How long should a Fitbit last?

[JResnick4]

My Fitbit just died after 20-months of use. This is the 3rd watch to die in less than 2-years. I am seriously considering switching to Garmin. What is the life expectancy for a watch. Very frustrated. 

[JResnick4]

Really unhappy when I spoke to customer service regarding my broken Ionic. They basically responded to my questions by reading from a script. They repeated the exact lines from the script multiple times. I asked to elevate the issue and they had a manager email me another scripted message. I responded to no avail. How do you get a manager who can actually have a conversation with me on the phone. 

[Odyssey13]

Fitbit customer support is doing their best, but right now be prepared for longer wait times. Please be patient. Support is limited by the number of representatives available at a given time and the hours of operation. Chat lines are open when they have live help.
USA: call (877) 623-4997
UK: call 0800 069 8505
INDIA: call 000 800 050 1057
IRELAND: call 01 691 7502 (country prefix: +353)
Other contact options:

USA: click

Canada: click for options

[JResnick4]

Please read my post more closely. I was told that when I elevate an issue to a manager this can only be done by email. I sent an email earlier today and am still waiting for a response. I would like to speak to a manager directly. 

[Odyssey13]

These are the community forums. You'll have to do the online chat or the phone line to get assistance. We're members who use the products and don't work for Fitbit. Sorry, but those contacts are all I've gathered from being on the forums. No one here can get you the requested call from a manager. 

[JResnick4]

Sorry I thought you were with FITBIT. 

[Connielu]

How do I stop all of these replies from going to email? My last fitbit
worked for a year and it was used it quit as soon as I started interacting
with community

[Odyssey13]

@JResnick4  Fitbit employees who post here are Moderators. They have Fitbit as the last part of their user name and Moderator as their title. I'm part of the Community Council, members who volunteer to help out on the forums, but are not paid employees of Fitbit.

[Odyssey13]

Hi @Connielu  you'd have to go to your settings and select not to be notified of any responses from threads where you've posted. You just posted here, so when I reply, you'll get that in an email, too. 

[SunsetRunner]

A product like a fitbit should last at least as long as its battery cycling capacity.  It is normal for lipo batteries to go through 1500-2000 recharge cycles before it noticeably degrades.

This can vary wildly though, due to use and charging differences, but the lower end should be attainable under normal conditions.

About four years would be acceptable till a battery change is needed, which on these can't really be done unless you have the know-how, tools and skills.

More often than not though physical damage, software issues and a lack of spares supply will brick a device before the battery becomes an issue.

Not many companies expect their gear to last much past the warranty.  Longevity of product doesn't translate well into profit.

[KikiZaza]

My first fitbit stopped charging, and whole front screen has fallen out of 2nd - was told I could claim another replacement- but correspondance has stopped!

[Odyssey13]

Hi @KikiZaza the contact information for customer support is posted above. You might want to get back with them and see what's going on.

[Wdoc]

My experience has been 20-30 months of life.
Between my wife and I, we've bought 5 fitbit devices.  3 of them failed and were replaced in warranty.  None of the devices, those replaced in warranty nor the originals that weren't replaced in warranty, lasted longer than 30 months.
I bought my wife an Ionic in 2018 and spent $20 for a Squaretrade 4 year warranty.  That Ionic was replaced in Fitbit warranty for heartrate sensing failure so it's in ST warranty now.
I bought an Ionic Adidas in 2019, along with a ST warranty, and its heartrate sensing failed in June 2021.  ST can't replace the tracker so they paid me the full value.
I just got a Sense, with 4 year warranty.  Fitbit is a better device/system for fitness, IMO, so just figure in the minimal cost of warranty.  It's still less than the competition. 
If I need to get the current model every 2-3 years for no cost, that's minor.
The i device may be better quality but the fitness results aren't as slick and there's no way I'm going to charge my watch ever day...that's ludicrous. 

[dentner71]

only got 18 months out of my ionic....there are some serious issues with fitbit!!!

[dentner71]

Good luck....customer service gives the same lines all of the time. They only offer a lousy 35% discount to buy another device from their website. Why would I spend anymore money with a company that can't fix the problems we are having?

[Wdoc]

From what I can see, people are buying fitbit hardware because it's the only stuff that works natively with fitbit's fitness/health data system.  That's the only reason that I didn't ditch them long ago.
If you use the model that I've adopted, you may get a new device every 2-3 years, sometimes the latest model, and it doesn't cost you anything but a little time.
Get your best deal on the fitbit of your choice, pay for the 4 year warranty and that's your total cost. 
I just ditched my Ionic Adidas after squaretrade warranty paid me the $$ and used that to buy a Sense with 4 year ST warranty...didn't cost me a dime extra.  
If my Sense dies before 4 years, I'll do it all over again, with whatever the current top model of fitbit is in production....unless some other entity, which has long lived hardware, can pull together the health/fitness data in a usable format, like that which Fitbit has been doing.
Of course, FB can always get greedy and try pushing too much of the usable data over to their Premium service and screw this part up too....  

From reading various 'reviews', I've been gaining the opinion that the current crop of FB hardware MAY be better due to improvements required for  their IP68 rating which expressly implies less moisture intrusion, but only time will tell because those ratings are based on LAB tests only.
These models appear to include the Charge 4, Versa 3, and Sense.
As always, YMMV.  We will see how things unfold in the google regime.

[bjmorch]

I don't think i have had any of my Ionic watches last more than 14 months.  I am currently on my 4 one as the last one was replaced through the purchase extended warranty.  I have considered getting one of the Versa models, but I am concerned that it will not last more then an approximate year as well.  User Wdoc mentioned in their comment that the Versa, Charge and Sense are supposed to last longer, but user reviews have not said one way or another yet.

[Wdoc]

Just to clarify my comments....
With the data that I've reviewed, I 'am forming the opinion' that the newest models MAY be better.  This latest generation is not really old enough to have a good read on reliability, just yet.
Their moisture intrusion rating has been raised to the highest level so, if they maintain their water tight seal, that may help longevity.

If the hardware is just cheaply made and continues to be cheaply made, they'll fail as much as ever. 
From a business standpoint, if FB believes that they're at the sweet spot of revenue generation and customer retention, nothing is going to change..unless Google makes a difference.

Something that makes me lean toward possible better reliability due to the IP68 (the 2nd number is for moisture intrusion and 8 is the highest level for this type of service) level seal is that I took my wife's Ionic apart, after Fitbit replaced it for heart rate sensing failure, to see if I could determine what may have happened.  Even though she took very good care of her Ionic and it was flawless outside, there was evidence that some moisture had been inside.
My Ionic, also maintained well, also suffered failure of heart rate sensing and the cheap case metal of the Ionic is showing evidence of corrosion around the sensor area, likely due to the acidity of my skin (my skin is so acidic that it's pitted 18K gold jewelry)...so I'd suspect my Ionic has had moisture inside also.