Alarm Should Vibrate Until Dismissed (on Fitbit devices)

The silent alarm in a tracker buzzes only for few times and then stops vibrating.It should vibrate until stopped by the user. Thank You 

 

Moderator Edit: Edited title and format.

126 Comments
GotRottys
Recovery Runner

Both the Surge and Charge silent alarm stops buzzing after a few seconds.

The Charge will automatically go into snooze mode and buzz again in case you overslept.

 

The Surge is a little brat and will remain silent and let you oversleep like the lazy cretin you are. You are forced to press the snooze button.  (difficult to do if you're STILL ALSEEP!)

 

Please make the Surge grow up and go into snooze mode if you do not hit either the snooze or stop buttons.

 

FYI, in future models, perhaps the Surge could also have a buzzer as strong as the Charge.

I often wake up just by hearing my wife's Charge.  Yet I barely feel, let alone hear my Surge!!

Amaranthine
First Steps

I am having a similar problem with the FitBit Surge. I am still in school and I will need to get on a regular sleeping pattern and I have been trying but the Surge is no help at all with its alarm (It is currently my only alarm but hopefully I will soon have other means). The vibration itself is fairly week but If the silent alarm vibrated for maybe and one or two minutes it would rouse me. Last nightI slept from 11:04 to 3:14 and now I'm ready for change

Draylen
First Steps

I really love my Fitibt Charge HR! One of the biggest things I was most exited about when buying this tracker (versus other trackers) was the silent alarm feature that it boasted! I really do love the fact that it wakes me up better and more "naturally" than a normal alarm, however I wish it did what it the manual said it would do and continually kept buzzing until dismissed. The alarm always wakes me up with the 3 buzzes followed by me falling right back to sleep. The alarm then goes into some sort of a snooze and buzzes 3 times again, but then it shuts off for good. The manual for the Charge HR states the following:

 

"When your silent alarm goes off, your Fitbit Charge HR will vibrate and the screen will flash. This notification will repeat several times until dismissed. You can dismiss the alarm by pressing the button on the side of the Fitbit Charge HR"

 

The problem is that the Charge does not do what the manual says. The alarm reapeats once, but not until dismissed. It shuts off on its own. While this may be enough for some people, I know that it is simply not enough to be effective for others like me and I really wish to have this be my primary alarm! I would love to see the Charge HR be able to do exactly what the manual says it can and will do and not shut off until I have dismissed it. Some control over the snooze duration and functionality would also be fantastic! Thank you for all you do Fitbit Team and keep up the good work!

Heskey
Jogger

I have just been speaking to FitBit chat support who said they would immediately raise this suggestion to the engineering usergroup. The support advisor directed me to this forum to post my suggestion for greater exposure. I was initially hopeful, but can see that this feature has been repeatedly suggested in various forms for almost a year now and nothing has happened.

 

I own a FitBit Surge.

 

The problem: If you don't wake up on the initial buzzes of the silent alarm, you have missed your alarm. This meant that instead of waking up at 09:15 this morning, I woke up at 11:30.

 

How it currently works: When your alarm goes off, you can set it to go off again (up to 3 times) in 9 minutes by pressing the 'zZ' button, or cancel it by pressing the 'X' button. If you simply sleep through it and press nothing, you have missed your alarm. I also think that whilst the first alarm screen is still active on your FitBit, no further alarm will activate over it, making repeated interval alarms useless.

 

The solution: The silent alarm should continually buzz until some action is taken by the wearer, either to cancel it or snooze it, in which case it goes off again in 9 minutes time (as many time as necessary, until physically cancelled).

 

Between my FitBit Surge and my new mobile phone automatically snoozing its alarm, I think I'll be buying a plug-in alarm clock unless this is updated reasonably soon - but given the lack of response from FitBit so far to similar suggestions, I won't hold my breath.

 

Moderator Edit: Updated title for clarity, labels and format. 

Tlions
First Steps
It should also be set so that it won't turn off until you start moving (steps)
SunsetRunner
Not applicable

i hate when my son's clock buzz in the morning and he's not here.

i hate when my phone alarm buzz at 6:45am and the day is off.

Heskey
Jogger

What's that got to do with this? = /

Garridex
Recovery Runner
Heskey, I do agree with you to have this type of feature in Surge silent alarm. My understanding is that they use Java to develop all fitbit features and I don't think it's difficult to provide this new alarm feature. Best regards
wzielicke
First Steps

The idea sounds good but I think in some cases you may not want the watch to vibrate if it is not "turned off" I have had times where my watch was not on me and it still did the alarm.

 

I think it could go again. On my watch I have it set for every minute for the first 3 minutes.  But I use my Cell phone as a backup. The newer nexus version  you can set it so the alarm does not stop until you turn it off.  Just an idea.

 

JuanK
Stepping Up

I have just changed from a charge HR to a Blaze,   The Charge HR buzzes for around a minute and then snoozes.   The Blaze buzzes 3 times, very weakly in comparisson, and then stops, I have not yet waited to see if it does it again after the snooze period, but the vibration would not be enough to wake me up wth the Blaze.   On many mobiles you can set a vibration style for different contacts, 3 long, 3 short, SOS style, etc,  to be able to set the style and the length of time it vibrates, 10 secondes up to 120, with the option on if you want to suto snooze, and option  if you start taking steps to turn off auto snooze.  I'm aware this may effect battery, but I, and my Mrs, have come to love not having a bedised alarm go off.  So I'd take a drop in Battery life to actaully wake up.

Calathea77
Tempo Runner

Having the alarm on continuously would murder the battery life.  Having it come on briefly every 10 minutes would make far more sense.

 

I've got a Charge HR, and the alarm repeats at 9 min intervals until turned off.  Is this not usual?  Since it's already a feature on one model, I imagine they are likely to roll it out across similar or more expensive models.

Heskey
Jogger

I would rather have the inconvenience of having to charge up my Surge for an hour if I accidentally left it lying around with an alarm buzzing, than the inconvenience of being 3 hours late for work because it didn't wake me up.

Calathea77
Tempo Runner
I suppose some people prefer it that way and some don't. They'd be inundated with complaints about the battery life if it were set up that way as default. There are already enough problems in that respect. Apart from anything else, if the battery suddenly dies in the middle of the night, you won't get your alarm in the morning.

I occasionally sleep through my FitBit alarm. I'm unable to work due to disability, so it doesn't matter if I miss the odd alarm, but if I need to get up at a set time, I set an alarm that will make a loud noise on my phone. Vibrating wrist alarms aren't all that strong, and it sounds like you may be better off using something stronger for getting up in the morning. If you don't want something noisy, for instance because of a partner, you can get vibrating alarms that go under the pillow and are meant to be excellent. I find the Fitbit more useful as an alarm when I am awake, for instance for taking medication. If I'm going to sleep through it once, I'm going to sleep through the repeats as well, and I doubt a continuous alarm would improve that.
Calathea77
Tempo Runner
And it's frustrating when something is nearly perfect for you but then is not quite right in a way that effectively scuppers it altogether, isn't it?
Nocturnx
Base Runner

I think the vibration intensity just needs increased.  The way it functions now seems fine, the vibration just isn't strong enough.  The ability to select vibration patterns would help also.  Look at this feature request and vote!:  https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Requests/Make-Blaze-vibration-stronger/idi-p/1217806

GabinkaP
Base Runner

Not commenting on the silent alarm really, but the alarms in general on the Fitbit and phone. I was sleeping through my silent alarm and my phone's stock alarm.  I found an app entitled "I Can't Wake Up."  This is harder to sleep through. You can set the alarm to make you do things. For example, at 8:30am M-F, I hear music, then I have to do 2 math problems (ex. (6 x 2) + (3 x 2) as one of the problems), then shake my phone, and finally pull down a bar on the phone's display. My 11pm alarm to take my medicine is a match game of 16 squares and 8 colors. Match them up, pull down the bar.  There are others.  


I recommend I Can't  Wake Up. It's annoying. That wakes you up.

 

Monst4r
First Steps
I agree with everything being said here.

Vibration either needs to be stronger and only registered snooze if you, say tap it, and should not cancel the alarm until it's physically disabled over the phone app.

These suggestions and fixed are easily done on a software update.

Please make these changes!! The idea of the silent alarm along with teenagers tracking is one of my favourite features of the fitbit.

Minor adjustments will actually make it useable
Drivingintodawn
Keeping Pace

One of my favorite things about Fitbit has been the silent alarm. My partner is a very light sleeper, and I must be awake at 5am for work. Suffice it to say, it's an extremely necessary feature for me.

I've had both a Fitbit flex and a Fitbit charge HR. I remember vividly that both of these devices would vibrate until the silent alarm is acknowledged. I find myself disappointed that the Fitbit blaze will only do 3 sets of pulses before going silent by itself, and suspect this is can be easily fixed in a firmware update. I have come close to being late for work several times already, and have needed to set multiple alarms at 1 minute intervals to better guarantee that I wake up in the morning.

The bottom line, please fix the silent alarm so that it doesn't discontinue vibrating until it is snoozed or stopped manually. I would hate to have to invest in a different wearable specifically to sleep at night.

 

Moderator's edit: Added labels

Sasqch
Recovery Runner
I agree completely. I also have used and relied on a Flex and a Charge HR to wake me in the morning. It seams that now that I have a Blaze it is not waking me up. I went out to my alarm settings to see if they disappeared.

So now I know why...thanks for explaining so well Drivingtodawn.
laura217
First Steps

I agree! Many times I have not felt the vibration and I set it to take my medications so I've been late many times. Wish it would buzz until turned off.

 

Also I wish that you could name the alarms!! I set many for different reasons.

Tim_Kelly
Jogger
I agree! My Fitbit surge does a similar thing where it stops after the third round of buzzing, and would like it to continue until I wake up. Similarly there are some times where it goes off when I am in a very deep sleep and miss it, so having it go off in a light sleep would be very helpful as well.
windkew
Keeping Pace

I easly sleep through the fitbit alarms

Daytoga
First Steps
The silent alarm was a big selling point for me. I'm disappointed in the fact that it is EASILY slept through. PLEASE FIX!!!
Status changed to: Reviewed By Moderator
SolangeE
Moderator Alum
Moderator Alum

Hello, I totally agree with you, this would be a great improve for the alarm. Very useful for us who have to wake up so early without bothering other people in the house. Thanks for sharing! I hope to see it soon! 

SunsetRunner
Not applicable

Yes I totally agree, this feature will be very important. 

 

Sometimes I just missed the vibration (it's rather weak and if you are moving, you may miss the vibration because of your hand movement), I don't feel very secure to use this as an alarm for some important reminder. 

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