My experience with Fitbit support

[meresydotes]

****If you find this post helpful, please comment on it to keep it at the top so more people will see it****

This is going to be REALLY long - it's part rant and part tips and tricks for how to "handle" Fitbit support from someone with years of experience. I'll try to keep the paragraphs short to make it easier to skim. And I know many people are going to wonder what kind of idiot continues to wear something to sleep that wakes her up every night - one with irrational hope, I guess. Anyhow...

I got my Versa on release day and I loved it. I have tempered expectations for any wrist worn tracker and I was very satisfied. Then, it restarted itself while I was sleeping one night and woke me up because it vibrates when it starts up. I wasn't even mad, I just decide to manually restart at the end of every day.

This manual restarting seemed to work, but after a while, it seriously affected the battery life. I called support and they figured this out for me. They suggested a factory reset if it kept restarting itself in the middle of the night. It did, so I did the factory reset.

When the factory reset didn't help, I called support again. They wanted to replace my Versa, but they wanted to do the month long slow boat process. And, really, I had a functional device that I loved, except for this one thing. But they wouldn't budge. I even spoke with a supervisor.

I decided to call Amazon, who I bought it from, because they know that excellent customer service is the only way to achieve one's dream of a retail monopoly that will eventually allow them to charge whatever they want and treat people however they want. Even though it was one day outside my return period, Amazon agreed to send a replacement and gave me a month to return the old one.

The new Versa did the same thing. I tried a factory reset and it didn't help. I started working with chat support, just to see how often it was really restarting at night. It was at this time that I realized that sometimes it was just vibrating for no reason, not restarting. This only happens at night, after it detects I'm asleep.

Chat support eventually started telling me they wanted to replace my Versa, even though a replacement already did the same thing. They still wanted to do the slow boat thing.

Eventually, I called support again. I think, because it was just outside the 45 day return period and it was my first replacement with them, they decided to just send a replacement "pebble," no return required. Several minutes after this conversation, I got another email from the chat support side "explaining" that they had no options but to receive the old tracker back before they could slow boat the new one.

It took 10 days for the replacement to arrive in SoCal from their warehouse in Indiana.

I got the replacement and the band I like wouldn't attach. I could JUST attach the Fitbit band, so I decided to go with that. After a day or two, the Fitbit band was making me itch. I was dreading calling support, because I knew they would gaslight me. Instead they said they have some defective pebbles that you can't attach bands to. After I sent a video of the problem, they overnighted another pebble to me, no return required.

In case you've lost count, I'm about to receive my 4th Versa, 3 in my possession.

I got the replacement and I was able to attach my band - though in retrospect, I think this one was a little defective, because it was more difficult to attach the band than on a new out of the box with a band attached Versa.

This replacement, of course, also had the same problem with vibrating randomly and restarting itself only while I'm sleeping. I contacted support to let them know and told them I was willing to do a factory reset but they needed to start thinking about escalating to engineering. They told me they needed a video of me doing the reset for whatever reason. Sent the video, continued to have the problem.

They wanted to replace this one too. At this point, I told them that they really needed to start treating this as a firmware issue, but they wanted to send a replacement. I told them I couldn't stop them, but they were going to eventually have to have engineering look at it.

I can't recall if I spoke to a supervisor this time, but I believe I did. They did want a return, which wasn't a problem, since I had one I couldn't attach bands to. They offered to ship the replacement overnight once they received the return in the warehouse. They even offered to pay me back to ship the return over night.

However, they only told me it could take "up to a week" to receive the return. I already had a Versa I could use and I knew the replacement would have the same problem. So I just did the regular return process, with the understanding that they would ship the replacement overnight as soon as they received the return.

After almost a week, my return was still sitting at the local post office, waiting for FedEx to pick it up. If you get a return label, give the package to FedEx, even use a dropbox. You could save yourself a week.

After two weeks, they still hadn't received the return AND they'd sprung the "we also get 5 days to verify your return" thing on me. I emailed to complain again and they said they'd just ship the replacement, since my return had been sitting at the FedEx office for 3 days.

I got the latest return and it was another defective pebble I couldn't attach bands to. I made a video showing the problem and called support to insist that they send me a new replacement, this time in the box, with a band attached. They said the video needed to show my case number, which was new. So I sent one. Then, they said they would send me a replacement BAND. This is like the people who have their trackers die with an almost full battery and support offers them a charger.

I talked to a supervisor and was told that I needed to send back a complete set in a box and they'd replace it with one. They also said they'd send the replacement overnight as soon as tracking for the return showed it was picked up.

I got the new replacement (6th Versa, for those keeping track at home) and it, of course, has the same problem as all the others. I contacted support and told them that this time, they need to have engineering look at it.

During this time, they tried to misdirect my attention and pretend I hadn't been telling them about the problem, or it was a completely different problem. They even asked for a video of me using the Timer app to show that the vibration motor was working - it's working overtime. I jumped through their hoops, but I had to shut the misdirection down. Then they started talking about my warranty. I told them I'd played along with the replacements long enough and they need to have engineering look at it. 

I received a message that my issue was being "escalated." I hope that means I'm finally getting somewhere.

If you've stuck with me this long, thank you for acting as my therapist. I hope you've also seen that their hands are not quite as tied as they will tell you, if you keep on them. Ask to speak with a supervisor. And, if you need a replacement and you didn't buy direct, see if the retailer you bought from will help you first. They'll almost certainly have a better policy.

[AlejandraFitbit]

Thanks for your participation in the Community @meresydotes.

I appreciate all the feedback provided about support and our product, also I am sorry to hear about the issues you have been experiencing with your different watches. Contacting our support team was a great idea to let our team know about this problem and I hope you receive the solution you deserve for your patience.

Keep the stepping up and let us know if you need anything else. 

[dslunceford]

You are much more patient than I am. I believe I'm done with Fitbit. It's one thing for a new device to fail after two months. It's another for their customer service to be such a horrible experience that it takes 4+ weeks to return a replacement device, as many have reported. I'm at three weeks and counting...

[meresydotes]

@dslunceford Just curious - you'd had your Versa for 2 months when it died? I'm trying to determine if there's a method to the madness of refusing to just replace it with no return for weeks and then all of a sudden come back and do just that. I thought it was because I had passed the 45 day return period, and they didn't want me somehow returning one for a full refund and then having one left over. But that must not be it. Regardless, most companies would send you a new one with a return label in the box and instruct you to send back the broken one with the label, once you verified the new one was working. Because of Fitbit's wacky policies, I currently have 3, and I've returned 3 - one to Amazon and two to Fitbit.

[dslunceford]

Yes. I bought online from Macy’s and it was received on 5/3/18. Died on 7/5/18. 

Again, I’m giving leeway for the actual hardware issues, but the replacement policy is horrid. I’d even be happy with them taking my CC to allow immediate shipping of replacement (and not hitting unless defective not received or reimbursement after defective received).  But making the customer wait a month for replacement is ridiculous, especially as the warranty period continues to burn while you are without a device. 

[meresydotes]

Things sure have changed since the days when Fitbit would send replacement trackers to people who lost theirs or drowned them in the toilet. Support never knew how the products worked and engineering was never particularly interested in fixing bugs. But they were always more than happy to send replacements in the hopes that you would give up on asking them to fix bugs.

The thing is, if you look through these forums, you see people having the same problem with multiple replacements. Everyone isn't having each problem, but people who have problems have the same problems with every Versa they try. This tells me (as someone with 20 years experience in tech support) that the problems are particular to the way that people configure and/ or use the devices. If Fitbit was really interested in fixing problems, they should be very easy to track down by asking all the right questions about how people use the devices. They just aren't interested.

They would rather have a bunch of vocally angry and frustrated people in their forums.

As everyone can tell, I'm a talker!

[dslunceford]

Yep, even if the product had problems, support/replacement was easy. 

I’ve had a One, Flex, Force, and Charge prior to the Versa. I gave up on Charge after multiple replacements and moved away from FitBit, but still had no real negative feelings, as they *always* took care of any issues promptly. They have now shattered all the good will and brand equity they’ve ever built with me. For what? To save on postage?

[meresydotes]

Sometimes hardware breaks and needs to be replaced. It's bad enough that they make the process such a nightmare in those cases. But their only solution for obvious firmware problems is also replacement. So they make people go through the replacement nightmare for that, and then the customer has the same exact problem with the new device, because the firmware hasn't changed and it wasn't a hardware problem at all.

Clearly, I've gotten off relatively easily, because I'm the squeakiest wheel that ever rolled; but you shouldn't need to squeak this loudly to get baseline acceptable customer support.

[jkmhb]

I'm in the middle of a similar situation after my second Versa failed - only having it just over a day. FitBit support needs to realize a $200 item is not cheap, and needs to have decent support. I will never buy another one of their products!

[meresydotes]

@jkmhb That's another thing I don't get! With any normal company, if attempts to fix the customer's problems failed and the customer was clearly unhappy, the company would work harder to give the customer a good experience, not to give the customer a poor experience. Did you try to talk to a supervisor? If you managed to get through my manifesto, you probably saw that I had a bit of success getting some concessions that way. Also, presuming you're in the US - always drop your package with FedEx, even in a drop box. USPS will hold your package for up to a week before handing it off.

[jkmhb]

Thanks! Yes, I did request to speak with a Supervisor. I waited a while, and another person spoke with me. He only offered exactly what the first person I spoke with offered.... which makes me wonder what it would take to actually speak to someone who has some authority to satisfy customers. (and why did I waste my time to talk to a supervisor)

UPDATE:

And thanks about the tip to drop off directly at Fedex. I have my Fitbit packaged and will do just that!

[meresydotes]

@jkmhb And that's what's even worse. You're going to be unhappy enough that they're making you wait about a month for your replacement. Then you come on here and see that some people don't have to, and that's not right and makes them look even worse. Even though my "special treatment" was far from awesome, the longest I've waited for any of my 4 replacements from Fitbit was about 2 weeks.

[dslunceford]

Still may not be helpful, as after 3 days my Fedex-dropped package had only traveled 51 miles. Frankly, if I had to do again I'd figure out how to do 2-day priority USPS out of my own pocket, which would be way faster.

I called today (have been using chat and email until now) and my replacement device is being sent today, with anticipated arrival Tuesday, so 20 days total (able to shave off 3-5 days because I called and had the shipment finally approved before the 11am PDT cutoff this morning).

When I get a customer service close out/"how'd we do" request, I think I'll respond that I'm happy to participate in a survey, but please allow me 5 days after receiving my replacement device before I start to process my review 😄

[meresydotes]

FedEx SmartPost is extremely the opposite! At least, when someone ships something to me using the UPS equivalent, UPS delivers it themselves, so it's pretty much the same thing as shipping UPS ground. I swear that the FedEx part of the FedEx SmartPost thing is actually deliberately slower than ground shipping. Like, I'm 4'10" and have severe arthritis in my left knee and I could still walk it there faster.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @meresydotes, @dslunceford and @jkmhb, I hope you're doing well, it's nice to see you around the Fitbit Community. 

We really appreciate our members's input and feedback and I would like to thank you for yours. Our team is always looking to improve the Fitbit experience and I would like to thank you for your insight about the way our Support is working with you when it comes to returning and receiving a replacement watch. Please be assured that our team is paying attention to your feedback. 

If there's anything else I can do for you or if there's anything else you might want to add, please feel free to reply! 

[meresydotes]

@MarcoGFitbit ACTUALLY - I still haven't heard from the "escalated support" I was promised. I even sent a follow up email. What is interesting is that the problem seems to have stopped, at least for now. I can't recall the last time I was certain my Versa restarted during the night (I've even had to manually restart it a couple of times in the last 10 days or so, because it forgets how to track sleep stages) and I only sort of think it might have vibrated a couple of times a couple nights ago (it's always possible I've finally figured out how to sleep through it, though). There haven't been any updates and my sleeping habits haven't changed, so it makes no sense that the problem would be resolved. I would like contact from the "escalated support" to provide feedback.

[TiffyH]

I have had my versa for about a month now and have gone back and forth with support as to why my Pandora will not sync with my phone!!! I've had just about enough, I'm beginning to regret getting this versa!!!

[dslunceford]

Finally received my replacement yesterday. Took a full 20 days to send back and get a return. Cross shipping (with FB having a credit card to hit as necessary if defective not returned) would eliminate these delays.

[meresydotes]

@dslunceford 20 days isn't even that bad, comparatively, which is sad. There's someone on another thread whose return was received over a month ago and her replacement still hasn't shipped. I'm horrified on her behalf.

Meanwhile, I'm starting to get paranoid that Fitbit support is deliberately making my Versa vibrate in the middle of the night to wake me up because they hate me so much. I literally reported to them yesterday that it hadn't been happening and it happened last night.

Actually, I suspect that they're updating my firmware in the background without telling me, which is fine, if it means I don't have to wait for another, long overdue, firmware release for the problem to be fixed.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @TiffyH, thanks for joining the conversation, it's great to have you on board the Fitbit Community! It's great to see you too @dslunceford and @meresydotes. 

@dslunceford, I appreciate you have come back and let us know you have received your replacement, I'm very glad. If you need anything else, please feel free to let me know. 

@meresydotes, I was checking with our Support team and indeed, your case has been escalated to a higher level of Support. Please note that our team needs to investigate your issue thoroughly, which is why you haven't received a response yet but be sure you will receive an email from them soon. 

@TiffyH, thanks for bringing this issue about downloading Pandora stations to your Versa to my attention. First of all, I would like to suggest you to restart your Versa by pressing and holding the Back and Select buttons (left and bottom right) until you see the Fitbit logo on the screen and double check you're following these steps to download the stations.

If your Versa is still unable to download stations plug your watch into the charger. Stations download automatically when the watch is charging and in range of your Wi-Fi network, or tap Force Sync Now in the Fitbit app to add the stations to your watch. 

If the issue persists, please try the following:

1. Restart the Versa once again
2. Restart your phone
3. Plug in Versa to its charger station
4. Un-link your Pandora Account by going to Account > Versa > Media > Pandora
5. Log out / log in from the Fitbit app.
6. Re-link your Pandora Account
7. Tap on Account > Versa > WiFi Settings > Manage Wi-Fi Networks to select your Wi-Fi network (if a network is listed as already connected, remove it and then re-add it and make sure it's the same Wi-Fi network that your phone is connected to)
8. On Versa, go to and tap the Music app
9. Tap the Transfer Music button (once it's complete you'll hear/feel a buzz) the button will read Transfer Music (This will tell you for sure that your watch is connected to the same network as the phone/app)
10. Next, In the Fitbit app, tap on Media tile and tap on "Pandora (manage settings)" and select the radio station(s) you want to download
11. Perform a "Force Sync Now" job
12. On Versa, open up the Pandora app, you should see the message, Updating Stations... Download will continue in background if you leave app.

I hope this can be helpful, give it a try and keep me posted in case you need anything else.