Premium Feedback

[Neverstoplol]

So not only do we pay for Fitbit products, but now we have to pay an additional monthly fee for things in the app that used to be free?! Seriously! With the numerous syncing issues and now this I'm going to another brand and so is the rest of my family. This is completely unacceptable. Fitbit, be prepared to lose a lot if business over this epic fail. Not just from me, but from your once loyal customers. Disappointed for sure!

Moderator edit: title for clarity

[SunsetRunner]

I may be missing something, but I can't see where this is any different than, say Apple, who charges a premium for their watch, and the multitude of subscriptions that you have to pay to use it (and I LOVE Apple... I just can't afford a watch...). Fitbit products are, IMHO, reasonably priced, offer services that I use (including sleep tracking which, unless I missed an announcement yesterday, Apple still does not have) and perhaps this Premium may be useful... if not, I'll just cancel my subscription, and continue to use it the way I have... just my two cents

[PSadie]

I agree completely. I have health issues and specifically purchased my Fitbit for the heart and sleep monitoring capability. Steps were never an issue for me - I have a dog therefore must walk! I was particularly interested in wakefulness through the night. Now, with the changes to the app, I have to go through multiple clicks to find this information. The battery monitor is screwy (tells me it is low when it was just charged) and, quite frankly, I don’t really care how Fitbit scores my sleep. 

Bye bye Fitbit. Apple Watch will be my go to in the future. (And to the other comment, I can think of a single App that Apple decided to charge me for after the fact.) 

[Neverstoplol]

Well I will not be using Apple either. I'm looking at better options. Its simply not that they are charging us now for features that were once free but also that I've had nothing but issues with it over the past month and wont even keep time properly and I constantly get notifications that say "device not found" along with many other issues. 

[Caz29]

Which features that were previously free did they place behind a pay wall?

[PSadie]

Hi Caz,

I take from the posts that some features that folks had when they first signed up a few months ago are now premium. I’ve had my Fitbit since January of last year and really haven’t been fussed about extra bells and whistles. What I object to is that they have made it much more difficult to get basic information like how long I am awake through the night. I used to be able to see that at a glance but now I have to search. My suspicion is that this is to sell the premium service that gives me a sense of “restlessness”. Restlessness, wakefulness, same thing to me. They also promote your sleeping heart rate as something offered in the premium service. Again, that info is already there, just hard to decipher. 

Ultimately, the whole thing seems like a cash grab. When I looked at the price of the Premium Service I was astounded. We’re talking more per month than Apple TV! I would find it hard to justify given my needs. 

[Caz29 · Accepted solution]

I've been using a Fitbit for years and I cant identify a single feature in premium that was once free and no longer is. The sleep stages graph you're referring to has been tucked behind the Deep and REM section (one more tap). Sure you could look at the heart rate histogram and see what your HR was during your hours of sleep, but that's tedious and you'd still have to Google what it meant.

Ive only been trying premium for a few days so I haven't really seen everything it's offering, but so far it's interesting. Keep in mind that premium includes the Fitbit coach service which is $7.99/mo and is actually pretty helpful, though not without its own issues. The questions I have are 1. Are the extra insights and metrics worth an additional $2.00/mo and 2. Are they enough to sell me on a guided workout subscription? Probably not at this point in time.

The whole branding and marketing around premium is confusing. Fitbit never adequately communicated that it was basically replacing the coach subscription. The implementation of the features within the main app is clumbsy. There's nothing in the UI, no way to tell what information is premium only. I'm having a hard time seeing the value here is because I can't tell which things I've "paid" for and which things were always there but went unnoticed or unappreciated.

[Andira13]

The once free feature that I'm most upset about loosing is the ability to do challenges with your Fitbit friends. I can no longer start a "Goal Day" or any other challenge with friends now since they have pushed their Premium memberships so hard. Absolutely disappointing. 

[Andira13]

Editing to say that I found this feature! And it is still free, it's  you been moved to the discover section of the app. Thank you, Fitbit for not completely ruining everything we've all come to love. 

[nisha1179]

I agree. There were a few exercises available right on the watch that I used while my daughter was at basketball practice. Now, they cost? SMH

[PPLOSKI]

I also hate that Fitbit is trying to up-sell me every time I use the app.  There needs to be a way to turn these off.  I have no desire to go to Premium.  I paid quite a bit of $$ for my Versa 2 device, and despise that I'm constantly prompted to go to Premium.  Ex:  I want to look at my Sleep Score and have to see the "Sleep Score Details - Join Fitbit Premium to see details about your .... TRY PREMIUM".  This is so irritating to me that I will no longer recommend to anyone to get a Fitbit, and when this newly purchased Versa 2 kicks the dust I will actively look for another device that doesn't constantly try to get more $$ from me.