Altimeter / Floor Counter for Charge 5?

[marcusdeshaun]

Does Charge 5 have an altimeter or some other way to count floors climbed? I bought the Luxe without fully investigating all the specs and want to make sure. 

[N8teGee]

I'm on the side of the users here. I know it's not scientific, but one expects the successor of a previous product to at least keep the very basic features of it's predecessor. In this case the basic features are the core health metrics with stairs being one of them, Fitbit even has badges for stairs.

I know that putting an ECG into the device sounds good on paper, but I often wonder how useful this is to the majority of users. Out of curiosity I quickly Googled the percentage of the world's population suffering from Afib (which is what Fitbit's implementation of the ECG is used to detect). This is what I found -

"Worldwide, the estimated number of individuals with AFib in 2010 was 33.5 million, according to a 2013 study. That’s about 0.5 percent of the world’s population."

Yes I know the data is somewhat out of date, but I'm not sure it would have changed too much since then. I think from the above statistics we can all make up our own minds as to how useful the new feature is. Although I'm betting a much higher percentage would have found the floor counting to be more useful. 

[RogerAuwers]

Exactly.  It's "the most advanced tracker yet" but they aremoved features that earlier trackers already had.  It makes no sense at all.

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The font on the Charge 5 for the steps, miles, heart rate, calories, etc. is so small I can't read it without getting my reading glasses -- a real pain in the neck.  The rather useless stacked bars take up too much room, and while they may be "cool" looking, functionally they are pretty useless

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Well when Fitbit touts the Charge 5 as the most advanced tracker yet many of us assume that all the basic tracking functions that have been around at least since the Charge 2 are still there - and being improved, not removed.  Instead I get some BS thing that asks me if I am feeling calm, very calm, stressed, or very stressed so it can give me a "stress score" 

Moderator edit: merged replies

Moderator edit: word choice

[Sosk]

Same problem for me! I loved my old Charge but somehow the font size started 'shrinking'! I finally got an old Versa 2 on eBay and found a fabulous watch face for it that shows my stats in a HUGE font. AND it has an altimeter. Not loaded with all the new bells & whistles but perfect for me.

[RogerAuwers]

Really disappointing that the "most advanced tracker" yet has eliminated some basic tracking functions that many of us obviously want.  

[Rich_Laue]

@t.parker the post you are responding is my response to the Charge not being able to be setup through a desktop PC or Mac. 

The box does not mention Floors or being able to set up with a PC/Mac. 

The Amazon Page does have a link to the user manual and a video. 

[ThierryRodon]

I just bought a charge 5, and completed the set up, everything seem to works but the stairs count has disappeared altogether.  Anybody know how get charge 5 to count the stairs...

Thanks

Thierry

[Odyssey13]

Hi @ThierryRodon  the Charge 5 does not have an altimeter, so it can't recognize flights of stairs. It's just how the device was made. I'm moving your post to the existing thread in the Charge 5 area, as it's not an iOS matter. Sorry, but there is no workaround.

[RogerAuwers]

I asked the same question last week when I got my new Charge 5. The answer
I learned, I am sorry to say, is that the Charge 5 does not have an
altimeter so it cannot and will not ever count stairs. I do not understand
why they would remove this basic feature from the "most advanced tracker"
yet. It's really too bad.

[Rich_Laue]

@RogerAuwers probably because of the needed space that the Charge 5 does not. 

[SunsetRunner]

When apple release a new phone the tagline is always the same "the best Iphone ever" because indeed every new iphone is a improvement of the previous with added features and not removed features

Charge 5 should be an improvement of charge 4 because 5 is more than 4 but instead they removed features: altimer, weather, breat guide, agenda....

i tihnk if it has a diferent name it was better.

[Peavely]

I agree. Major miss on Thursday part.

Sent from my iPad

[Rich_Laue]

@SunsetRunner do you always believe the hype a manufacturer says about their product? Of course Apple is going to tell you the last is their best? I wait for the reviews. Apple pits out one model, designed for everyone. Fitbit puts out several models, knowing that one size does not fit all. People buy a

Apple, because it is a

Apple. They, in general, don't care about what it does and most only use a couple of its functions. 

Since fitbit puts out several models, it more so requires the user to do their homework. 

[Wibby]

I also miss the stairs.  BUT, before the Charge 5 was officially released, I came to these forums to check things out and see what the new Charge had to offer.  Someone kindly posted the manual and others dissected the information and came to the sad conclusion that there was no altimeter so it would be physically impossible for the new Charge 5 to track stairs.  I thought about it, and decided I wanted the other features more and then bought the device with full knowledge.

Truthfully I didn't want to believe that was true and was hoping everyone had made a mistake.  When I went to the shop where I buy my Fitbits I looked at the comparison of features list they had up for the different models and it wasn't there! It was true!  But I still went ahead and bought it because I had been forewarned by coming here and checking first.  I'm really grateful to the people who started and answered the question at the beginning of this thread on 25th September (3 days before it was released here).

Can I suggest that a moderator merges all of these threads, pins one at the very top of the page, and also puts a banner announcement at the top of the Charge 5 community announcing that there is NO altimeter, there is NO stair tracking, please?

May I also suggest that people at least read the titles of the threads before they go shopping, so they won't have a shock later.  It's a really good resource for that kind of thing. 

I feel sorry for people who are disappointed like the rest of us, and if we can save them the shock by making it very apparent the minute you enter the community, they can avoid buying something they don't really want.

[SunsetRunner]

@Rich_Laue 

Like almost all your replies you miss the point just for the sake to have the last word.

[SunsetRunner]

@Wibby 

I think this post by @Giampi71 covers quite all aspects of what Charge 5 has and what doesn't have.

He llaso made ths excel file that is vert usful.

[Odyssey13]

Hi @SunsetRunner  that's not quite accurate. Fitbit doesn't sell computers, laptops, tablets or phones. So if we're going strictly by fitness devices, it's Fitbit ahead of Apple 8 to 4. You forgot the Ace 3 for kids.  People have fought for years over which platform is better. I've used Apple and moved on to Windows. My fellow apple crunchers on an Apple forum where I moderated shunned me when I went to Windows. A few of my friends have Apple phones and watches, but miss the Fitbit challenges and app. Apple is plug and play, but people didn't know how to do anything if it wasn't simplified. It does no good to compare, because if we counted all the products the parent company of Fitbit sells, then Google wins over Apple in a very big way. Google owns Nest, Pixel phones, You Tube and so much more. Fitbit does care, but when the Charge 5 was designed and tested, the altimeter was knowingly left off. 

I'm with @Rich_Laue and wait to read reviews. Before I purchased my first Fitbit in 2013, I read as much as possible on it and joined the forums. I still wait for a product to be out for a while and then read reviews before making a purchase. 

[Peavely]

Should read major miss on Fitbit’s part.

[Rich_Laue]

So @Peavely your saying that it is a major miss on fitbit's part because a user has failed to do their homework? 

Yes back in 2013, before purchasing, I spent almost 4 months researching fitbits. 

We only had 2 versions, the already discontinued Ultra and the Fitbit One. Neither one would sync through a phone. My other option to save money was to buy used. 

In 2013 I only knew one person with a fitbit and there was almost no info on the web. I downloaded both user manuals and read from cover to cover, before making a purchase of an on sale Ultra. 

8 months later I bought the wrist band that was recalled 2 months after I purchased. 

@Odyssey13 don't you love how users post, then delete their account? 

[fionac]

I'm wondering whether the reason for removing the stairs counts is because of people like me who got a replacement 3 and 4 because the previous ones didn't count stairs properly, the three counted 1 for every 10 flights or thereabouts and the 4 overcounted by a vast amount.  If a function is that flaky it's hardly surprising if they remove it, purely from a costs perspective.  It's one of those things that I got stressed over when I had it because of it's wild inaccuracy so I'm much happier without it.

[marcusdeshaun]

@Rich_Laue you know what I love best about your posts? You always have something condescendingly nice to say that really enriches the dialog.