does the inspire HR come with a dongle like the previous fitbits?

[veniinpace]

Does the inspire HR come with a dongle like the previous fitbits? or is the dongle and charging cable combined? thanks for advising

[JohnnyRow]

No Fitbits come with the dongle now.  I almost said you can buy them separately from the Filbit store here, but just checked and don't see them - don't know if that is temporary or permanent.  But you can find them on Amazon.

[veniinpace]

thank you for your reply. So i did not accidnelty lose the dongle when unpacking my new toy.... Inspire HR 🙂  I have a dongle from flex2 i wonder if that might work?

[JohnnyRow]

I believe the dongle is device-independent; i.e. the same for all devices.

[BBurgDave]

As @JohnnyRow said, I think the Dongles are device independent.  That said, the real question is "why do you need a dongle?".  The current fitbits are designed to sync with a phone, tablet or PC via bluetooth and it only needs to work with one device for you to keep it synced.  You can check here if you have a supported device.

[Rich_Laue]

It is not the tracker that needed the dongle, but the Fitbit connect software for an older version of the windows operating system. 

As long as the computer is a Mac or a win 10 with built in Bluetooth. A dongle is not needed, but yes tye one from the flex will work. 

[Bill-Win-8-1]

Fitbit Help reports Fitbit Connect can be used for win 8.1 laptops when following the Inspire HR limiter at help.fitbit.com. Downloaded Fitbit Connect program and installed on win 8.1 laptop. Can see the Inspire HR as a bluetooth device, but will not pair via Windows. The Fitbit Connect program leads to a limited selection of Fitbit products - not including Inspire HR. Therefore cannot proceed to setup. Conflict of help support information. Have Windows 10 computer, but no installed bluetooth. I see wi-fi dongles and bluetooth dongles on Amazon. If I must give up using the laptop, I must select a correct dongle and then download the Fitbit app to the Win 10 desktop. Must I give up on laptop? If so, what is correct type dongle? I have zero interest in constant display of data on a smartphone. Only in downloading historical data for my review - like sleeping heartrate. Hoping for some adult guidance. Thanks.

[Rich_Laue]

Hi @Bill-Win-8-1 The fitbit connect with windows 10 does not need a dongle if Bluetooth is built in or may use a standard Bluetooth dongle.

As for 8.1 I'm not sure if it needs a fitbit dongle or not. Since I have not heard of the Inspire limiter process, without a link to the help doc I'm unable to comment. 

However the fitbit connect is designed to work with all models of Fitbits, and the setup steps listed in the help doc for Win 8.1 seem to imply any dongle will work, I would try an off the shelf dongle. 

[Bill-Win-8-1]

Thank you for the clarification on bluetooth dongle. My Win 8.1 laptop has
bluetooth installed, will see the Inspire HR, but it will not pair using
windows settings. The download for Windows (XP) has a listing of only the
trackers applicable. The download for "PC" (excluding Win 10) has no such
restriction. I followed the trail via Fitbit products to this link:
https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1873?p=inspire_hr&l=en_US&fs=Search&pn=1
At this location, I scroll down to the Fitbit Connect section and find
instructions which almost immediately go off track. When I proceed to
fitbit.com/setup for the 10th time, I end up with a windows exe file. With
that program installed, and registering myself, I am presented with
picture icons of perhaps nine different trackers. None is the Inspire. And
there is no option for a generalized variant of the Fitbit Connect software
installed and able to setup the tracker. That's why I think Fitbit's setup
and help on-line alternatives leave something to be desired. Another
update. My Win 10 desktop does have Bluetooth! I just never had a need to
find it. With it turned on and then "add device" it will search and search
and not find the Inspire HR. But if I press the little single button on the
Inspire and get the smiley face, Win 10 bluetooth sees the tracker. But it
will not pair - just like the Win 8.1

I believe I will go off and download the Fitbit App for Windows 10. Then
try again. But I'll stop after a few times, pack up all the pieces and
return it to the store.

[JohnnyRow]

@Bill-Win-8-1  I'm assuming you do not have a smart watch.  If so, your Windows 10 desktop is definitely the way to go, at least for set-up, and forget the dongle.  Download the Fitbit app from the Microsoft store and go from there.

We're not Fitbit employees and definitely not claiming the documentation is perfect, just other users sharing our experience trying to help each other.

[Rich_Laue]

According to the doc that is referenced. The user is not suppose to try and pair the tracker using the computers Bluetooth, but will do all the setup through fitbit connect or the Fitbit Win 10 app. 

The exe file that was downloaded should be Win Connect.