Restore Feature for Data Download CSV file

[olivia.roberson]

To whom it may concern,

My lab, the Yale Stress Center, spent a lot of money purchasing Flex 2 for a research study. We were told we would be able to download the data to csv files so that we could review the data in Excel.This was possible as of last week.

I have realized today there has been an update which now prohibits us from downloading data more than once every 24 hours. This update also makes the process of downloading data take many more steps - you have to receive several emails and then click download. Worst of all, it now does not allow you the option to download the data into a csv file to be viewed in excel. When the data is downloaded, it's all in separate JSON files, making the data impossible for us to use for our research purposes in a seamless way. We were promised that Fitbit would be a good resource for our research & this process is now extremely difficult. Please restore the feature that allows us to easily download data through settings ,data export, csv file. We need this change to be installed ASAP. 

Thank you,

Olivia Roberson

[larryliulcs]

I noticed that data export is no longer in the Excel format - this is a huge issue since I rely on the excel's feature to do analysis. Please bring back the excel data export back!

[olivia.roberson]

Hello,


Thank you for reviewing my comment. When will this change be implemented? Many community members have echoed that they also want to see this change.


Thank you,

Olivia

[Purple_Panda]

Super bummed to not be able to update my personal excel model with fresh data this morning! Please bring this functionality back! Why was it removed in the first place?

[craigvan]

This topic is principally being discussed under the "Dashboard" forum heading, and I will copy my comment from there:

I am PROTESTING the changes to the Data Export function!!

This was an important feature, being able to get an Excel data download daily or on demand.  You better restore the export function back to what it was, or provide it as a $$ premium function that I can pay for, ie $50/year; or you will lose me as a customer. 

In the last five years, I have purchased four Fitbit watches/trackers, and two Polar watches/trackers.

The one big advantage that the Fitbit had over Polar was the Excel data download.

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO LOSE ME AS A CUSTOMER??? 

[KateFitbit]

Thanks @larryliulcs, @olivia.roberson! I'm sure this would be useful for lots of users. Thanks for your idea and for taking the time to share it with us. Keen to hear what others think?

[FitLtx]

Hi! Just wondering if anyone is having problems in data export? I have problems since earlier this week where I couldn't download the spreadsheet as I usually did. It is now in zip /json files and I have trouble opening the files! I would prefer the previous way of data export which is more straightforward and easy! Is it possible to get back to the spreadsheet (csv/ xls). Thanks!

[olivia.roberson]

Kate,

Many people have commented & voted in favor of restoring the old function, echoing my sentiments. When will Fitbit be taking action on this important issue? If Fitbit does not take action, they will be losing a TON of business as you can see by people's comments.It is not helpful for you to simply reply that you agree it would be useful. It is helpful for someone to take action & restore the feature or to be straightforward if no action will be taken so that we can take our business elsewhere.

Thanks so much,

Olivia

[larryliulcs]

Wow, this is serious...FITBIT - PLEASE FIX THIS ISSUE ASAP!!!!! BRING BACK THE CSV/EXCEL FILE DOWNLOAD OPTION!

[GAMurray]

When was this change in exporting files announced?

The ability to download 1 excel /csv file was excellent. Now it appears as a .zip file with 1040 individual .json files.

Not very helpful!!!

[HOH333]

Oh wow! I'm not crazy! So happy I found this thread!

I'm a new Fitbit user (as of mid-late October). Actually the Fitbit is being used by my 22yo son with autism & newly Dx'd bipolar disorder to help track his activity levels. I purchased it after a lot of online research, product comparison, and discussion with family, friends, therapists, and doctors on what tracker might be best to help support my son's overall health. I chose to wait for the Charge 3 because of the specific features it offered -- particularly the improvements in battery longevity, water resistance as well as the ease of downloading the data to review and so we can better understand what might be going on with my son. I've been spending a lot of my valuable time this week trying to figure out why my initial download (on 10-30-18) was exportable as CSV or XLS and now I can only download with JSON files. We are also wasting a lot of my son's valuable time by not having ease of access to this information for the team of people trying to help my son and our family. My hope was that purchasing the Fitbit for the ongoing positive lifestyle support features and the ability to track them would outweigh the one-month rental price of actigraph monitoring for just sleep and heart rate. 

I do look forward to hearing from a Fitbit representative sooner than later and to some quick resolution to this issue. (Actually, that was another reason I chose Fitbit: I understood that there was a solid "stand behind our product" feeling when trying to resolve a problem on whatever level.)

Thank you for your time and consideration in resolving this very important issue for my son and family.

Holly 

[Ohioan]

KateFitBit, this is not an "idea".  This is an unannounced removed feature that many people apparently rely upon including myself.  Your IT department probably already know how many users are interested in this feature by the number of downloads logged.  This is a screw up by someone in IT who is not in touch with your customer base.

And why, might I ask, would this IT person think it's a good idea to replace with JSON data -- unless this was initially intended to strengthen the API developer side???  Which would be my guess.  But your average Excel user knows NOTHING about JSON data, so who thought this was a good idea???  Regardless, can we keep this simple and simply reinstall the previous feature?  Thanks.

[suzanne2018]

I agree with the need to restore the ability to download data to a csv file with a choice of dates to include in the download.  Who could have thought that taking a simple, straight-forward process and complicating the hell out of it would ever be a good idea?  This change makes the Fitbit almost useless to me.  Change it back before you begin losing customers like crazy.  In fact I would like to see it reinstated by November 20 or I may need to start adding comments about its uselessness on various online sites.  What a shame that would be before Black Friday.

[roboqueen68]

Ditto everything Olivia said .Fitbit needs to restore the CSV/excel download feature .I want the control back of my data. I share with my trainer, physician and my dietician .I take my health and fitness very seriously.  We picked Fitbit because we were able to access and use our data. I will post here and on social media until this is resolved.

[Loonie2018]

Please restore the old CSV file download process.  The CSV download was so simple to use and did not take a lot of time to complete.  Why do I have to go through Excel Power Query to TRY and download a JSON file?  Why do I have to learn a whole new process just for your change? The "new" download process is such a joke and takes us back about 10 years in tech.

[SunsetRunner]

I would like to join the other voices saying this change to export data is dreadful.  I used to be able to export the past week, and only the data that I wanted.  Now, I have no idea what's going on, but I certainly don't want all the data in a zip file as someone has suggested.  This could be enough to make me move to another fitness tracker.   Especially since there seems to be an tsunami of anger about this change and yet Fitbit doesn't have a response.  When I wrote I got a stupid e mail saying that I should send an e mail...  and then it would take several days before I'd receive "my data".  

Seriously, in my book Fitbit has about a week to sort this out and then I'm looking for another product.  

[roboqueen68]

This is the direct message I got from Fitbit via direct message on Twitter:

We'd like to apologize for the inconvenience, Mary Ann. We'd like to assure
you that we're constantly striving to improve Fitbit products and services,
which sometimes results in existing features changing. We appreciate your
understanding and will do our best to make sure this product is aligned
with your interests.

They are not getting the message.

[dd2018]

My wife and I are also very annoyed at the removal of the excel download feature,  definitely a backward move.  You have a ton of complaints on this issue,  how many more do you need before restoring the excel download facility?  Would certainly not recommend the Fitbit until facility restored. 

[SunsetRunner]

HELP!!!  I can no longer download my data into Excel.  What happened?  Please fix this ASAP.  I have been downloading my Fitbit data into an Excel spreadsheet where I have set up graphs to track my progress to goal.  I have been doing this using Fitbit for years.  Suddenly this feature is no longer available?  THIS IS TERRIBLE !!!  Please fix this ASAP or I will have to begin researching fitness trackers from other companies.  I MUST HAVE MY DATA !!!   PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE PUT IT BACK THE WAY IT WAS BEFORE, SO THAT WE CAN DOWNLOAD DATA INTO EXCEL.

[BarbKM]

Just another frustrated user commenting where ever possible to get usable data back before I switch devices.  Hoping you realize that you'll lose repeat customers by ignoring these requests.

[dd2018]

I don't think you are taking notice of what customers are saying, we want the CSV download restored ASAP, end of story!

[Loonie2018]

Please do not think this is only a few users complaining. 

Politicians go with a rule that one complaint represents 999 others that did not register a complaint.  We had a perfectly good download that was simply and easy to use.  Now, we have extra steps and hours before the download zip file becomes available.  Then we have to unzip the file.  I still cannot find an easy unzip solution. Can your gurus help?

Tell your programmers to remember the KISS principle.  Keep it short and simple

[Majik52]

The change to data export is quite simply absurd.  I cannot imagine anyone considering it to be an example of sensible customer service to change from a means of exporting simple CSV files for a period of up to 30 days to one requiring all historical data to be downloaded in a totally obscure format that "may take several days to export".  Has someone at Fitbit lost all sense of reality? 

It is apparent the the system developers have no regard for their customers, given that they have implemented this ridiculous change without warning and given no option to select the previous method.  They have not even had the decency to advise how these ridiculous files may be opened or the exact nature of the data each one contains - I am yet to discover any of this and don't see why all users should be inconvenienced by a group of software developers playing at our expense.

Please restore the old method of exporting data TODAY.

[Cristoforo]

Just discovered that the export data to CSV is no longer available and so I cannot continue my quantification exercise in sleeping and the use of various supplements. This is serious blow to the Quantified Life community and makes Fitbit useless in terms of research. 

[IamBob]

Due to the removal of the CSV export feature, I am reduced to manually entering my data into my spreadsheet. This is slower than the export to CSV. However, it is much faster than sending an email to Fitbit requesting an extract, waiting for a response, exporting ALL of my data from day 1 and waiting for the download only to get data totally unusable. 

I have some questions for anyone from Fitbit who may be listening, actually cares, and can do something to resolve this:

- Why was the CSV export removed?

- What is the value of dumping an entire dataset in json every single time I request data?

- How can this json be interpreted and converted to a CSV format? 

- What is the timeline for restoring the lost functionality? 

- Does anyone at Fitbit care?

[SunsetRunner]

I second this request 10 times.

The new process is slow and convoluted, unlike the previous process of selecting a data set and date range and downloading a simple CSV file immediately.

Please restore the option to download CSV files on demand.

I have an Excel analysis that I have spent considerable time to set up which relies on the ability to download my data as CSV.