Can I increase the intensity of the silent alarm?

[DaveSe]

Have just bought a new Charge2 and the silent alarm is nowhere  near as strong as the Charge Hr  that I have been using is there any way to increase the intensity of the silent alarm as it is not strong enough to wake me up ,Thanks in advance for any help

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity 

[HeydyF · Accepted solution]

Hey @DaveSe, welcome aboard!  There is no option to increase the intensity of the Charge 2 alarm, neither on the Fitbit app nor on the PC Dashboard. Now let me explain to you that, the Charge 2 is a follow up to the Charge HR and has undergone a few changes in design to give users the best possible Fitbit experience. 

Because of changes in the Charge 2 design, such as the size of the screen and other upgrades, as well as feedback from Charge HR users, the vibration intensity of Charge 2 was changed. 

However, we sincerely value your feedback, since this is information to help us here at Fitbit to improve our products and the Fitbit experience for our users.

Keep me posted if you have further questions! 

[DoubleGee]

There is no detectable vibration for the alarm on my new Charge 2.  If it was changed to this level from the Charge HR you may as well remove this ‘feature’ in your advertising as it is not an alarm at all!

[Yorkshire4139]

The alarm is simply not strong enough. Why can’t you strengthen it. I’m deaf and bought this because I need a good vibration alarm. The previous model was great. This one is just not good enough for me to rely upon. 

[DaveSe]

Have to agree have bought a new bracelet to try and get around the problem will give the Fit Bit away as not fit for purpose

[Rich_Laue]

The strength of the alarm has a lot to do with how much room they can make for the motor and offset weight. The bigger the weight, the stronger the vibration and the stronger the motor is needed, the stronger the motor the more space is required. It is a case of how big do we want the tracker to be, currently for a group of users the Charge 2 is to big. 

[DaveSe]

I appreciate your feed back .I was never looking for a stronger alarm ,just the same as I had in the Charge Hr To be Honest I would not have bought this Fit Bit if I knew the alarm had changed from the previous model.As much as I enjoyed the stats getting up for work on time was always a priority

[BFD]

I agree.  This alarm does not vibrate strong enough at all.  The old versions woke me up every single time for over four years.  I have slept in twice this week using my new Charge 2 tracker.  I don't want to lose my job because I'm using an ineffective alarm.  I will have to use an alternative alarm.

[Knomes]

I agree. Silent alarm is now so silent it doesn't  alarm you in any kind of manner!

[jachang]

I agree that the silent alarm is pretty useless. I can't even feel it when I'm awake! I could never rely on it to wake me up. The Charge HR was perfect. Why did it have to change? This new alarm is terrible.

[smartypants]

used the Charge HR alarm to ensure I woke for work each day....set my replacement Charge 2 with the alarm and was late to work as if it did work as well as the Charge HR alarm did then it certainly wasn't loud or vibrating to the effect to have me up and going for work - not good!!!  back to the old alarm clock it is!

[Marin2004]

I have the exact same problem with my Charge 2 - the silent alarm vibration is too weak to wake me. My charge HR silent alarm was perfect, I stopped using an alarm clock. Now, with the Charge 2, I have to go back to the alarm clock. Disappointing!

[doctorpgh]

Unfortunately the problem hasn't been solved - and won't be.  I got the same unhelpful response about design changes from chat tech support today.  They also said "good idea about having user selectable vibration levels - you should suggest this to the improvement team".  Well since this problem has been around for 18+ months and nothing has been done - or showing as an active "improvement" I guess nothing is going to happen.

Charge 2 is a nice improvement in many ways over the Charge HR - but it's now useless because one feature that was great was the silent alarm.  Will return my Charge 2 and go back to the HR.  Making it a variable level vibration wouldn't have been difficult - they just released a range of new products that weren't adequately "field" tested.

[Marin2004]

Thanks. Me too. I returned my Charge 2. However my HR died (I was able to get a full refund through my credit card), so I upgraded to the Versa, which has the adjustable silent alarm. The Versa’s silent alarm is not as good as the HR, but better than the 2 (which didn’t wake me).

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[merson]

You must have received thousands of comments re the weak/soft alarm issue, yet still no solution!

[merson]

You pretend to be a community legend posting a nonsensical response like that! 

[merson]

But my problem is the Alta HR, which I purchased yesterday (!). The alarm is terrible, practically non-existent. Failed to wake me this morning and I have missed all my move alerts today. What a mistake I made to but it. It's going back to where it came from. 

[Rich_Laue]

Currently when I search the Feature Suggestion Board I only see one similar request, but it is for the Charge 3.

We did have a request for a stronger alarm for the Charge 2, but with only a few votes it looks as if the request has been archived.

Note that it is the Feature Suggestion Board where users may submit ideas that they would like to see and others may add their votes.

Currently this discussion is in the Community Section where your fellow Fitbit users volunteer their time to help others with problems. Unfortunately this topic is not something your fellow Fitbit user will be able to fix.

[Marin2004]

Not sure why Fitbit discontinued the strong vibrate alarm of the old watch. I’ve been using the Versa for quite a while now, and it almost always wakes me. 

[merson]

Listen, it's not providing "the best Fitbit exoerience"! The alarm is misdescribed and as such is not fit for purpose.  The model is misdescribed. Stop trying to communicate as a marketing master.