " and "Yes, yes, I knew that," and at the end of fiddling, restarting, rejigging, moiving to a different room, blah blah blah (TWO HOURS LATER!) they admit defeat and recommend you send the unit back to where you got it.

Only trouble is, when that is an eBay seller, you DON'T HAVE THAT OPTION.

So you can see where I was coming from when I looked at the Fitbit. I was ready to just HATE HATE HATE, but imagine my delight and surprise when it actually logged my walk! Without me lifting a finger! I had no idea it was doing anything, yet it logged my walk TO THE MINUTE and TO THE STEP—I was backing this up aith an analog pedometer and a clock—so I was very pleasantly surprised. THEN, when it actually logged my sleep, I almost fell out of my chair.

So I decided it was a keeper (by the way, the Garmin is all wrapped back up and in its NEW box, hardly touched, for anyone who wants to make me an offer!) and now, it's too late to try to resell it.

But my gripes stand! WHY did it sudenly go on the blink last night, when I was LOOKING FORWARD to getting my sleep results? Is it going to happen again? WHY is the default screen *not just an option*—for those users who don't like it, they could *choose* that not to be an option. But there are no options!

And it can't seem to make up its mind whether it wants to be swiped, or its buttons pressed, or both, or the options reset on a Web page (what the hell is up with that? On this page they list a bunch of options, but then there is no button to go "Save" or "Submit." How do I know that those options have been saved? DUMB. Bad design! (I'm a web designer, so I should know!)

I know: READ THE MANUAL. OR ASK THE COMMUNITY. Or the worst: CALL TECH SUPPORT.

Why should I have to do any of that? A caveman should be able to just turn this on, go "D'oh," and HAVE IT WORK. No manual. No community. No tech support. I'm not applying to pilot the Space Shuttle here. Or even learn a new computer operating system!

Steve Jobs would have a Fitbit, let me tell you . . . this thing would be shards of glass.

All that said, HOWEVER . . . I will FORGIVE IT its transgressions, just because it seems to do ONE THING well; namely, log my walks, which is really why I bought it.

So why can't it do EVERYTHING well?

Now please . . . don't make me go to tech support. It's GOT to be easier than that.

My unit is probably NOT the one in a thousand that "might be defective." So why do none of my swipes work? Why do none of my taps work? OF COURSE I made sure the buttons align and it's set in its frame correctly. That is PRECISELY the type of question I will get from tech support.

I just want:

• For it to be guaranteed to log my sleep, HOW DO I TEST THIS?

• For it to go back to the clock screen whan I want it to. Fine, I'll swipe, But how? Don't tell me I have to push two buttons for 12 seconds. Just tell me "Swipe to the left and it will return to the clock screen."

• For me to be able to get out of ANY screen and back to the clock screen in LESS THAN THREE STEPS. I currently have to shut it down and restart it for it to do that.

See? Not so hard! Not such unreasonable requests.

I'm not going to send it back or sell it—because it logged my walk today. But please tell me how to love it.

[Sassori]

Could the sleep problem be because last evening I changed the option on the "Edit settings" page on the "Sleep activity" sensor from "Normal" to "Sensitive"?

I thought that then it would read my sleep period with even more accuracy. I had no idea that it would not read it at all.

And I found out the only way to "Submit" any new settings is to to recycle the whole web page in my browser.

NOT good web design. Just put in an "Enter" or "Submit changes" button, fellas.

[jmattwood]

There are two possible causes of your issues.

1. PICNIC (problem in chair not in computer)

2. Faulty device.

Only you can address number 1.

Fitbit or your vendor will solve number 2 immediately without question.

[jmattwood]

Whenever you edit settings on the website, there is a reminder for you to synch your device.

If you're running the Fitbit Connect application, you can perform a synch manually, or, if you stay in range of your dongle, it will synch every 15 minutes automatically.

[Sassori]

Fitbit or your vendor will solve number 2 immediately without question.

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I see. And what is your exact defnition of "immediate?" Mine is not two hours on a phone, two days waiting for an email reply, or checking in to posts for replies like yours.

What a non-answer. I guess because you're lacking any real ones. If I thought I needed to contact Garmin I certainly wouldn't be here, would I?

[Sassori]

Whenever you edit settings on the website, there is a reminder for you to synch your device.

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Yes, I FINALLY noticed that. Buried at the bottom of the page in tiny black type amost exactly like the usual disclaimer on every corporate website. Great design, eh? I actualy had clicked on the monitor icons hoping for them to click me through somewhere, but since writing important instructions in almost unreadable tiny type buried at the bottom of a web page is not exactly standard procedure on most websites, I neglected to see those instructions. 

I guess Tiny, Unobtrusive is the new Save.

[Sassori]

I've established that the left button does nothing at all unless pressed with some other button at the same time. It does not send me Back from any screen. No matter how long or how hard (or how briefly or how softly) I press it.

The watch is seated correctly in the frame—I've checked it a dozen times.

Could it actually be that I have the one in 1,000 actually physically defective units? It would figure, with the kind of luck I have.

But the seller (rightly) refuses to take it back or replace it; I've worn it too long already and he is not Fitbit.

[Fands]

purchasing a fitbit on eBay is not the best option for this very reason.  I think that you may have gotten a bad Blaze..maybe you can get a refund through your credit card.

if you want to purchase a fitbit--a retailor is your best bet.  Costco has extended return policies and a sale right now.  Best buy has insurance on the device.

good luck, it sounds very frustrating for you (and many others).

go to customer service for help, they respond fairly quickly.

[jmattwood]

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@Sassori wrote:

Whenever you edit settings on the website, there is a reminder for you to synch your device.

---

Yes, I FINALLY noticed that. Buried at the bottom of the page in tiny black type amost exactly like the usual disclaimer on every corporate website. Great design, eh? I actualy had clicked on the monitor icons hoping for them to click me through somewhere, but since writing important instructions in almost unreadable tiny type buried at the bottom of a web page is not exactly standard procedure on most websites, I neglected to see those instructions. 

I guess Tiny, Unobtrusive is the new Save.

---

Weird, it's across the entire page on my browser, as per the screenshot posted.

Have you contacted Fitbit support by email? They were most helpful when I had a faulty Charge and replaced it FOC without quibble or delay. http://help.fitbit.com/?cu=1

[AngelaMa]

Hello @Sassori welcome to the Fitbit Community! I'm sorry to hear about the issue you are experiencing with your Blaze.  The button on the left side of the tracker is the back button, when pressed it should return you to the previous screen and pressing it two or three times should take you to the main screen with the clock face. If your Blaze is properly placed on the frame and pressing the button is not returning you to the main screen it might be defective. I know about your experience with other company but our support team is outstanding, I would suggest to contact our support team  via chat, email or phone and they will be happy to assist you, also if you want a fast response the live chat is a great option.

Regarding your sleep tracking, sometimes it might take some time for the sleep log to show up on your account after syncing. You can read more about sleep tracking on this help article or ask me if you have any questions.  @jmattwood, @Fands and @Rich_Laue thanks for your cooperation! 🙂 

I'll be around, tag me if you need me! 😉