Disappointed….feel like I wasted my $$

[Jinann]

I bought the charge 5 as a step up.    I’m sorry I did.   I expected my features to remain and that I was getting ADDED features on top of the basics and certainly didn’t expect a basic one to ‘go away’ when I moved from my old one to the Charge 5.  

I noticed that it wasn’t tracking stairs and NOW  find out that feature is NOT included!  No wonder I had a hard time trouble shooting that!   Seriously bad oversight on the part of Fitbit.   That’s a basic feature that I used a lot!     Very frustrating to see a  display of 0 flights on my dashboard…..especially when I had a daily goal of 10.  

I also have never received any O2 readings….I’ve followed the tips etc for troubleshooting.   Still nothing.   That feature was one of the ones that prompted me to get the Charge 5.  

Fitbit needs to point out that you LOSE features by upgrading…not just focus on the new features.   Truth in advertising should include both….so the consumer can decide if losing a feature is worth upgrading….especially if one of the new features doesn’t even work!  

if I knew I’d lose the tracking of flight. AND the fact that I can’t get the O2 feature to work, I DEFINITELY would NOT have purchased the Charge 5

[SunsetRunner]

Just wanted to make sure you were aware that the spO2 feature only tracks while wearing the tracker for sleep monitoring; it is oddly not an on demand option like other smartwatches. 

The more important metric over steps and floors is active zone minutes(AZM). This is because it factors in your heart rate intensity while moving. Goal is to achieve at minimum 150 AZMs/week (per Harvard Med and CDC) . So if you climb floors briskly you get credit with AZMs. 

[Jinann]

Thanks for the info.   I do wear the Fitbit overnight for sleep tracking.  Sleep tracking works, just not the O2.  For me, I really like the tracking of the floors and have personal goals related to that so between the two,  Charge 5 doesn't meet my expectations.

[SunsetRunner]

So spO2 may not work if you are wearing the band too loose and on a wrist bone.  You don't need the band to be too tight, but snug.  You are trying to keep the light from escaping so it illuminates into the skin for the sensors to work reliably.  the band also needs to sit above the the wrist bone. If that is what you are doing then uninstall and reinstall the spO2 app from the gallery. Also make sure you have the latest firmware on your Charge 5.

I understand your goals as I had shared your sentiment.   Although, I find AZM is a great goal that incorporates more activities and I feel encourages me to adopt more activities to reach the goal ranging from brisk walks, hikes, steps, calisthenics. and more. With that being shared, I do agree it does seem like a step in the wrong direction to remove such a basic feature.

Have a good week

[Wibby]

Hello @Jinann 

Just to add, the SPO2, when it works, only gives you one percentage figure for the whole night.

Here’s an example of mine:

As you can see, it didn’t give me a reading for Monday although I wore it the same way every night.  As it’s just one number it doesn’t bother me as much if I don’t get a number that night, although I understand it’s more important for other people.

It’s also sad and shocking to see your Floors tile at zero, I remember the feeling.  When you’re ready, you can tap Edit on the Today Screen in the App on your phone and then delete it so you won’t see it anymore.

 I still climb the same amount of stairs where I can as I got conditioned over the years to do it.  It’s a shame not to have them counted but I’m glad I’ve kept doing them without the motivation of the goal on my App, meaning it served its purpose to change my habits for the better.

 I’m sorry you’re unhappy with your Charge 5 and hope you find some good points to it as well.  For example I like the Always On setting just for my Weight Training class and being able to read the screen easily outside.  I miss my Charge 4 sometimes but it’s been passed on to my friend who loves it now.

 I hope you can grow to like yours a bit.