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. 

[Cybdiver]

Now if they could only fix the battery life and restart problems

[NickyW74]

My Versa 2 did the update and now my workout for the day is not showing as active minutes 

[N17]

Go into settings on the watch and switch the heart rate monitor off and then back on again. That managed to get mine to start tracking zone minutes again.

Sent from my iPhone

[chris2121]

Here is the heart rate data from yesterday.  Fitbit calculated this as 0 AZM! Which is clearly wrong.  I agree that AZM could be far better than the old active minutes metric but it needs to work properly.  

[LucyCastillo]

Hi,

I got the updadate message last night and did the update (71.6.19) on my versa lite and I lost my activity minutes from yesterday including the heart zone for each activity, it only shows 100% below zone and that's incorrect.

[AngieJW27]

Versa not syncing.  I had this problem in December and it has returned, might be coinsidental that it's with an update.  I can't even use it as a watch as the time is wrong.  It was syncing fine for the past couple of months and now isn't syncing again with my Samsung A70.  It can't be the phone as it was syncing perfectly fine with it, but now it's not.  I've tried deleting and reinstalling the app several times.  I've pressed the 2 buttons to reset.  The logo comes up fine but then still wont sync.  Help! Please!

[N17]

Go into settings on your watch. Switch the heart rate monitor off and then on again. This managed to resolve the issue for me yesterday.

Sent from my iPhone

[chris2121]

@LucyCastillo That's exactly what happened to me yesterday.  I think it fails to calculate AZM for any activity before you do the update and just give you a zero.  It seems to start working on data recorded after the update which for many will be the following day.  You should still have the heart rate data showing zones for against time and ironically fitbit still seem to have calculated old style active minutes - if you have a watch face that shows active minutes you can see them.  I'm not sure if any watch faces have been updated to show active zone minutes but presumably that will happen eventually.  

I'm sure there is logic in this somewhere.

My recommendation for anyone who hasn't yet done the firmware update would be to to it first thing in the day.  

[MaryD1234]

I started having issues with wrong time a couple days ago, yesterday I spent at least an hour with on line chat, they had me do all sorts of things, but nothing helped...still won't sync, even after I did a factory reset.  I have updated everything (nothing was out of date) turned off and on my bluetooth, my watch, my cell phone, my land line, my television, my microwave and even my transistor radio (I want to be thorough) and still nothing helps.  WTF FitBit, dang thing is only a few months old, is your product so crappy it craps out after a few short months?

[Festivo]

.I managed to update the firmware update 71.6.19 without any issues, but after the update the heart rate zones from my latest exercise were changed to ”below zones” but are shown correctly in the heart rate graph??? I have log out and in - no help. I checked also in the web and the same error was there as well. Is there a way to get this fixed?Heart rate zones of earlier exercise are ok

[Z06tim]

@FestivoDid you update today and your most current exercise from today as well? I assume all workouts going forward will be correct but it might be confused on that current workout if it was from the same day you updated it.

[N17]

Go into settings on the watch. Go to heart rate monitor and turn it off and then on again. That managed to resolve the issue for me yesterday when I did the update and had the same problem with no zone minutes for exercise

Sent from my iPhone

[chris2121]

Hi @Festivo .  The same happened with me yesterday.  It seems any data from exercise on the day you do the update (at least up to the time of the update) is ignored by the new AZM calculation.  It should be OK tomorrow.  There's no way I've found that you can fix the issue with today's data.

[Selgie]

My new Versa 2 fitbit is stuck on a white logo, swiping just makes the screen go black. The Fitbit app says it is syncing and has version 6.2.11 listed as the version number. How does this number relate to 71.6.19 so i can tell if it has already updated?

[MrMarv]

@Z06tim , @N8teGee , @KateFitbit - 

I haven't taken the update, and will probably wait until my in-warranty replacement Versa 2 I got on Monday dies of old age before I do, unless users are allowed to select between Heart Rate Reserve (HRR) zones vs Traditional Zones as well as Active Minutes over Active Zone Minutes (AZM). And I see nothing in this thread that supports that possibility.

And @Z06tim , I'm not lazy; here is my three month average mileage and I hit eight miles today, most days on the treadmill for an hour, twice a day at 3 mph - my left knee won't handle running anymore. The four mile target was given to me by my Cardiologist. Do you have some data to support your claim of laziness for FitBit users? How many miles a day do you average?

Active zone minutes in themselves wouldn't be so bad, with cardio and peak minutes counting double; I could deal with that.

It is the new interpretation of the Heart Rate Zones I have an issue with.

To incorporate "Heart Rate Reserve" into the heart rate zones without taking into consideration why an individual's Resting Heart rate is where it is is, in a word, unconscionable.

Due to a viral attack on my heart in 2017, the subsequent damage to my heart muscles and the electrical pathways to my Left Ventricle, leaving me with an Left Ventricle Ejection Fraction (LVEF) percentage of 20 instead of 75 (google it), predicated surgery to install an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). In addition, I take ACE Inhibitors and Beta Blockers and other drugs to lessen the stress on my heart. My resting heart rate went from 88/89 bpm post attack but before drug therapy started in June of 2017 to the current 63 bpm. Those are FitBit numbers, so @KateFitbit can verify them.

The AHA and ADA DO NOT currently subscribe to the "Heart Rate Reserve" method. And many other straight fitness organizations do not subscribe to HRR either.

And trust me, I will be discussing this with my Cardiologist on September 3rd.

And FitBit no longer allows for the identification of a custom max heart rate.

Organizations targeting athletes in training are starting to subscribe to the HRR theory and have starting recruiting medical professionals to support their claims. Rest assured, someone with my heart issues are not one of those athletes in training. And I am quite sure, after participating on the boards for a few years, most FitBit users are not athletes, either.

And active minutes were never tied to Heart Rate, they were targeted to Activity - as an "Get off your butt and move around" - remember the 250 steps per hour that FitBit has been beating into everyones head all of these years - quoting the AHA about the need to get up and move each hour?

And now they are mis-quoting the AHA and professing they will "do the math" for us. Like they have warranted trust in the math department - even their help article on HRR when it only addressed the HRR method for the Charge 4 had bad numbers. 

[Z06tim]

@MrMarvMy point was that people actually have to exercise now to get credit and I understand that will upset people when the previous method all they had to do was stand up and not much more to get their heart rate elevated enough to fall in the fat burning zone.

It was previously waaaay too generous in dishing out minutes. I'm sorry but my heart rate at 89 is not high enough to be melting fat away. If that were the case we would all get skinny just by walking to the fridge to eat. Thats just not reality as hard as it is to hear for some people.

Sorry about your heart issue and I'm happy that you are getting it under control. My heart may be stronger then yours but your lungs may be stronger then mine as I had part of my right lung removed in 2012 due to cancer.

I enjoy the new method they are using as I actually have to exercise now which is motivation. Sorry you don't feel the same way.

[MarreFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for your comments and feedback in regards to the Active Zone Minutes. 

If you're having inaccuracies with your Active Zone Minutes after the update, please try the steps below:

• Switch the Heart Rate settings from On to Off and manually sync your watch. To switch the heart rate settings on your watch, from the main screen of your watch, swipe left until you see "Settings", next swipe up until you see "Heart Rate" and switch it to Off.
• Once it's done, manually sync your Versa smartwatch. To do so, open the Fitbit app, tap on the Account icon, tap on your watch's image and tap on "Sync Now" 
• Next, switch it from Off to On and manually sync your watch once again. 
• Once it's done, restart your watch once again. 
• Next, confirm that your tracker is snug on your wrist (the lights shouldn't be visible) We also recommend when you're not exercising, wear the tracker just above the wrist bone.

However, you should see accurate data the next day after you update your watch.

I've seen some of you contacted our Support Team to get help with the new latest firmware update. If you're still working with our team, I'd suggest to keep your conversation with them. 

Let me know if you have any questions present.

[RazzR]

i tried my new Versa 2 on laptop, desktop, tablet, phone, then all of them
again (after removing the device from the fitbit app, re-adding each
time). FINALLY, on my phone, after putting in the 4 digit code once again
to pair it with the app, after setting it onto my Wifi, it finally prompted
me that it needed to update, it updated in about 10 mins or less and now i
can see more than just the white fitbit logo, i can see the watch menus etc
now....it was tracking with just the white logo, just couldn't see
ANYTHING, no menus, no clock, no nothing but a white logo

[ternoler]

The update isn't coming down yet. How long should we wait for the 71.6.19 to roll out?

[Dwalk]

I have a Versa Lite and this update is the worst one ever! It broke the heart rate monitor, keeps resetting my watch count to the online count, negating the work I’ve done. I can’t leave the app on because it drains my battery, but if I don’t I lose my steps. I reinstalled the app, restarted the watch and still no green lights on the back, no heart rate. Of course they took away active minutes and gave us minutes based on...wait for it, heart rate, which means I can’t get zone minutes because I have no heart rate. I’m about to give up and try something else. This is ridiculous. I’ve really liked your product, but pretty isn’t a good basis for buying a fitness tracker and that’s all I’ve got that’s working now.

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