Looking for user feedback on models

[Provenance]

I'm looking to replace my broken Charge 5 (18 months, found out hard way it was no longer water resistant!). Am currently borrowing my DD's Charge 4, but frustrated by inability to see screen outdoors.

I don't want to purchase new now. Looking for feedback on purchasing refurbished -- and in particular Versa 3 or 4, or more likely Inspire 3. I figure if these gizmos don't usually last long-term, one released in last year or two would be best. Figure I'll save some $ while I figure out where to go in future.

Currently subscribe to FB premium, and like health tracking features and find-your-phone. And easy charging. (The Charge 4 screen in sunlight is a no-go for me. I like checking watch while on long walks).

Anyone willing to give feedback on the Inspire 2/3 or Versa 3/4? Or others if you think they'd be able to do basic health tracking.

[LZeeW]

@Provenance   You should remove the Inspire 2 from your list.  It has a monochrome screen and is as unreadable as the Charge 4 outdoors.  The US Fitbit store has the Inspire 3 on sale.  You will get your full warranty, something you won't get on a refurbished model.  I have a bad feeling about buying refurbished.

I never used an Inspire 3, but it navigates exactly like my Luxe.  It's very capable for the basics.  I'm tagging @Julia_G and I hope she will join this conversation. She loves the Inspire 3.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @LZeeW thanks for tagging me, and hello @Provenance .  I completely agree with Laurie’s remarks about buying a second hand Fitbit (on eBay, for example).  I am not sure anyone officially sells “refurbished’ Fitbits so what you will be getting is almost certainly simply a second hand device, and in that case you really don’t know how the battery has been used (or abused).  Even if you buy one “new and in package” it could easily have spent a long time with a deeply discharged battery which could render it nearly unusable or with an unacceptably short battery life.  You also won’t get any warranty.  We see posts like this a lot in the community forums.

The Inspire 3 does not navigate exactly like the Luxe because the Luxe doesn’t have any haptic (or other) buttons so only responds to swipes, whereas you can always return to the clock face screen on the Inspire series by just touching the sides - this is a feature that I like, because swipe screens don’t always respond to my touch (something about getting older, I think)  My son says I have zombie fingers, and I sometimes find the swipe frustrating for that reason.

The Inspire 3 has a great vibrant screen (also good on the Luxe) and although I have poor eyesight I have no problem at all seeing it in sunlight.  It also has the find my phone feature that you mentioned  (which I agree is great).  

As for the health features, there is nothing on the Versa 3 or 4 in the Health category that the Inspire 3 doesn’t have (but your Charge 5 will have had EDA and ECG scan, not available on Versa 3, Versa 4 or Inspire 3, so if you valued those, then none of the Fitbits you are now considering will give you those).  

Both the Charge 5, which you used to use, and the Charge 4, which you have borrowed, have a built in GPS chip.  So if you want that you will lose it on the Inspire 3.  Instead Inspire 3 uses ‘connected GPS technology’ which means your Fitbit connects to your phone’s GPS to track your walks, hikes, runs etc and gives you your mileage that way, rather than having a dedicated chip.  Versa 3 and 4 have that chip.  Inspire 3 doesn’t.

Fitbit once described the dedicated GPS chip as the ‘most requested, and least used’ Fitbit feature.  The GPS chip on the Fitbit (whichever model) uses a lot of battery power and in my experience works poorly once you get to distances more than 10-12 miles.  But I haven’t tested Versa 3 or 4 to see if they can cope with those sorts of longer distances.  

For me the biggest limitation of the Inspire or Luxe series over the Charge 5 or the Versa/ Sense is Fitbit/Google Pay.  I like the ‘pay from your wrist’ option and I miss that on the Luxe and the Inspire series.

But the bottom line is, I would never buy a used Fitbit, because the most important feature is the battery and if you use it well it will last a long time and if you don’t, it won’t and you won’t know how a previous owner used it. The battery is an essential component, and a used Fitbit is unlikely to have a new battery.

The best battery advice is to keep it topped up, ideally always between 20-80%.  Avoid deep discharges (below 20%) as much as possible - if you are wearing it regularly, charge it little and often instead of always waiting for it to die.  If you aren’t using it for a long time, wake it up and charge it now and again.  

Re your daughter’s Charge 4, and screen visibility: I have noticed that this does deteriorate over time, but it is worth checking to make sure that the screen setting has not been accidentally changed to ‘dim’.  Swipe to the settings app and check screen settings.

TLDR; don’t buy a used Fitbit!  get a new Inspire 3 on sale!

I hope this helps…