fitbit life expectancy

[chappelear2]

I have had six Fitbit devices. In my experience, and from what I’m reading, the average life expectancy of a device is one year. I’m sure this is planned, but I’m sick of it. I will be moving my business elsewhere for my next fitness device. As soon as my Blaze dies, which I’m assuming will be any day now, I’m done wasting my money. Anyone have another brand they love?

[Stuliebman1]

They told me to wipe the back with water on a rag or even suggested using
alcohol. Neither has worked. Now, my FItibit does not even register my
sleep in any form and it is gone from my dashboard, all without
explanation. Oddly, the full sleep reporting function returned for
one-night stands twice, the first on May 30 (about a month after the
function stopped working) and then again about a month later.
I am not a fan of conspiracy theories, but the fact that I can no longer
get ANY sleep reports at all while my heart rate continues to register all
the time is very odd and inexplicable. Could it be that they are
encouraging me to try their premium service or even to buy a new watch?
It's possible...

[BusheyTrader]

The disappearance of sleep monitoring was the first issue with my Blaze.  It  intermittent at first then became permanent, followed by the loss of heart monitoring and battery life declining to less than 12 hours soon afterwards.  It lasted less than 15 months.

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Blaze/fitbit-life-expectancy/m-p/4457308/highlight/true#M127769

I was advised to do several different  things to correct it but standing on my head would have the same effect.  Fitbit pushed the sale of another Fitbit less a small discount  even though the original was still under the UK 24 month warranty.  I had to escalate it to receive a replacement which also failed before the original's warranty ran out.  Again Fitbit wanted to sell me another but I escalated for another replacement which started to fail after 15 months use  (outside the original warranty period).

I'm sorry I don't.  My experience from my 3 x Fitbits is that they last between 11 and 15 months before they fail or markedly degrade to failure.  Instead of replacing the original when it's still under warranty, they try to sell you another one first.  Once it's out of warranty that's it.

All my colleagues who had Fitbits had the same issues, they've moved to other brands.

After being a Fitbit enthusiast, the experience has turned me off trackers for the time being.  I'll research which models have some longevity.

Moderator edit: merged replies

[Stuliebman1]

Thanks for that advice. Although I have had more than four years of good
luck with my Blaze, I am coming to the same conclusion...

[Robin_garg]

I am facing the exact same problem on my versa2 which lasted only 7 months and now the screen is going Full matrix. All flashing screen and number running and bottom part is getting hot and it feels like it will blast. This is my 4th Fitbit upgraded from charge 2 to charge 3 and then versa and now versa 2. And all devices last only 1 year and then pixel and flashing white light started happening.

I think I should stop wasting my time on Fitbit products now.

[SunsetRunner]

I keep looking at other products, not Fitbit. My issue is the app that Fitbit has, it seems to be far superior to other manufacturers' apps. That being said, with Google taking control of Fitbit, all bets are off. They may improve the product, or make it far worse than it currently is.

[BusheyTrader]

The products’ reliability across 3 units and the customer service I experienced turned me off buying another Fitbit.  Google’s purchase won’t have an effect for some time yet.  I’ve moved brand.

[Stuliebman1]

Sorry to hear that you have had such problems. THE question is: what are
the alternatives? I have not found one yet. An Apple watch is not
compatible with my phone or computer.

[SunsetRunner]

I agree. Fitbit isn’t perfect, but I do like the battery life and excellent
sleep tracking. --

I bet they will make it better. They have the funds to do so. --

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[BusheyTrader]

Well say good bye to your favourite features in the near future.  The battery life on my 3 fitbits dropped down to 7 hours whilst the sleep tracking disappeared from 12 months onwards. 

As for google making the products better, That will take some time and I’m not prepared to spend more of my resources in a product I’ve lost confidence in. 

[SunsetRunner]

Oh no!--

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[Stuliebman1]

Sorry to hear that. What is odd is that the battery life of my watch
remains excellent, but it is true that the sleep analysis feature--in fact,
any mention that it is missing--disappeared in May of 2020, almost four
years since I started using the watch. It revived twice after several week
intervals, and then it was no longer a category for my phone Fitbit
depository or the Main dashboard at the website.
My big problem is what are the alternatives that are compatible with my
Android phone...

[Miata91]

I just started having issues with mine with just a few months of a year, but wth? If you’re spending $200+ on a device, I’d expect it to last some time. Much longer than 2 years for sure. If this is some scam to get people to buy a new device every year then I’m just going to move onto another device from another maker. Otherwise I took great care of the watch and didn’t overcharge it. My heart rate sensor stopped working and pretty much took a big feature out of the watch...

[BusheyTrader]

Hi Miata91,

My last 2 posts regarding this have been taken down by the moderators, but yes, if your device has stopped registering your heart rate or recognising when you’re asleep or reduced battery life or a combination of these, it’s on it way out.  Look at my previous posts in this thread.

[Stuliebman1]

I understand your annoyance. I have to say that I have had better luck. My
steps, stairs and heart monitor continues to work. The only issue is that I
no longer have watch access to my sleep details. On the Fitbit dashboard
website, I can see how long I have slept and when I am awake in very
approximate terms, but all the interesting details--the kind of sleep and
how this compares to norms and my own averages--are gone. But at least it
is an approximation.
That's not much solace for you, I realize...
Good luck.

[SunsetRunner]

I had my sleep data disappear also. I reloaded the dashboard app and it all
came back. Good luck.

[alexsoko]

I can understand your annoyance, even if I don't share your experience. My original Versa, which was purchased while it was on sale for ~$130 if I remember correctly, is going on 2.5 years now and still going strong with only a slight decrease in it's battery life from about 5 days to 4 (so 80% capacity). A view that I've expressed previously on this conversation is, given that you basically get all the data and info off of your Versa for free, is to consider the upfront cost over the life of the device as a pseudo subscription. At $130 that works out to $4.33 per month for the 30 or so months I've owned it. Even paying $200 for two years works out to something like $8.33 per month which I consider to be a fairly good deal for the value you get. I understand that it's frustrating to think that you're paying $200 for a device that will die, but wearables do experience a lot of normal wear and tear all of the time. If you think about some comparables, the Apple Watch (Series 3, first out in 2017) is still $200, with the newer models starting at $279 and $399 respectively for the SE and Series 6. Samsung watches are in similar price ranges. None of these devices really last longer than a few years unfortunately (just ask owners of the respective devices). If you buy a $399 top of the line Apple Watch today it would have to last 4 years with no problems to equal the per-month cost of a new Fitbit. I find that a highly unlikely lifespan for a wearable.

[MarkMM]

@Miata91 Seriously? A two year old $200+ Blaze? That'd be like buying a Versa 1 for $200 today. The Blaze was retired 3 years ago and the Versa 1 was available for $139 over two years ago. I got mine in November 2018 for that price. 

As for the product. I still have a working Blaze but only use it if I want steps while the Versa is charging. The old outdated Blaze doesn't have SP02 or zone minutes. 

[ataliba]

My Charge 2 lasted a year and a half with me (I bought it used, and the old owner used it for a year). In other words, two and a half years is a good time.
Charge 3 ... unfortunately, no longer. It didn't last long. I bought it used and I didn't have it for 10 days because it was very defective.
And now, I got another used one (a Blaze) with a year of use. If it lasts at least a year with me it is a good time. That is, 2 years.
My focus is on a Versa 2 in the future.

[MarkMM]

@ataliba Sams and Costco have Versa 2's on clearance right now. $139 brand new. 

[ataliba]

@MarkMM  I live in Brazil and only the import fees and the current dollar value, make it around R $ 1200.00.
I'll wait a while.