Versa Smartwatches - Fitbit OS 4.2 Firmware Update (71.6.19)

[KateFitbit]

Update 9/3/2020: This update should now be available to all customers. If you have any difficulty updating, make sure you are following the directions in this article, and then provide as many specific details as possible in your post so that we can assist.

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We've started rolling out Fitbit OS 4.2 Firmware Update (71.6.19) for the Versa series.

We release firmware updates to all customers in phases. The update will be available to everyone soon, and a banner will appear in the app when you can install the update. If you don’t see the banner yet, check the app again later.

*Firmware releases are not distributed based on region or location and can reach anyone no matter where you reside. We do not recommend performing a factory reset to force the update to your device as your data will be lost and you may not get the update. Please be patient and wait until you see the update banner inside of the Fitbit app to begin the firmware download.

WHAT’S NEW AND FIXED

Release notes can be found here.

HOW DO I UPDATE?

Step by step instructions for updating your Versa device can be found here.

We recommend updating your Versa over a home Wi-Fi network as this can greatly reduce the time it can take to get set up. For more information on connecting your Versa to Wi-Fi, check out this article. 

If you run into any trouble updating your Versa I recommend reviewing these troubleshooting tips. 

[cmoo22]

How long did it take you to get your replacement? I sent mine in last week, so I was just curious to see how long it might take. 

[SunsetRunner]

The update has rendered my watch useless. Less than 2 months old. Disgusted

[Kmdennis17]

What a terrible update! My versa lite won't sync, didnt track my fitness and didn't keep track of time. I just got this watch at christmas! I was expecting a better product, not junk. I tried EVERYTHING to try to get my phone to pair with my watch, including uninstalling, restarting my watch, even restoring it to factory settings. Nothing. Is this a joke?! I'm not buying another fitbit. 

[Chocbanana55]

Mine too!

[Joey2525]

Mine won't sync and I believe that's why my battery is draining. Yesterday when I tried to work with support they wouldn't work on the issues and referred me to warranty support which is BS. They basically have said they know they have an issue but dont intend to fix it. 

[Shartr]

After resetting my versa 2 multiple times over several days, it finally seems to be working correctly. 

Keep trying to reset. 

Hold the button on the side for ten seconds and release. After that fingers crossed it works. Good luck everyone. 

Moderator Edit: Formatting

[SunsetRunner]

I can't believe they don't acknowledge what they have done. 

[copgrl459]

Good morning... I did the update on my Versa 2, and immediately noticed issues with heart rate sensor. I moniter my sleep and heart rate daily, so it stood out quickly. I have been having to restart the device everyday to get the monitor to kick back on, however that no longer works as of yesterday.... Can you help? I purchased it October of 2019

[homealonedude]

Ever since this update it has rendered my Bluetooth connection useless. It won’t connect to my phone anymore meaning my stats no longer sync. On top of that my battery drains so much faster now. This has been a massive **ahem** up on your part Fitbit and to tell customers to go and buy a new watch doesn’t cut it. You can’t render a previous device useless with one of your updates and then tell people to go buy a new watch. It’s disgraceful. 

[allienc]

Haha... you would think I'd know better than to ever do firmware updates but alas.

My versa lite is now losing time, steps and battery. If I sync it to my phone, it catches back up. This happened to my last versa lite and it soon led to inability to connect at all so I'm sure that's coming soon. I did eventually get a warranty claim for that one but I'm guessing I'm SOL on this one being replaced as well despite it being only 7 months old. 

[Bruce_je]

I updated my versa watch yesterday and all was fine for a few hours. It then kept bringing up the fitbit logo, vibrating like crazy, changing screens from clock face to notifications quickly and by itself. I could not swipe or click anything. The app told me my versa battery was low so I charged it over night. 

Today after wearing it for an hour the same thing happened so I reset it. When it turned back on the battery was fully drained to i needed to charge it again and ever since the screen has been black and unresponsive. I know the watch is working as it syncs yo the app, is updating my steps etc, and vibrates every time I get a notification on my phone but nothing will happen to the screen. I have tried to chance the clock face and it vibrates to let me know it is done and still no response to the screen via touch or the buttons but still getting notification vibrations. Cannot try and reset again as when holding the buttons no fitbit logo comes up.

This has clearly been caused by the update. What fix is available to me as the watch is basically useless to me know and I jsut have a vibrating blob on my wrist.

UPDATE: battery drained from 98% to 0 in my sleep, less than 10 hours, with no screen on or usage. Used to last me around 5 days

[driggsfl]

As of update today, Fitbit won't connect to iPhone XR. Won't sync. Not keeping any stats, just logo showing. Completely useless. Piece of crap I guess. I didn't listen to those that told me all these same stories with other fitbits.

[RavenHart]

Mine is doing the same thing

[Wyseguy980]

Since the update on Sept 3rd the Heart Rate Zones don't seem correct. This affects both users in my household (Versa watches). Due to this the Versa does not recognize my normal excercise/walks automatically anymore. Pre-Sept 3rd, everything worked. Now all my stats have dropped off. The bps has remained the same but now it doesn't recognize anything like it used to. So for example, a workout that before showed 100% fatburn or even a few minutes of cardio now shows 50%+ "below zone".

I called support and they said "Reduce the Auto Recognize Time to 10min instead of 15, wait and see, try turning it off an on again."

If you're going to change the way you calculate the Heart Zones you need to let us know how to fix it or come up with a better solution than "turn it off and on again". In my case, this update has generally rendered the FitBit useless. If it comes down to buying a new FitBit or something else, I hate to say there's more options available these days for a comparible price.

[MarkMM]

You can customize heart rate zones. 

[GeekStick]

Updated my Versa last week and the battery life went from 3days to 10 hours.  The time is wrong the heartrate says 175 when resting.  The update killed my watch.  I called tech support, they said the engineers are working to correct the problems with the update. Can you give us a timeframe on the firmware patch to repair the problems?

[Amyvirgo]

I did the update recently and now it won't sync. I literally bought this a week ago. Guess I am returning it!

[allienc]

SAME.

They were never able to fix it on my last Versa. Eventually they replaced it. I'm super annoyed to be dealing with this again only 7 months later.

[ktklein72]

I fail to understand why they refuse to acknowledge their mistake when everyone already knows. It just makes them look worse and lose creditibility even more so than from the issue itself. What's worse is they don't pull back the bad update to prevent more devices from getting ruined. Even if they can't roll back to a previous firmware, stop pushing out the bad one at the least. Unless it's that they really could care less I don't understand why they are operating in this manner. Disgraceful and bad business ethics! 

[pondkeeper401]

Best advice is to stay where you are at.