Versa Smartwatches - Fitbit OS 4.2.1 Firmware Update (72.1.9)

[FitbitCommunity]

Update 1/20/2021: We've updated to 100%

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We started releasing Fitbit OS 4.2.1 to Versa, Versa Lite, and Versa 2 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. 

[chris2121]

@NARpaulb EU has a 2 year warranty whereas Most if not all the rest of the world 1 year.  Of course that may change in the future but for now it does mean that anyone who bought their Versa in the EU they should be able to get a replacement if it dies.

[chris2121]

Hi @YojanaFitbit and any other moderators.  Given the huge problems this firmware update is causing wouldn't be wise to stop the rollout?  I've opted not to take it but am still getting notifications to install it.  My guess is that for every one owner posting on here there are many more who are too busy or don't have the inclination.  Many of those may put up with the problems or just quietly stop using their trackers but I suspect just as many are thinking about alternatives and as you can see from people posting on here there several alternatives to choose from.

[Pjd1300]

@Canadamanada  - there is more than one issue being "discussed" in this thread, all related to the latest update. 

So far it seems the problems users are experiencing are:

• Inaccuracy of HR monitoring/tracking:
  • Most are reporting the HR being generally too low, but especially when using one of the exercise tracking functions.
  • Some report the HR going too high.
• Loss of display
• Unacceptable battery life (rapid draining) or complete loss of power (bricking)
• Loss of connectivity/syncing

All of these issues are frustrating and we are all eagerly awaiting a fix from Fitbit....

And a related thread Versa 2 heart rate inaccuracies after the update 

[Csanderson]

1. Heart rate issues are more of high intensity (or at least for mine) like CrossFit/bootcamp workouts. The difference happened immediately following the update. My heart was pounding out of my chest this morning during my workout, my Fitbit showed 108bpm. When I was finished, and had stopped for about a minute or so, it was registering at around 148bpm. It’s almost like it starts calculating the beats opposite of where they should read. Over the course of the last 2 weeks, I have had several workouts in the “below zones” category which is 1000% incorrect.

2. It is not cutting out there are no gaps, it is just severely inaccurate. I finished a fairly aggressive assault bike ride yesterday and it showed my rate at 108bpm... no where near correct.

3. I can provide several instances of incorrect readings. All readings too low!!!

2/4/21 5am-6am

2/3/21 5:15pm-6:15pm

2/3/21 5am-6am

2/2/21 5:15pm-6:15pm

2/2/21 5am-6am

2/1/21 6:15pm-7:15pm

2/1/21 5am-6am

1/31/21 1pm-2pm

1/30/21 9:15am-12pm

I can keep listing... basically the same times I bought this as a fitness tracker, it is not fulfilling its requirements at this time.

[Salter77]

Hi not sure if anyone from Fitbit actually bothers to read the thread or just pick out bits that can answer without admitting any fault ?

Would like an update on syncing issues users are suffering since the software and App updates ?

Would like an update on when Fitbit are going to issue advice that users are still going to face faults as Fitbit don't have an answer to what happened after update ?

Would like to know what compensation or free upgrades to new Fitbits that are known to work with all OS and have been fully tested on all phones 

[dandeforge]

Heart Rate during exercise still wildly inaccurate. I mean doing steady state cardio not registering anything for 15 minutes and then bouncing from 75 to 150 then 80 everyone I look. In total though recorded only 10 active zine minutes in an hour hike uphill with a 30 pound pack, same workout would have been hour cardio two weeks ago.

lots of other fallout since the update:

1) My resting heart rate is inexplicably gone up 10 beats and then down 15 beats then up again...so I can no longer use it to monitor my rest, stress, overtraining etc

2) My sleep heart rate variability is off the charts so I think that is now unreliable

3) My sleep quality is no longer accurate since my time below resting HR is no  longer reliable 

so the function of monitoring my activities, relating it to rest and sleep and training, everything that kept me with Fitbit , is useless.

Worse, now every time I do a google search I see an add for the Versa 3 and Sense and their newer more accurate 3 heart rate sensors . As if I would ever trust them again after deliberately nuking an excellent product . And apparently turning it into an ad magnet.

Ive cancelled my Fitbit Premium and my Garmin Venue arrives end of month not a moment too soon.

[Antinephalist]

The problem I was having was very inaccurate HR readings on my Versa 2, but mostly on the high side - like sitting on the couch for an hour watching my heart rate spike to 125 and start recording Zone minutes. I've gotten it to settle down by doing the following. Some of the steps may be superfluous, but it's been stable for two days or so since I:

1. Removed the Versa 2 from the Fitbit app.

2. Plugged it into the charger.

3. Turned HR monitoring off and shut the watch down.

4. Turned it back on by unplugging the USB from my laptop and plugging it back in.

5. Shut it down again.

6. Turned it on and shut it down 4 or 5 times in a row.

7. Turned it back on and enabled HR monitoring.

8. Turned it off and back on again 3 or 4 times.

9. Added it back to the Fitbit app while it was still charging.

And now it's working pretty well again. Your mileage may vary and I never had issues with it refusing to sync altogether or failing to start. It's a bit ridiculous that I had to do that just to get a heartrate monitor to work again, though.

[Pjd1300]

@Antinephalist 

Thank you for sharing your findings and potential workaround/fix.    I tried doing something similar as outlined in an earlier post which I followed (and it helped a little) but the exercise tracking still isn't accurate at all, to the point that I don't even bother using that feature anymore.  I also tried switching to my dominant wrist, which also made a slight difference, but nothing like "pre-update" performance.  The Versa 2 still struggles to get into any zones.

The steps you outline are a little different, like the turning it back on by re-seating the charging cradle in the laptop (and doing that repeatedly).  And pairing the Versa 2 while it's still in the cradle is interesting - I wonder what difference that makes?  Well, I followed your procedure and I'm hoping this will return my Versa 2 back to "normal."   I'll update this post with my experience.........

[UPDATE]

It's been 3 days since I applied the process outlined by @Antinephalist to my own Versa 2.  It's all-the-time tracking is certainly better (actually registering over 120 bpm) and it's getting into the zones more easily, but it's still tracking lower than it should be and the exercise tracking is still absolutely useless.

I've just about given up.  I can't rely on this device anymore -  it does not correlate with my activity level - it's more of a very rough gauge of my fitness.  Very rough.  😞

[Antinephalist]

Honestly, I have zero idea if everything I did is relevant. But my Versa 2 is stable again on the latest firmware after that whole rigmarole I did. I didn't switch wrists (kept it on non-dominant). Oddly I found that the HR inaccuracies were occurring almost entirely in the afternoon. Before noon, readings were much more stable.

All that I did after a factory reset, after the firmware update. The reset didn't help at all.

[mrfrench316]

I performed a complete factory reset.  Now my fitbit works correctly.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

[SunsetRunner]

Updated my Fitbit a couple of days ago and battery drained very quickly. When it reached 13% I put it on charge. Once fully charged I took off charge the clock face wouldn’t appear until I changed it via the app. Fitbit battery drained last night and will not turn on. All necessary steps have been taken to try and get it to turn on but it won’t. 

[PinkyRabbit]

My watch has started draining the battery again after a week of working OK. Coincidentally, it has also stopped syncing again. A few days ago it did exactly the same thing. I reset the watch and it seemed to "cure" it. But now I'm back to square zero. I strongly suspect that the sync software in the new firmware is at fault and that the bluetooth is left powered on the watch (when it has any kind of sync problem) which is draining the battery???

[SafetyBob]

Here is my erroneous HR data for the morning:

Versa 2 in “workout” mode (Version 72.1.9)

HIIT session with kettlebells, 50 sec/10 sec intervals

1 st case

my actual HR = 172

fitbit says 85

2nd case

actual HR = 140

fitbit says 85

Eventually, the Fitbit shows that I got up to 97 bpm during the workout, but I didn’t stop to take my pulse at that point. 

[ShaferKt4120]

I completed the firmware update this week, and now my Versa is not reading my heart rate or sleep patterns correctly. My heart rate is consistently in the "active" zone even while at rest (i.e. sleeping). This is frustrating. I have tried a hard reset and nothing as worked. Also notice my battery draining a lot faster. Please tell me there is an update to fix this. 

[SunsetRunner]

This is a follow-up to my earlier post about the grossly off HR after this update.  Nothing will repair the Versa 2 after this update.  HR is ridiculously low.  I have been trialing the Garmin Venu over the past week.  Last Friday's workout with the Versa 2 recorded 322 calories burned over 1.5 hours and less than 20 active minutes even though I was panting and lifting weights in the 300-500lb range.  Today, the same workout with the Venu recorded 926 calories.  There have been a lot of nagging issues with the Versa 2 since I got it and with the original Versa before it, and none of them are present on the Venu.  I've stashed the Versa in the drawer, and I'm abandoning it.  This seems to be a recurring "issue" with Fitbit every time a new watch version comes out.  I absolutely think these OS updates are intentionally breaking the older versions.  Goodbye, Fitbit and hello Garmin!  The Garmin also has several features the Versa 2 (or 3) doesn't.

[RafaelLeon]

Update has rendered HR reading completely useless. 

I usually do kickboxing workouts with the Versa 2 and these are some of my readings before the update:

130bpm average/163bpm peak

149bpm average/171bpm peak

142bpm average/169bpm peak

135bpm average/163bpm peak

As you can see, pretty consistent.

After the update, these are the readings I've gotten:

106bpm average/137bpm peak

111bpm average/159bpm peak

113bpm average/153bpm peak

128bpm average/162bpm peak

Out of four workouts, only one is close to accurate, and it was not even the most intense workout of the bunch.

Please either go back to the previous firmware or fix this issue in a new firmware.

Moderator edit: content 

[MarreFitbit]

Thank you so much for your feedback and sharing the information requested. We've passed your feedback on to the team.

[Salter77]

So how are Fitbit doing with supplying a fix ? And admitting fault for faults with updating?

[xXsEoUlManXx]

Ditto. This is soo dumb. They don't allow you to add the sp02 watchface unless you are on the latest version but then they don't allow you to update to the latest version. I just got my watch yesterday and in the process of setup it went out and got an update. Why in the heck did not grab the latest one?

[BriMc]

I attempted the firmware update when it was pushed to me. This COMPLETELY bricked my Versa, which was working perfectly fine prior to starting the update. I tried all the troubleshooting methods suggested and searched for online, and even contacted support to see if anything else was available. My only option? To keep my business, they would like me to "see this great opportunity" by offering me a 35% discount to buy a new Fitbit. Yes, I have to pay for ANOTHER device after THEIR firmware update broke mine. Thanks Fitbit.

So now I'm searching around where I can recycle this piece of junk, and which fitness watch company I will be going with in the future.