Versa Smartwatches - Fitbit OS 4.1.3 Firmware Update (70.80.0)

[AlessFitbit]

Fitbit Update: 5/27

Hey, everyone!

I'm happy to announce that Fitbit OS 4.1.3 was released to all users. If you haven't already please make sure you update to the newest software for your Versa Smartwatch. It's important to always have the watch on the newest software version so that it runs smoothly along with the Fitbit app. 

If you have any difficulty updating your Fitbit device, review these troubleshooting tips.

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Hi, Versa Smartwatches Family! 

We’re excited to announce the release of Fitbit OS 4.1.3. available for Versa, Versa Lite, and Versa 2. 

We started releasing this new update to customers. This is a progressive rollout which means everyone will receive it at different stages. We roll out releases in phases as a cautionary measure so that we can monitor performance closely and make adjustments if needed. 

*Firmware releases aren't distributed based on region or location and can reach anyone no matter where you reside. 

WHAT’S NEW AND FIXED

Read our help article for the latest updates.

HOW DO I UPDATE?

Find step-by-step instructions for updating Versa smartwatch here. 

If you run into any trouble updating your Fitbit device, review these troubleshooting tips. If you have issues after completing the update, try restarting the watch. 

VERSA LITE users - If you have trouble updating the firmware:

Follow the steps in this help article where we outline troubleshooting steps just for Versa Lite. 

We appreciate your patience while we work to roll this out to everyone. 

[IgorC]

Exactly the same with me. Terrible. 

[KSKrug21]

@MarreFitbit Can I just ask how is this article going to help with the issue at hand? 

This is a definition of syncing, not an answer to my problem. And the links aren't even links to anything relevant or useful to your customers. 

[kowens2013]

Did they change the way active minutes are determined?

Ever since the update, I have been getting over 100 active minutes per day. I went to look at the details and it is showing I had active minutes from 9-10am, when I was sitting at my desk on a conference call. I did walk to refill my water, but that was about 1 minute of walking and 2 of standing. Same thing yesterday it said I had over 100 active minutes and I didn't do anything the entire day. I know heartrate plays a factor in this, but sitting at my desk on a phone call should NOT be considered moderate to intense activity... If this is how active minutes are going to track moving forward I am going to just delete that from my dashboard because it's useless if it doesn't tell me how many minutes of activity I had.

[MarreFitbit]

Hello @MikeD73. The change we made between those dates was the announcement of the release of this new update, the progressive rollout for some users and on May 27th we made it officially to everybody.

With regards to your battery, may I know where and how do you charge your Versa? It sounds that your watch does not have sufficient power source, it may be the reason why the battery is draining too quickly. In the meantime, check some tips here: What are some tips for charging my Fitbit device? and Why isn't my Fitbit device's battery charging? 

Hello @Mikefl47, welcome to the Community Forums. I'm sorry to hear that your Versa 2 is having syncing difficulties after the firmware update. I wonder if the mobile device you're syncing with is included in our list of supported devices? You can see the list at: Which phones and tablets can I use with my Fitbit watch or tracker?

Fitbit products are compatible with most devices that have the following operating systems: Apple iOS 12.2 and higher, Android OS 7.0 and higher. For troubleshooting steps, see: Why won't my Fitbit device sync?

Hello @Lyra1109, welcome on board. Thank you for the details provided about what happened to your husband's Versa. If this happened after the firmware update, the battery may have been drained during the process, could you advise to your husband to charge the watch around 1-2 hours?

Hi @KSKrug21, it's great to see you here. I've seen this is the first time you stopped by to this thread, may I ask what is the issue you're experiencing so I can help you?

Hello @kowens2013, welcome to the Community Forums. Thanks for bringing this to my attention and for the details provided. Have you checked if your personal information is still set correctly in your profile? If you haven't done so yet, I'd recommend restarting your watch as described in this help article: How do I restart my Fitbit device? 

Hi there @IgorC, thanks for the details provided. Since you have already contacted our Support Team, I'd suggest to keep the conversation with them as they'll know what's the next step to try. Note that due to recent events affecting our operations, we may need more than 7 business days to respond.

However, if your Versa is still syncing, I'd recommend trying to change the clock face to a different one to see if this brings back the display. Don't worry if you cannot see anything on the display by now, this process is done through the Fitbit app. 

Hi there @benedikt.ebli, thanks for stopping by. Thanks for the details provided about your Versa's battery behavior. I created a case for you and someone will respond as soon as possible. Just note that due to recent events affecting our operations, we may need more than 7 business days to respond.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

[Lschil]

I did the update a few days ago and my fitbit won't turn on. I attempted to do a restart by following the instructions and nothing happens. According to the app my phone is fully charged. There were a couple of days that my Versa would briefly work, but after some time it would go black and would not turn on. As I mentioned before, it currently won't work at all. 

[Chubaka77]

It killed my 20 month old Versa, thank you. I tried resetting it back  with no luck. Lesson learned - don't update any firmware

[peacepixy]

I switched off the recommended connect and everything is great now.

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[sn2019]

My out of warranty Versa died after the firmware update, all tech support ofter is a 25% off coupon. 

[Jak12685]

This update made my fit but start tracking my walks at least.25 miles or more off from where they have been and added at least five mins to my laps.... It's not tracking right anymore and needs to be fixed ! 

[aneishgoel]

@sn2019 you're lucky you're even getting that; these classless crooks didn't even offer me that

[MikeD73]

Hello @MarreFitbit Thank you for your answer.  I do not have an issue with the battery draining quickly and have never suggested otherwise, so your answer is not relevant.  In normal use, it lasts about 4 days.

So I'll repeat my question:  Should my Versa (original, not lite or versa 2) shut down and power off when told to through settings/about/Shutdown? It hasn't since the December 2019 update.  After being told to shut down, it subsequently needs a 2 button reset to bring it back to life and after I do this I can tell it was still using battery whilst it looked like it was shut down.

[amchrist34]

Original Versa Owners: READ THIS COMMENT before downloading updates. I, unfortunately, did not, and the latest update busted my device (other original Versa owners have complained of the same thing). Of course, since we are Original Versa owners, the 1 year warranty period is over so the best Customer Service is offering is a 25% discount on a new device. Guess this was the final push I needed to ditch Fitbit and switch to Apple Watch like the rest of the world. Fitbit needs to focus serious time on its software updates so as not to render not very old devices completely useless. 

EDIT: looked into the possibility of downgrading the software to unbrick my Versa--it doesnt appear to be possible which is wild. If anyone knows of a way to unbrick my Versa until the new Apple Watch comes out, that'd be great. 

[KikiM75]

This is absolutely nuts - if the firmware update is providing this many KNOWN issues to Versa users, why isn't Fitbit pushing out a bug fix ASAP?!

I'm having the same issues as noted by so many others since this update - battery draining like crazy, not tracking HR, which means no sleep insights, won't track my active hours correctly. VERY disappointing. My current Versa is 10 months old, and was a replacement for a Versa that died within the first 12 months. Instead of issuing so many replacement units, why not make sure your firmware is bug free and has been tested prior to rollout? You are losing so many customers to other activity trackers, because it is crazy to think you have to buy/replace a smartwatch once a year. 

PLEASE listen to all of these users in the community and fix what you broke with the last update! We all want to keep our watches that have been working great, up until now. It's a hassle to have to contact support to arrange for a replacement, or go do the research to find a non-Fitbit alternative! 

I'm a very patient consumer, but this is very frustrating, since it's obvious that Fitbit pushed an inferior code set that broke their customers' equipment, but you're not taking accountability for it and pushing out a FIX!

[ArcherNix11]

Spoiler

My husband was having the same issue (we both bought Versa 2’s at the same time and both [primarily] use them with our iPhones, which are the same model and currently running on the same/latest iOS version [plus the occasional logging into FitBit Dashboard vía computer web browsers]). 

ANYWAY- my Versa2 updated to the new firmware before this message/thread even posted. BUT we couldn’t get my husband’s to update to the new firmware no matter what we tried. 

Long story short, his Versa2 FINALLY updated on June 1st, late at night, to the new 35.70.8.0. So it does take awhile for some people to get their update with FitBit rolling it out slowly to various users over a period of time...but for now I would say you’re fine and just be patient and your update should happen soon. Hope that helps to know you’re at least not the only one...☺️

[BrittFit88]

I’m having the same issues as well! As a matter of fact, reading many of the posts about this I am realizing that many of them are exactly, almost word for word, the same thing I’m going through. Ironically, my warranty expired 5 months ago. Immediately after the firmware update my heart rate monitor stopped working. My watch has now completely gone haywire. The screen is black and it will start vibrating like my alarm is going off randomly. I’ve contacted Fitbit support, sent messages through social media, reached out through chat, etc... I’ve tried everything. Fitbit is absolutely aware of the issue and they really don’t seem to care at all. OR they thought they’d make everyone’s watch crash, offer us 25% off discounts, and encourage you to buy a new watch. Why would I purchase another Fitbit when Fitbit will not reconcile and clean up the disaster their firmware update caused. It’s insulting and extremely frustrating. I am at the point of sharing my experience on every platform and filing complaints. I don’t know what else to do except warn people about this scam-like behavior and go with a different company.

Sent from my iPhone

[eschibli]

After this update I've been getting duplicate exercise tracking on my watch and smartphone - I'll start to track running in the phone app, then after a minuite I'll get a notification that my watch is tracking too!

This results in duplicate logs and annoying "exercised paused" notification spam on the watch for minutes after I finish my run and start cooling down.

The update has also dropped my estimated fitness level from "48: Average to Good" down to "42: Fair," which is discouraging, albeit pretty implausible.

[SunsetRunner]

@MarreFitbit 

lf you can't guarantee that the hardware of the device won't be corrupted by a firmware update (especially for the original Versa which in most cases the device is out of warranty) as per what has been noted in this thread alone (other posts on the Forum have also been noted with this response), why do you moderators push to have users do the updates?  

That's appalling that a company would do this to their customers.  Especially,  during this time period when things are financially impacted.

What does the development team do with all the issues that is provided to them by the moderators?  All I have read is issue after issue with each firmware update, so it would seem as whatever issues are passed to them are not reviewed and no resolution to fix these incorrectly coded firmware updates..  Where is the testing and quality check to ensure these updates are safe to download especially for devices that are out of warranty? Again, there doesn't seem to be any of that being implemented.

Why should the users be out of a working device (which users have noted throughout the forum that they had a perfectly working device before the update) when it's your firmware updates that are continuously causing the devices to be bricked, unresponsive and perform in a subpar manner with every single firmware update that has been issued since last year.

Do you think users will graciously accept the 25% discount off a new device when it's the firmware update that caused their issues (especially when their device was working perfectly prior to the firmware update)?  In just reading the various posts not only on this thread but in other posts throughout the forum the answer is no.....they are angry, frustrated and done with the Fitbit brand and going with other brands.  

Users should be given the option to decline or accept updates especially if their device is older and out of warranty.

[KikiM75]

I was able to connect to Support via chat this afternoon, and only had to wait about 5 minutes. My watch is less than a year old, so still under warranty. But, it’s a replacement for my original Versa that died at less than a year old. They’re sending me a new replacement- so will be on my 3rd Versa in less than 3 years! I tried to explain that FitBit is losing $ and customers this way - just push out a firmware bug fix ASAP and they wouldn’t have to deal with replacements and losing customers! This isn’t cost effective or customer friendly. And, it’s adding unnecessary ewaste with all of the dead devices! I’m very frustrated that a company of their brand caliber is behaving this way!

[DarkPixels]

It has been over a week since updating to 70.80.0 on my Versa Lite.  Thankfully everything has been working well.  I did some testing for battery drain and recorded the levels every 24 hours.  Interesting that it always uses more battery every other day, but nothing out of the ordinary.

First charge cycle:

• 0 hours: 100% Charge
• 24 hours: 85% Charge [15% drop]
• 48 hours: 64% Charge [21% drop]
• 72 hours: 48% Charge [16% drop]
• 96 hours: 18% Charge [30% drop]

Second charge cycle:

• 0 hours: 100% Charge
• 24 hours: 86% Charge [14% drop]
• 48 hours: 65% Charge [21% drop]
• 72 hours: 48% Charge [17% drop]
• 96 hours: 22% Charge [26% drop]

Anybody see something vastly different with theirs?

[blakester]

My Versa no longer scrolls down with the update. Sometimes I can scroll to the apps, but I can't select the apps. I changed the clock face. I have restarted multiple times (even three times in a row). No scrolling. I can't do a factory reset because I can't get to the settings button. When I try using the 3-button reset option, it just goes back to the clock face. This Versa replaced  a defective one in February 2019. It worked GREAT until the update. What are my options?