Charge 6 Backorder and Poor Support?

[mtmtmtt]

I've been a Fitbit fan since 2019 but unfortunately my Charge 3's screen suddenly stopped working (despite troubleshooting, vibrations are still going too) so I reached out to Support. I'm grateful for the 35% discount they provided me to replace the device but the email specifically mentioned "This offer can only be applied towards one Fitbit device currently in stock." and for the Charge 6 - it said that two of the colours were on backorder but they'll ship in March. I ordered my Charge 6 in April, just a bit under 2 weeks ago, with overnight shipping because I needed a replacement ASAP.

I noticed it still wasn't shipped out at all the day after so I reached out to Fitbit's support, I even asked if I could change the colour to Coral since it showed it was in stock (and not in backorder like the other two colours) but I was told they would need to connect with me someone from a different team, which is totally understandable. I was promised an email within 1-2 hours but I received nothing after 4 so I reached out again on my own. This other support agent had actually told me that all the colours appeared to be out of stock. This is very different than what appears on the outdated customer support store page which shows that it'll ship in March. Even on the Charge 6's product page, it links to the Google Store which shows a delivery date of 2-3 days to my address for all three colours. 

A manager had reached out to me after my case was escalated on the 13th and I have not received any updates since despite their reassurances. Their Twitter Support spent all of last week telling me they've escalated my case and even told me that I should have received an email on the Tuesday, which I did not. Today they've finally shared with me that it will be shipped to me mid-May, and I did see that after 5 days the store page also changed the backorder date to May. 

I'm probably just whining and upset that my recent device was working perfectly fine for close to 2 years without any issues or damages but my experience has been pretty frustrating as it took so long to get any answer for when my item would ship, or any response at all outside of automated or generic ones. Anyways it's been a good run and it's upsetting to see such a brand with great products and features become like this. 

Wishing anyone that reads this the best with your journeys and better experiences with Fitbit's support than mine. 

[petlover1001]

Did this ever get figured out? My Fitbit Charge 6 is on backorder currently and the date keeps getting pushed back. I have used Fitbits for 10 years and like you, am so frustrated with how terrible this company is becoming.

[mtmtmtt]

I ended up getting it I think on May 2nd or 3rd and I went to sleep maybe 2 hours after setting it up and fully charging it. I woke up to it being off and non-responsive. I had to do a search online to find out how to turn it back on using the charging cable method but it still did not power on the first few times, took a lot of tries. It powered back on and was at 97% battery so for some reason it just powered off. 

This happened again a few hours after I woke up which is when I reached out to support and they confirmed that my battery levels were fine on their backend. They told me to try to shut it off and boot it back up (again). This issue happened again 2 days later and so I was told to send it in for a replacement. It feels like I was sent a faulty product which was incredibly disappointing.

The replacement has been fine without that issue but I feel like it's only a matter of months (let's see at the 6 month mark) before I run into this issue again and again, until my warranty expires for good. It's been absolutely frustrating and I have been completely ignored by the two "managers" that reached out to me with one not even properly understanding my problems, they thought it was an issue with the pricing but it definitely isn't. 

Very likely to just switch to a competitor if I'm to have any other issues because my Charge 3 was completely fine and this experience has left me absolutely bitter. 

[Edword]

I bought my charge 3 on 13/04/2024 but with all the faults feels like I have had it longer strap connections are rubbish falls off I will probably end up losing mine or will break am thinking about premium trial as probably wont last 6 months so unlikely to forget to cancel once it breaks or goes missing. The GPS does not work. The sleep tracker often does not show the sleep data in the watch, it does work in the app to be fair. It clearly been a very badly managed business. The technology for straps connection on rubber straps is decades old, at the high prices for the device they could afford patented tech. Even for a basic Casio the strap stays on. To try and sell a sports watch that does not a robust enough fitting for a dress watch. The rubbish GPS may be an easier mistake to make as there is not less people that have this in watches its newer less well known and costly.  Fitbit sales were dropping of a cliff for the last 10 years. I am guessing in time google will get good devices made as these are legacy devices are phased out as would guess a company as big as google would install management that know what doing

[MsConsumer]

My fitbits, I’ve had 3 so far, last about two years. The first one lasted 3. This time my charge 5 decided one day when I was charging it that it would no longer hold the charge despite anything I did. This was mid April. I got the discount and ordered a replacement. Then in late May,  I got fed up of waiting and cancelled the order. I then  ordered a charge 6. Same thing:  it is on back  order until June. Well it’s almost mid-June now. Both the charge 5 and 6 are available on Amazon at full price. What kind of scam is this that if you pay full price you get it the next day but if you get a coupon for replacing a unit that is designed to die prematurely, you wait and wait and wait and hopefully you give up and pay full price. I may be angrily going down a rabbit hole but I find it insulting that we are being treated this way after many of us have been using Fitbits for years. In my case since 2017. Is this how you treat your customers? Apparently so. 

[petlover1001]

I agree 100%. Fitbit clearly no longer cares about customer loyalty. I've also been using Fitbits for years and that's what makes me so mad. Like, don't offer your bull**ahem** discounts if you won't full the orders of customers who actually use them.

[Edword]

The quality is rubbish I bought my my charge 6 on 12th May glitchy sleep data does not show on the watch does not auto sync much. The GPS is rubbish and the straps is rubbish a bad design that falls off often. The sleep tracking is good, its meant to be best watch type sleeping tracker after an apple watch and I dont have an apple phone so cant use an apple watch. There is not a good alternative brand. The one I had before the huawei has been restricted by government due to security concerns and people dont recommend the side download. May be an Inspire would be the best choice as the charge 6 seems to have more issues.

[Mbabe27]

Jogger,    I ordered a charger 6 also. It took me forever and after several calls finally got through to support. Had a girl that was very hard to understand. Found out its on back order. They already got their money it went on my card already. It's very frustrating.  I've had a fitbit for several years also but I'm seriously thinking of canceling my order and getting something else. It's awful funny several other stores have them in stock. Be the last time I deal with fitbit.

[daleor]

Have gotten 2 customer service reps now say it is "late June"...(one showed me a screen cap that give completely different information then I can see on this side). I've had fitbits for years, been already charged as well for this "discounted" charge 6, and if I ever get it, might be my last.  Any recommendations for alterates?

[Edword]

It seems very generous that fitbit give these discounts on devices that have broke after 5 or 6 years. Here in the UK you could buy a new car and if it broke at 5 or 6 years after the warranty you would not get a bean nothing. If my fitbit lasts 5 years which I would rather doubt I would not expect a discount even if broke at 3 years would think with in expectations. If looking at alternatives it may be worth considering that very unlikely to get a discount if it breaks in a few years. The alternatives in watches are MI band which is cheap and not very good. Huawei which is cheap and good at some things but is banded from the app stores and in the US and UK may be best avoided. Then there is Garmin great for measuring out door activity and has on screen maps a great tool for hiking and measuring sport. Costly bulking on the wrist and not that great at sleep. Then there is the apple watch which is great if you have an apple phone but has a rubbish battery life. Then there is the health rings which are expensive and dont measure heart rate well. Then there is whoop that require a subscription at 250 a year. By default a fitbit tracker measures resting heart rate every 5 seconds MI band and Huawei only measure every few minutes. Apply by default only does every few minutes if turned it to 5 seconds would the battery hold up all night. If you want good heart rate and sleep tracking in a non apple watch there is no obvious substitute  for fitbit. If you have it for health, if you have it for sport Garmin is meant to be better but at a high cost and the watches may be bit large and heavy to wear all the time. 

[Hikerchick]

Your story is similar to mine, just a couple of months off.  I've been waiting almost a month for the Charge 6 to replace my Charge 5 that had the same screen error.  It's a known issue for Fitbit, and 35% off a new one is an insult.  I've barely had it for 2 years - of course just outside of their warranty, but I have been very happy with it.  Maybe they should work on repairing the blank screen issue than trying to push us to buy an upgrade.  Unfortunately I just don't see anything that compares at a reasonable price point.