Why using fitbit ?

[Gaby_s]

Hi fitbit community, 

I'm a "old" fitbit user. I will share with you some of my problems. Maybe I will find some solutions  to them. 

I've used: 

Fitbit flex    - overall happy with it (still in use now by my girlfriend)

Fitbit Surge - after few updates and tweeks I was overall happy with it  > { thanks fitbit for great costumer support : I had my Surge replaced because after 1 year it almost disintegrated ; Unfortunately at this moment after another year the replacement is also damaged - same problem: strap is broken ) 

---

Fitbit Ionic - sleep tracking : completely inaccurate -  it shows random wake periods  (see pictures attached )

                  - hart-rate - wrong - about 20% more BPM when active  

                  - calories count - completely wrong (huge overestimating); to have a more accurate data I had to change my weight information ; (i'm 1.87 cm and 80 kg - but my weight in fitbit profile is set to 68 Kg )

All these problems defies the purpose of using a activity tracker

I don't know what to expect from the future update: It will get better? More accurate? More reliable ? If yes...when?  I'm very disappointed to say that I regret spending money on something that appears  to be completely useless and don't provide the right information.  

Thanks 

[Gaby_s]

[jwebb72]

Sleep pattern doesn't look that abnormal to me. Awake times don't necessarily mean you're actually awake. Could just mean for that period of sleep, you might have been restless or moving around a bit. Seems to happen to you around the same time at night which supports my theory. Just my 2 cents.

[bbarrera]

Fitbit has published data on accuracy of sleep tracking. The short version: accuracy ranges from poor to good. In light of that, your results are not surprising.

Some details here:

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Ionic/Ionic-vs-Charge-2-heartrate-and-sleep-inaccuracy/m-p/2277902/h...

[SunsetRunner]

Hmm... my heart rate tracks well enough compared to the chest strap I wear at the same time (except that initial large overshoot, which does not affect much). This is a 6 mile run, so you can see it isn't really far off.

Some deviation is to be expected considering where the watch is located. There will be movement on the wrist, a delay of some seconds between the two measurements.

All methods of determining expended calories are are just a "guess" based on a generic sample of individuals in some scientific study somewhere. So they will vary. I also use a phone app called Endomondo when I run. It uses hear rate (and a mathematical formula) to determine calories expended. Fitbit uses the MET approach. I do not feel MET approach is very accurate, it uses generic values for specific activities to determine what your activity level is, and not your actual heart rate. This method is easy, but it's accuracy is spotty. On this run above, Endomondo was 110 calories higher than Fitbit. So it is NOT the Ionic that is the issue, but Fitbit's approach to determining caloric expenditure.

As for sleep tracking, I wonder what people think a watch on their wrist is going to tell them. If you move a lot, the watch may think you're awake. If you're heart rate is elevated, your watch may think you are awake. I bet you know in the morning if you slept well or not, regardless what the Ionic tells you. Though, honestly, for me, the Ionic is reporting 100% better than the Surge ever did. My sleep track below says U was awake for 50 minutes, though I really don't recall any of them. However, I only got 28min of deep sleep, and that I knew before I even checked my watch because when I got up, I felt pretty groggy.  Really, though... there isn't anything I can do to go back if fix this, so this report, while interesting, isn't really very useful. Over all, I get good sleep.

The Ionic - for me - has been great. I have none of the issues that other people seem to have. I get all notifications, GPS is great, heart rate is really good, and I can sync with ease.