Idle Alert

I would love to have an "Idle Alert" feature added where the device would vibrate if you've been idle for a certain length of time.

Moderator edit: Added labels.

1,041 Comments
tim_l
Jogger

Oh snap.....Garmin just announced the Vivosmart HR which has everything the Charge HR has plus their awesome "move bar" idle reminder. Looks like preorder time.

Mymy
Recovery Runner
Omg nooooo!!! That was the only reason for me, not to go with the vivosmart. Well, time to say fitbit goodbye. Plus the vivosmart is waterproof and way prettier.
xasx
Jogger

I thought they would eventually add this feature, but looks like they never will.  I regret not saving my money and just getting the Apple Watch. 

dlawrence
Jogger

Well that decides it for me. I am selling my Fitbit Charge and Fitbit Aria scale and joining with Garmin Vivosmart HR and scale. I am tired of waiting to hear from Fitbit. about the idle alert and actually any new improvements. They were a leader in the tracking industry, now they are being left behind. You can't keep ignoring your customer base and not address their needs and expect to stay on top. 2 plus years is long enough to wait for an easy update. Time to move on.

mmulvey
Jogger

Remember BlackBerry? They had a lock on smartphones. Started ignoring trends, user requests thinking that they drove the market...

 

...well the market drove right by them and now they are just a small player.

tobeagreed
First Steps

All these feature request boards do seem a waste of time. I'm annoyed no response to my post 6 weeks ago but this is 2 years old now. How come no-one from fitbit can give any update other than the stock 'this is under consideration....' blah blah blah. If you have no intention of adding a feature then just say so, or give more details on the actual status of the development???

 

I'm following dlawrence, ditch Fitbit and move to Garmin Vivosmart HR, why waste another 2 years waiting for something that will probably never materialise.

LakesGeek
Recovery Runner

Can't say they're not getting reminded, I'm subscribed to the thread and my inbox is peppered with its notifications on a daily basis.

 

I bought the HR on the assumption that this was an oversight, being that it's a pretty essential feature that all other fitness bands have, and that it'd receive a software update at some point to address it, which obviously isn't going to happen.  My own fault I guess, you live and learn, it'll probably end up on eBay to pay for a Vivosmart HR and in future I'll know that what you get from Fitbit is what's in the box rather than expecting updates like one would with other wearable devices.

aromero
Jogger

Now that there's a viable replacement that actually incorporates all the tools a fitness tracker *should* have, I suppose now I'll just patiently wait for my Charge HR to die so that I can replace it. Thank you GARMIN for finally giving us what we wanted (HR + idle & all the other good stuff, imagine that!)

 

heleneheras
Recovery Runner

I think we should let social media know about this lack of customer service response...... might open eyes facebook, twitter, instagram

 

Moderator Edit: Formatting

pennfit
Stepping Up

I agree.  And this Matthewfitbit guy is no help at all.  

Purin
Jogger
I came to request the same thing. I've been considering swapping to the Up instead because of this feature. It would be so simple to offer and would make lots of us happy! 😊
SunsetRunner
Not applicable
I've finally given up waiting: I've sold my flex, and moved over to Garmin for daily tracking and the idle alert (getting better battery life AND Health integration in the process!), and the new MOOV for running and health coaching and exercise programmes and metrics. It's a shame: I enjoyed being a part of the community, but this complete lack of a key function, together with the utter disregard from the developers has finally proved too much. Sorry Fitbit: improve or go the way of Blackberry...
Kurt1979
Jogger
Just tweeted on there charity tweet : @Fitbit Maybe invest it in Your OWN dev team so they can develop what Your customers realy want #ListenToUs
B175
First Steps

Desperately in need of the 'idle alert' alarm like other competitor fitness bands offer.  Would be a great compliment to all fitbit products.

DerrickS
Premium User
Moderator Alum
Moderator Alum

Hi everybody, just a friendly reminder to please keep in mind our Community Guidelines when posting on the Community.

Our product team is aware of the interest and the sentiment expressed in this feature request. We are always looking for ways to improve our products and I will keep you updated on any status change for this feature request.

 

Diane65
Recovery Runner

I don't know if this idea has been thought of but thought it would be a good idea if the fitbit vibrated to tell you to keep moving when you have been sitting for too long and havent reached goal yet. Also when you increase your step goal it should change from that date not from the day you joined.

AirWalker
Base Runner

Excellent suggestion.  I was hoping it already had this, given that it's tracking how long I'm idling.

fluffy2001
Recovery Runner
At this point it seems to be planned obsolescence and will not be included in any current products as a software update.
awifeyforlifey
Stepping Up

Yes please!!!! Jawbone had an idle alert that you could customize, and I would LOVE to see this on my FitBit. It reminds me to get up and move throughout the day.

Donkdonk
First Steps
Love my Fitbit. An idle alert would improve the whole experience and added wellness factor to the tracker
lucifer
First Steps

Just bought a Fitbit Charge HR today from MediaMarkt in Berlin, assuming that the most basic feature (idle alert) was part of Fitbit. 

Today after set it up I noticed that it is not a feature. It is show stopper for me. I will return it tomorrow and go for Vivosmart HR which will be available in two days in Germany. 

 

Fitbit charge HR minimalistic design was important to me but not having idle alert (even when some 50$ products in the market does) make it unacceptable option. Specially from this 27 pages of comments I noticed that I should not put a hope on their customer feedback and return my Fitbit Charge HR immediately and go for Garmin Vivosmart HR.

 

RolandDenzel
Jogger
I want this!

I'm dying for this so I can just use my fitbit and leave the Jawboneup behind. It's the one thing missing from my Surge that I need.

Device-user
First Steps

It seems pretty amazing that there are so many requests and also complaints on Fitbit facebook since 2013 and nothing has been done yet. Having an idle reminder is number one reason why I just recently bought this device in a first place thinking that this device has JUST that. Very dissapointing for a basic featuredevice that costs that much money. Fitbit, when are you finally going to make this feature available? this would be a great feature to have and would definitely help with weight loss.

Kilmeny
Recovery Runner

I agree that a customisable idle alert would be a significant improvement to the fitbit products. I use a fitbit one because of it's accuracy and it's discretion. If you decide to implement an idle alert I'd like to see it usable on the fitbit one, not just the activity trackers on the wrist. I'm from Australia and our national guidelines advise us to break up prolonged periods of sitting as often as possible. Fitbit users are trying to be responsible for their health and well being. Please help us out and add this feature to your products quickly.

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