Why does the Charge 2 not come with a USB dongle?

[MeanDean]

why in the hell does this not come with a dongle ? how frustrating to buy this product and begin to set it up ...only to find ..oh wait .....there is no dongle.?   wtf are you thinking .....so now how do i set it up ...this is my first purchase ..and with stupid thinking on fitbits part they don't ship all the hardware to set the watch up...?... this is so stupid ...i almost threw this piece of crap in garbage .....i would have if it didnt cost me 200 bucks ....Not happy .......

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[Misfit1]

The heart rate comment pertained to the Alta

[GrandmaDee65]

I was also very frustrated to find that I couldn't connect to my MacBook Pro without a dongle even though it is equipped with Bluetooth. I called Fitbit support and a very nice lady offered to sell me a dongle for $23.95 plus tax and shipping.  I put my husband on the line and shortly thereafter, he was promised a complimentary dongle by mail.  There should be no question that a free dongle would be shipped on request by any new user requiring one and this availability should be clearly indicated on the Fitbit website together with an online order form.  If, as Fitbit suggests, most users don't need one, then this free dongle offer shouldn't impose too much expense to the company.

[Rich_Laue]

This thread is about the Blaze, not the Alta which does not have the ability to read your heart rate or give a cordio score.. Only the Charge 2 is advertised as doing this. 

[617roser1963]

Received a fitbit as a gift and after much frustration trying to sync it, found that I needed a dongle.  I contacted the fitbit company and they are sending me the dongle. I only have windows 7 and no devices, just a flip phone. Not up to par on all the technical devices.  My opinion, all fitbits should come with a dongle.

[DV7532]

I received a fitbit charger 2 for my birthday. I need a Dongle to synch this and I have Windows 7. If I purchase a Dongle will it work or will I be returning 2 items. Oops just saw the post above mine and it obviously will work with 7.

Thanks

[Weezy-Ambrosio]

It will work with the dongle...

[DV7532]

Thank you Weezy, I just spoke to customer service. They are excellent. They'll be shipping a dongle out. It will be 3-4 weeks as the dongles are on back order.

[Genzie]

Whether it needs a dongle  or not the set up instructions that come with the Charge2 TELL YOU TO USE a dongle... LAME.  If it does not need a Dongle then CHANGE YOUR set up instructions. 

[corycorona]

I totally agree.    Why is it not marked on the package that it is required?     VERY disappointed in this purchase.     Now I'm thinking about returning this.

[DV7532]

Contact customer service. They were very helpful and sent one over to me, I have both an older computer system and a smart phone that isn't as smart as it needs to be (for fitbit). Once I received the dongle,everything worked fine. I do like the fitbit experience.

[Nickie72]

This is a bunch of BS. I'm glad I kept my old one. (Because this is my  FOURTH one.) They either fall apart or just stop working. If I did not need it to reduce my insurance cost I would say screw fitbit.

[PureEvil]

@Nickie72,

Wow, that is inconsistent with my experience.  Since I have multiple trackers, I have many of these and have never had any break or malfunction.  In fact, I've given some spares to friends who also want to sync in the office and all continue to work.

[Spud-N-Jessi]

Whoops... new 'fitbit' user here trying to set up first trackers for my son and I... and a week's worth of frustration has been because dongle did not come with the Charge2???? (hmmm, not a happy mom using iapad at library wi-fi and a non-bluetooth laptop )

will now try to get CS to send at least one out (do I need two separate dongles for two separate trackers??)

to assist, can anybody advise of CS in Australia???

many thanx in anticipation

[PureEvil]

Hello @Spud-N-Jessi,

Welcome to the community!

You only need one bluetooth dongle to sync both devices.  You'll want to set that option on the Fitbit App (Under Advanced Settings, look under 'Fitbit Connect Classic Mode') and it'll sync both your tracker and your son's tracker OR install Fitbit Connect instead.

And incidentally, you may also sync with the iPad, though you'll have to log out of one account and log in to the other account to sync both devices.

I hope this helps.

[Spud-N-Jessi]

Hello @PureEvil

thanx for the feedback... it helps a little bit.... I'm setting up my tracker first, (away from my son's) so that there are no 'mixed signals'... but he is anxious to test his tracker with trampolining...

by the by, there is no  'Fitbit Connect Classic Mode' in the 'advanced settings' of the app on my iPad...  (the only listings are timezone, Units, day-of-week to start, country, food database and stride length) this is the fitbit app supplied on the setup page, so I'm presuming it is an accurate app... I shall keep persevering and keep you in the loop.

J

[PureEvil]

@Spud-N-Jessi,

Right, it wouldn't be on your iPad.  On your iPad you don't have a choice, to sync your tracker you must log in to your account; to sync his tracker you must log in to his account.

The option is on the Windows 10 Fitbit App or if you're running an older version of Windows, just install Fitbit Connect.

I hope this helps.

[57ken]

you are totally right, I just want to use my dashboard on my mac, not my phone.   get this, i did the on line support and the folks there couldnt figure out why i couldnt add my charge 2 to my account.

i saw the instructions say plug in the dongle, thought that must be for another model .......CUZ IT WASNT IN THE BOX, Dumb move fitbit, your customers should have options to use their tracker as they wish.  really pissed, nothing in the box says you need a friggin dongle, live chat doesnt know you need a dongle wasted 45mins there, got home from work and came back on line to ask this question. now i see the answer. piss'd that this isnt clear ANYWHERE.... stupid move FITBIT, this thing is going back and I will buy another brand. stupid move.

[PureEvil]

Hello @57ken,

I'm pretty sure that the version of Fitbit Connect that works on the Mac will sync through just bluetooth (no need for the dongle).

So the real question is if your Mac has native bluetooth 4.0.  While I don't use Macs, my observation is most new computers (even desktops) include bluetooth.

While I understand your predicament, in my opinion, it's reasonable to ship without the dongle for new trackers.  The vast majority of users do not need the dongle.  Even folks with a fairly recent computer (Mac or Windows 10 PC with bluetooth) do not need it.

I heard somewhere that at this point 80% of people have smartphones, so among the remaining 20% of people, who doesn't have a new-ish computer, maybe 30% of those.  30% (of 20%) is 6% of the population.  And for those, Fitbit is shipping you a dongle for the asking (just call customer service).

I'd rather they do that, than charge 94% of their Charge 2 customers an extra $10 or so (it's $20 at the store) for something they'll never use.

Just my 2¢.

[nyxela]

i had same problem, i used my bfs moms spare dongle (she goes thru fitbits like crazy, we dont know why she must sweat too much shes always killing ipods n fitbits lol) anyways, it did give me options for older fitbit styles but i was able to get the fitbit to connect, it wouldnt sync with my phone or computer before that, just swirled for hours. idk why an older dongle wouldve made it worked but it instantly started syncing correctly. they really need to put one in there. this was my first fitbit so i was so freaking confused

[nyxela]

This is so stupid. some people dont upgrade every year. i am perfectly content with my samsun galaxy 3! and thats considered a smart phone! just because most ppl have one doesnt mean its high tech enough, and some people prefer older models of windows. i installed windows ten on my laptop bc it came with a sticker that said "plays well with windows 10" NOPE! it restarted and crashed non stop saying something about an error in thread drive or some crap so re did it to be on windows 8.

if we pay this much for a fitbit it should come with  a dongle regardless if you think we need it or not, you dont get loyal customers by cutting cornors and being cheap