Offline Music Storage - Pandora & Deezer Deactivation

[Versa2User2022]

Good day, how will we be able to listen to offline music on our Fitbit with the Pandora & Deezer Deactivation end of March 2023? The reason of having a watch with music storage is so that we don't have to take our phone with during our exercise sessions.

[Marcoxyz]

What the hell, I just recevied an email from Fitbit saying that Deezer will be removed starting from 31/3/23?!

How can i hear music while i'm running without bring with me the phone?! If i buy a fitbit, it's why i need it to practice sport... Everybody when practice sport hear music... If i have to bring always with me the phone, why i should need a fitbit????? As the phone as all the needed app on board: gps, music, train app, etc. If i buy a fitbit it's because i don't want to bring the phone with me! You are turning fitbit to a useless device. I'll scrap it and take a normal watch, who cares! Really a bad bad choice from your side You'll stay all alone with your own device.  Impressive company strategy... Congrats... Please fire who is in charge to take this kind of decisions!

Moderator Edit: Formatting / Word choice

[Gypsyred44]

Received email stating Deezer and Pandora won’t be supported after 3/31/23 but Pandora still being a featured app. Seems if something was going away your wouldn’t actively promote it. Guess we will all be forced to Spotify.

[Deezeruser]

So frustrating! I have a six month old Versa 3 with the Deezer app activated so I can run and not take my phone for my music. I will be smashing my Fitbit and buying an Apple Watch ! You suck Google !

[Jubridgman]

Wish I could take mine back too 😢

[JonDavidL]

Same here. Bought mine over the summer when Amazon had the Versa 3 on sale for $149.  Had I known Pandora was being removed, I would never have purchased the watch. I feel cheated and feeling cheated is not something a company wants a consumer to feel. I am 100% done with Fitbit. I was even considering upgrading my iPhoneXR  to a Pixel 7. Nope. Not now. I agree that Apple is too locked down but the devices are reliable and honestly I’ve never felt duped or cheated by Apple. I’ll use my Garmin and Apple Watch from now on. Hey Google/Fitbit enjoy my $149 because you just lost a customer for life.

[surfing19]

Its going to be interesting to see if Fitbit can actually removed this feature.   Yes, they may be able to not allow this feature place on watch after March 31st, Or in the case you reset your watch back to factory default, you may not be able to go forward.  But to remove it from current watches may be not in Fitbit best interest or even possible. 

I actually own two fibit versa 2. I have a special edition that been sitting in the box brand new for 2 years now,.  I bought It as a backup when I found the ability to listen to my music while not connected to my phone was a game changer for my workout.  Crazy, Fitbit made the versa 2 so good that now even after 2 years, and 10,000 Miles  of use, its still like new. I had no reason to open my second versa 2 until now. 

I just activated my second watch and install pandora.  The watch is now under warranty, so it will be interesting to see how Fitbit proceeds. 

[Jubridgman]

Been researching and as I love to have my music with me I think the Garmin Forerunner 255 Music would really work or me, seems you can store your own playlists as the ionic did, just cost a lot more….

Moderator Edit: Formatting 

[surfing19]

That's the issue.. You don't need to spend $350 to play offline music.   I have 10 Years old android phones that at the time of purchase was the freebie prepaid phones that still support offline pandora with my subscription.  So if I have to go back to wearing a phone on an arm band I will..

Fitbit really needs to come out and tell us what the plan is to replace these service on our watches.  We all bought these devices with 2.5gb of storage.  We own that storage, not Fitbit.   

[Marcoxyz]

You are completely right!

I ask now to the moderators or FitBit staff, to post here in clear letters the terms of contracts where the Company has the right to remove and entire functionality from the device.

Here we are not talking about a single app (Pandora, Deezer, or whatever), but to the possibilty to listen off line music using the smartwatch.

On the packaging of mine FitBit Versa3 it is clearly written that I can listen to music with any subscriptions (that may require a payment). Ultimately, this is false advertising. Device that I bought in November 2022. It will be interesting if it's something possible to remove something that is delcared, anyone knows about that?

So please FitBit staff let me know how something like that will be possibile in agreement with contracts.

We, as customers, should have this type of rights. 

PS: the answer that I get to my post from the staff was: "Fitbit want to stay focused to sport and fitness app".... I think that anyone knows that who practice sport, is listening music in the meanwhile, therefore I consider it only a circumstantial and unsatisfactory answer, which does not explain the real reasons for this decision which obviously only create discontent. I don't think anyone at the moment can say "how nice FitBit doesn't let me hear music anymore, but it will focus on fitness apps"

[MikeMarcMarcel]

Dear Fitbit team, as you so far have not provided a clear answer to the question of why you are removing this functionally from my watch that I am perfectly happy with: Could it be that after the acquisition by Google someone thought it was a way to try and push sales for the pixel watch? At least that is something people are suspecting in various online blogs. This is a question - not a statement - so no reason to delete this post. Or are critical questions also not welcome? So please just answer our questions and also explain why you think we are supposed to accept mutilated functionality for watches we bought with internal storage that will be useless after March 31... Thank you!

[MarkMM]

@Marcoxyz The Versa 3 was discontinued and taken off the Fitbit store when the Versa 4 came out in September. So in November 2022, you'd have basically bought a discontinued product elsewhere other than from Fitbit. They probably don't really owe you any explanations?

"On the packaging of mine FitBit Versa3 it is clearly written that I can listen to music with any subscriptions (that may require a payment). Ultimately, this is false advertising. Device that I bought in November 2022. It will be interesting if it's something possible to remove something that is delcared, anyone knows about that?"

[surfing19]

Good Point.   I know in my area, every major retail store currently has inventory of both the Fitbit Versa 2 and Fitbit Versa 3.  These devices are being sold at full price,  not clearance.   Since the packaging is now false and misleading as of  Oct 2022  due to the fact they disable the ability to download music to these devices. My question for Fitbit,   Why did fitbit not pull these devices from the retail stores last year? 

BTW. 

I went back and checked all emails from fitbit, I never received notification that the feature of downloading music was being disabled.   Anyone else received an email?

To add more insult, the fitbit app still has instructions to download music. The Windows Fitbit App is still available to install.  Only when you login do you get an error message?.   The error message does not even state why you're getting the error  and that this feature is now disabled.  This is all designed to confuse the customer on purpose. 

[MarkMM]

The Versa 2 has not been discontinued by Fitbit yet. They changed the packaging on the one I have. 

[surfing19]

Interesting on the fitbit versa 2.  I know for a fact 2 years ago back in Jan of 2020 all fitbit 2 versa suddenly went on clearance at multiple retailers. .  They were mark down to as low as $50.  I assumed at the time fitbit was making room for the versa 3.     I ended up purchasing two,  one for a backup. I thought for sure with my lifestyle it would be destroyed in a month.   It turned out, not to be the case.  Even the band last for 2 years before not the band breaking, but just the flap got tern.  

Since my fitbit versa 2 hasn't failed me yet, there been no need for me to even be in the market for a replacement watch.   I just now open up my special edition.   Maybe that the point to all of this madness.  They made a product too good.  Maybe that why so many got brick during last firmware update.  Luckily for me, before even the firmware came out, I discovered the bug that caused the issue.   

It appeared a download clock face started writing to the storage, filling all available space.  A simple factory reset fix the issue,  a few weeks later  the firmware came out that brick so many users.  If I had not done that factory reset, It very possible my would of been bricked. 

[MikeMarcMarcel]

... Same here, no notification to not be able to download offline music from a PC anymore... Really feels like bit by bit downgrading our watches, aka planned obsolescence....

[MarkMM]

@surfing19 I thought the Versa 2 was being phased out years ago as well. I think they at least made a good move not discontinuing production so far. It's the only Fitbit I'll still buy. Not for music but for exercise heart rate performance. Had a very bad experience with the Versa 3. 

I'm surprised it worked out for you saving one. It's been said that if the battery is undercharged, it won't come back. I'd be afraid to try not opening one for 2 years. My current back up watches are recharged monthly, and the batteries are at 0 every Month, just sitting turned off. IDK if I could get away with trying 2 Months. 

@MikeMarcMarcel My year old Versa 2 already had download music from a PC removed from the features on the box. Don't remember how I knew, but I was fully aware they were cutting off the ability in October. If you had music downloaded already, that'd still work fine. Not sure it's planned obsolesce. You won't get that feature back buying a newer product.  

[ThomasVDS]

Will we get a refund? My versa 3 will become worthless...  

[MikeMarcMarcel]

@MarkMM ...we don't have to call it planned obsolescence - in case of the deezer / Pandora discontinuation we can call it the deliberate and technically unnecessary reduction of key functionalities of fitbit smart watches, with the intent to push customers, that had been perfectly happy until now, to look into buying Pixel watches to get the same functionally back again. Ironically, I have not seen one post of anyone considering a Pixel watch... I feel bad for the Fitbit brand, the acquisition by Google could have been something good... Again, Fitbit team, if you disagree or can offer a better explanation feel free to enlighten us...

[LDS05]

And now Google has Fubar'd the whole thing by not letting us download music by any means, I am very dissatisfied with the whole thing in that this was one of the features I liked on the Versa 2. Now I have a device that I can connect to a bluetooth headset but nothing to listen to. What a cluster you know what! I will probably not buy a Fitbit again which Google could probably care less about as I believe they bought Fitbit to stifle competition and drive users to their product .... I'd also like a refund or at least a percentage returned as they sold a product on certain features and then hobbled it. At a minimum they should provide an API so that a third party could develop a solution and make a simple app to allow moving music to the watch and play it, I don't need anything fancy just the ability to use a feature I paid for! I'd even pay a couple bucks for it like any other app.

[dsgnmind]

We are all still waiting for a reply. This is supposed to be a forum.