No built in GPS

[ACT1]

Jeesh - guess the joke's on me I foolishly thought that this fancy new gadget...Supposedly an upgrade from Surge (not!!)- would include this KEY function for runners. What a MISS Fitbit. Major waste of my money. It's sitting on my counter and I use it only for treadmill workouts, or something pretty to wear when going out to dinner. What else would you use it for ??
I literally can't believe that this new tracker- for runners or even walkers, would not include this essential functionality.
#whatwereyouthinking @Fitbit

Moderator edit: title for clarity

[SunsetRunner]

I think the Blaze being cheaper would be a dead give away.

[Rich_Laue]

For onto on the connected GPS see the first post in the About the Connected GPS thread

[Rich_Laue]

If Fitbit put the GPS on the Blaze, the Blaze would be bulky like the Surge.
The Apple Watch is kept slim because the watch connects to the phone's GPS, just like the Blaze does.
I'm not sure about the falling apart, I've had mine since Dec 31, 2014 or 15 months. Yes the strap shows a slight wear.

[FelixFive]

@Rich_Laue "I'm not sure about the falling apart, I've had mine since Dec 31, 2014 or 15 months. Yes the strap shows a slight wear"

Seems a bit disingenuous given the extremely high number of posts you read and respond to... though you are fortunate to have only slight wear on your band, you well know the high incident rate reported on the forums of bands breaking, peeling, bubbling, discoloring, buttons falling off, clasps falling off, etc etc and of users on their second, third, and fourth replacements.

Collectively there have been many reports on the forums and similar incidents with the charge and charge+ also. The additional incident reports on Facebook and Twitter and Amazon and other review sites not to mention those logged directly into Support and the incidents we can assume lead to discontinuation rates all lead to a more responsible answer, "yes, there are users who have experienced their device "falling apart". Thankfully Fitbit support usually gets them squared away with warranty replacement devices, and for myself, I've only experienced a bit of band wear after 15 months"

But to say "you're not sure" flies in the face of the evidence.

[SunsetRunner]

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@ACT1 wrote:

Jeesh - guess the joke's on me I foolishly thought that this fancy new gadget...Supposedly an upgrade from Surge (not!!)- would include this KEY function for runners.

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not a upgrade.

a different model for different needs.

[Rich_Laue]

look at where is positioned on these boards, right below the Surge.

[Rich_Laue]

@FelixFive saying I'm not sure does not fly in the face of evidence. For one it is mostly only those having problems that post here. This fact alone will bias the reader heart on believing the problem is greater than it really is. Two we don't know how many devices are on the market, or how many, what percentage where replaced and for what reason. Not knowing the picture, but knowing a dozen who have bought the Blaze, I'm unable to see the extent of the problem.

Three I'm sure their are people that when their tracker has problems. They look at the bottom of the page, read the warranty, then find they have no reason to post here. The warranty answered their question.

[Racerx67]

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@Rich_Laue wrote:

@FelixFive saying I'm not sure does not fly in the face of evidence. For one it is mostly only those having problems that post here. This fact alone will bias the reader heart on believing the problem is greater than it really is. Two we don't know how many devices are on the market, or how many, what percentage where replaced and for what reason. Not knowing the picture, but knowing a dozen who have bought the Blaze, I'm unable to see the extent of the problem.

Three I'm sure their are people that when their tracker has problems. They look at the bottom of the page, read the warranty, then find they have no reason to post here. The warranty answered their question.

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There is a problem with the strap that is a known. There are too many for it to be a conicidence and as I know enough about materials and bonding there is a disparity in the materials that leads to a bonding issue. I work with composites and various resins and adheives for a living. I contacted Fitbit and told them of my problem and what I thought was the issue. This is their reply..

"Now, in your specific scenario, we want to help you getting back on track, but as per the description of the issue, we don't believe a replacement is recommendable, as it couldn't assure that the issue will be resolved"

This leads me to believe Fitbit know of the issue and cannot be sure the strap will stay bonded. This lack of confidence put me off buying a replacement. 

You can just about see from these two images there is no adhesive on the plastic of the body and even the inside od the strap looks clear of adhesive. What adhesive if any had self released from both faces causing it to fall apart. 

I make parts like this for a living and know enough about these type of issues as I have to use very specific adhesives for some of my work and for one type of part I cannot buy any adhesive that will work off the shelf and have to go to a specialist chemical blending company and make my own adhesive that will not only bond parts but resist chemical attack. 

[FelixFive]

@Rich_Laue And lets be honest Rich, you post more than some moderators, you're like the voice of Fitbit that isn't, and I mean that in a good way.

If you can reference solutions and work arounds found and documented by others on this board, and you do, you certainly could acknowledge and reference problems in the same way.

Otherwise you jeopardize your third-party credibility and may lead some to think you're an unacknowledged paid employee or perhaps Park himself 😉 Many trust moderators to an extent but with the caveat that they-are-paid-employees and necessarily (and should) provide biased input. I hope you can understand I'm just trying to help (unless you really are Parks or Friedman or some relation,,, haha, uhm, I hope haha 🙂

[FelixFive]

@Rich_Laue "saying I'm not sure does not fly in the face of evidence. For one it is mostly only those having problems that post here. This fact alone will bias the reader heart on believing the problem is greater than it really is. Two we don't know how many devices are on the market, or how many, what percentage where replaced and for what reason. Not knowing the picture, but knowing a dozen who have bought the Blaze, I'm unable to see the extent of the problem."

Hi Rich in another post you said "rest assured" this problem [with GPS tracking] will be fixed, I'm just trying to gain clarity of your understanding of that problem as reported on the boards vs the one above re: device "falling apart". Can you comment? Thx!

[ErickFitbit]

@goh Sorry for the misinformation from Kohls, we're working on getting that information updates thanks to your report of it! For a more accurate depiction of the features on our trackers, check out our official tracker comparison page.

As @Rich_Laue mentioned above, Blaze does support Connected GPS. With this feature, Blaze connects to your phone's GPS signal to track your route. To learn more about Connected GPS, I recommend checking this out.

@FelixFive Let's keep this thread on the subject of GPS on the Blaze. If you're experiencing issues with GPS tracking or a damaged Surge, please post that in a relevant thread so we can keep this on topic. 

If your tracker is falling apart, I suggest reaching out to our Support Team with as much detail as possible so they can help get you back on track.

[FelixFive]

@ErickFitbit Sorry chief, it's my ADD that gets me off track and my OCD that keeps me fixated on getting a response! 🙂

Oh, and my keen commitment towards customer responsibility that makes me hold others accountable for their assertions.

[ErickFitbit]

@FelixFive Were you able to get in contact with our Support Team regarding your band? Keep me posted.

[FelixFive]

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@ErickFitbit wrote:

@FelixFive Were you able to get in contact with our Support Team regarding your band? Keep me posted.

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Thanks for checking in, I'm all good, I'm a MacGyver at heart and make extensive use of bandaids, glue, rubber bands, paperclips and the like.