What's the App Gallery and Can it be Disabled?

[Williger]

Living in the past with my One, Zip, and Surge, decided to delve into newer models.

If these devices are incompatible, they should state clearly on the packaging. I'd like to know how I can set up each of these devices to work independently as I do with my other models.

I'm liking the inspire but had I known I couldn't purchase and use a Versa, I would've likely just got the Versa, which is sitting here charged and unused as I can't add it now to my account.

Perhaps I can sell or give away one of these. I was hoping to use both of them and learn their features. There are times a clip-based tracker is optimal and times I'd prefer a smart-watch. I can't be the only human interested in this nice benefit we'd previously enjoyed with the older models.

Anyway, I still have no clue what the Fitbit App Gallery is. It appears it's all about custom clock faces, I don't care about clock faces TBH. The reason I never upgraded my previous models is I don't care about cute emojis on my tracker, I just want features, like running and sleep tracking. Supposedly Versa can stream music and it would be cool to not require a phone or separate MP3 player, additionally, super eager to check out the additional features it offers. This Versa looks beautiful, however, if I can't add it to my account, it's not going to help. I like the Inspire more than I thought I would and don't understand why I can't have both trackers on my account.

Thanks for reading my digressive babble, back to Googling solutions, LOL

[LZeeW · Accepted solution]

@Williger   I share your frustration.  I hope I can shed some light on this for you.  The App Gallery is the collection of clock faces and apps for the newer trackers.  For devices like the Charge 3/4 and Inspire/Inspire HR. the clock and apps are only made by Fitbit.  There is also an App Gallery for the smartwatches.  The smartwatches support third party clock faces and apps.  I'm like you.  I want a clean, sleek clock face.  Keep it simple.  Sadly, you can't disable the app gallery.

Here's a twist.  When Fitbit started expanding its tracker choices, it didn't support multiple trackers on one account.  Anyone who wanted to have multiple trackers needed a separate account for each one (different email address).  Then came multi-tracker support, then the current multi-tracker support in name only.  Because what we want is multiple newer devices on the same account.  The only way to have an Inspire (a tracker) and a Versa family (smartwatch) is to have two accounts that cannot get merged together.

I am not a software engineer, but I have written code and basically know how this stuff works.  You are able to have a One, Zip, and a Surge because they are different devices.  My take on the current situation is that there was a fundamental change in the core code with the introduction of the Versa.  A certainly looks different from an Inspire HR.  To the current code, a Versa is "the same" as an Inspire HR, the same as a Charge 3, the same as a Versa Lite, etc.  So trying to put a Versa on an account with an Inspire HR is the same as putting two Versas on your account.

IMHO, the Fitbit engineers haven't lost enough sleep trying to make this work.

Thanks for reading my babble.

[Williger]

@LZeeW I'd appreciated your insights and hoped to have some witty banter or something to share in kind but it's been a year and Fitbit's engineers are still sleeping on this but I'm not going to complain too much. As we know, it wasn't even an option until recent years. I'm not a software engineer either but have coded in a past life so yes, it's a different underlying system on the newer ones and it is what it is 🙂 

The weird anomaly in my perspective is the BLAZE. The blaze has a very similar interface to app-based trackers *(looks much more app-based than the Charge3/4) but it very much can play with the newer ones. So far I've learned I can include Zip, One, Surge, Charge, ChargeHR, Charge2, Blaze, even Flex all on one account concurrently, however, anything newer, no. So, the Versa I was all pumped about above still is here and I love it but it's often sitting unused as I find myself using the Ionic lately. 

A year later and I've installed one app: Phone finder 😅

[DanOasis]

Thanks for the info.  I find this an incredibly frustrating limitation.  Before I bought a new Charge 5, I googled "Can you use 2 fitbit trackers on 1 app".
Top answer came up... Yes!! with multi tracker support...blah blah blah. 

I bought the the new Charge 5 and when I tried to set it up in the app, I got the the same screen as @Williger posted above. Started googling deeper only to discover that you can not connect more than 1 of the newer trackers/smartwatches in one app.  

I find it unbelievable that a company as big as Fitbit can't get the coding done to make this work.  If I was Fitbit, it would be clear that the MOST important feature of the app would be muti-tracker support. They would sell a whole lot more devices to one person with that feature.

I am literally shaking my head in disbelief that Fitbit is so unconcerned with this obvious limitation.

[Odyssey13]

Hi @DanOasis  per Fitbit: "Note that you can't connect multiple devices that use the Fitbit Gallery to one account. For Fitbit Charge 3, Fitbit Charge 4, Fitbit Charge 5, Fitbit Ionic, Fitbit Inspire series, Fitbit Luxe, Fitbit Sense, and Fitbit Versa series, only connect one of these devices to your account at a time."