My experience with Fitbit trackers and Customer Service

[adriennbe]

I purchased a charge 3 in April 2020 after my charge 2 died (it was 3-4 years old so I was ok with purchasing an upgrade.  The  new Charge 3 device died in January 2021, 9 months old. Fitbit replaced it with a device that was completely dead. They then had me send that device back in and replaced it after they received the defective one. That replacement device has just died. Fitbit again offered a replacement or 50% off and upgrade. A replacement would be the 4th device in a year. I could be ok with that, but since they've given me 2 defective devices in 3 months, PLUS the device that only lasted 9 months, I requested an extension on the warranty of a year. I think this is totally fair, especially since my warrantee would end this month, and given all the time I was not able to use the 3 broken devices. Fitbit customer service supervisor escalated my request but it was denied.

I'm very unhappy about this and think this is poor customer service. They wouldn't even ensure that a replacement would be new, said it could be refurbished. I would think that after having this many issues in such a short amount of time they would be willing to offer some compensation. Any suggestions?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Odyssey13]

Hi @adriennbe  the warranty information can be found here - click to go there. 

[Paulc106]

Sadly it seems that Fitbit dont really care full stop about the quality of its products yet happy to charge the amounts they charge.

I will be looking at alternative brands as clearly Fitbit is not fit for purpose

[Cadie14]

The quality and customer support of this product has degraded considerably these past few years. My next tracker will not be a Fitbit.

[SilviaFitbit]

@Odyssey13 Thank you for your assistance on the thread. 

@adriennbe @Cadie14 @Paulc106 Hi there. Thank you for taking the time to share your experience with Fitbit trackers. 

I see where your disappointment is coming from. Each case is reviewed individually and the option provided by Support is based in the Fitbit Warranty, if you have any inquiries about the trackers that are being sent or the option given, please reply back to the case that you have with them, they'll be happy to provide additional details. 

See you around. 

[adriennbe]

They've already said that they can't ensure that this time I get a new device, not a broken refurbished. And if it breaks after 30 days ZI'm out of luck. Three broken devices in 3 months deserves better customer service than this. 

[Paulc106]

SilviaFitBit

Not actually sure you do see where our disappointment is coming from

I have actually never been contacted once directly by Fitbit Support about my post and i am sure i am just one of hundreds if not thousands of customers that have ended up purchasing a tracker from Fitbit which clearly is of poor construction

I have digital watches that have been purchased between 15 and 30 years ago for the fraction of the comparative current  cost of your Fit bit trackers that apart from a new battery periodically have survived the years of wear and tear and still function to this day and maybe just maybe have need one strap replacement.

Yet this fitbit charge 2 has now had 5 / 6 straps in less than 3 years of use and the screen is now about as much use as a chocolate Teapot.

It is clearly a sign of the quality of products mass produced cheaply and sold at extortionate profits.

I like many of your customers will be thinking very carefully about the next tracker we purchase to replace these poor quality products

With regards to your point on Warranty - Not worth the paper its written on. Straps technically not covered as how to you decide what under normal usage is? secondly the workmaship is guaranteed for 2 years from date of purchase. Then bang 6 months after the warranty ends and actually 2 years from first usage the device fails.

The quality and reliability is really poor

Convenient

[SilviaFitbit]

@adriennbe Thank you for getting back. Since you have a case with our Support team, please continue the communication through email they'll be happy to assist. 

@Paulc106 Hi there. Your feedback and comments are appreciated, we're always working to provide a good customer service. The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. Click here to get connected.

Hope this helps. 

[NotSilenced]

I have had an extremely bad experience with Fitbit. I used to be an enthusiastic user until my Charge 3 started having continuous problems. I politely posted here for help on multiple occasions.  The fixes never stuck and I spent more time troubleshooting than I have ever had with any device. I had problems with my screen dying after 2 months. The replacement device quickly developed syncing issues. There were instances where activities that were tracked successfully later disappeared. Step counts wildly jumped around. One day, I saw the 10,000 step celebration animation three or 4 times in the span of a few hours, for example. The syncing problems have persisted since the middle of last year in spite of reaching out to customer service here an on other social media platforms.

[SunsetRunner]

You are not alone. I started with a Charge 2 . It started to give me issues and I went through through the headache and then took then 50% upgrade to the charge 3. BIGGEST MISTAKE EVER! It has never worked right! I have sent it back due to step issues, they sent me a new one. All in total it has been replaced, I think two or three times yet now it does not register going up and down flights of steps. ( I live in a 2 story place with a basement) . This is ridiculous! It claims I will go up and down twice a day. Neat trick, more like 15-20, at least. 

[Odyssey13]

Hi @SunsetRunner  Fitbit will only count the 10 feet elevation when you go up the stairs and if you're holding on to the rail, it might not recognize it. 

[SunsetRunner]

It is a full flight of steps and more often than not, I do not hold the rail. 

[NotSilenced]

I hate on Fitbit A LOT... but, to be fair most other trackers also don’t accurately count stairs either. It has more to do with the nature of that type of sensor than the many, many issues with Fitbit. 

[Paulc106]

SilviaFitbit

Not sure why i need to arrange a separate chat online with regards to my broken charge 2

Fitbit have my contact details and can contact me either directly through my fitbit account or via my email address also on my fitbit account to advise what can or can not be done

I suspect that the Latter (can not) will be the main response.

Not sure if you have tried getting in contact with Fitbit chat yourself but it is painfully slow and i am very busy

The bottom Line.

Since starting using my Fit Bit about 2 and half years ago i have gone through 5 or 6 fitbit straps.

My screen has now started going black and despite resetting several times and getting the screen back correctly initially, then the screen looking like your viewing it in a mirror and now its is completely blank and wont reset even though still registering my steps on my app

This is very poor considering i have digital watches that i purchased over 25 to 30 years ago that have only needed battery replacement in all this time and cost a fraction of the proportionate price of your fitbits

[Odyssey13]

Hi @Paulc106  Thirty years ago, watches did one thing - tell the time. It's not the same now with the devices that can do so much more. You need to be the one to initiate contact with customer support, so why not reach out to them. We're all busy, but if it's important enough, it's worth wiggling a few things around to do what's needed. Support is more than chat.

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

[Paulc106]

Odyssey13 Whilst i appreciate your time in replying, i dont think you are in a position to comment on my specific circumstances. Sure people are busy some of us more busy than others and yes my watches may not have been as technologically advanced as a fit bit ie with its GPS locater but no it was not just a watch and had numerous other functions.

Irrespective if you wish to get into the technological advancement arena i have a number of items from Sat Navs,Mobile phones gaming equipment, calculators, tablets that have been purchased many many years ago that still work perfectly well without any issues whatsoever.

The comparison to the watch was purely for the LCD display side of things which is clearly what the issue I and many other Fit users are experiencing with the FITBIT charge.  Now it is not clear if the Fitbit charge is LCD Led or OLED Backlit but either way the technology has supposedly got better and better since LCD was first iinvented in 1964 and first used in wrist watches and calculators in 1970, so you would expect a better lifespan than 2 and half years with FITBIT better technology??. In fact the latest claims of TV Manufacturer LG is that OLED screens should be good for approximately 54 years now assuming 5 hours of daily use,obviously there are other aspects of a TV that can go wrong within that 54 years giving rise to the need to replace a TV

I have tried to reach out to customer services on a number of occasions and after no joy and sat twiddling my fingers and thumbs for ages waiting for a response or an email or a call to be answered I took to the forums to see if i would get any responses. I also googled the Issue of Screen defects on fitbits and found that i am not the only person that has this issue and in fact the issue is probably a lot more severe than anyone actually knows.

By taking to the forums i thought it would give FITBIT support the opportunity to reach out to me and possible others... clearly not !! as again by reading various comments and threads it is extremely clear that this is a common issue for many and that people get nowhere with FITBIT.

Just to be clear i have typed this out whilst trying to make contact with the customer support team for the last 45 minutes and yet again no response. Unfortunately i can not hold any longer as have important clients requiring my assistance

Thanks Again for your input...

[NotSilenced]

Other brands have figured it out, though. 

I have never even had to contact support for competitors devices because they work as advertised. No rebooting multiple times a day. No factory resets. No deleting and reinstalling the app. No untethering and re-tethering. The screens don’t break after a few months. The straps don’t break after a few months. They SYNC when they are supposed to. I spent ridiculous amounts of time troubleshooting Fitbit over the past year. This wasn’t some short term problem. I tried multiple times and even when it was sort of working-it took rebooting before every exercise and fighting with the darn thing to get it to “work.” Then cue their treatment of me. I have never had a worse experience with any product team in my entire life. Now, they ghost me on all social media platforms. I want the company to change their ways which is why I’m not simply throwing my arms up and walking away.  

Switching brands was like getting a new romantic partner who respects you after being in a very bad relationship. You don’t fully see how bad it really was until you see what it was supposed to be like.