Versa now tracking Active Zone instead of Active Minutes

[goitz]

I just upgraded to new fit bit OS.

I used to track active minutes. 

Now it has been replaced by zone minutes on my dashboard. I cannot find active minutes anywhere anymore.

Is there a way to also track active minutes as before?

Thank you.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[RicardoFitbit]

Hello @goitz, it's nice to see you again participating here in the Community Forums!

Thanks for your post and the details that were shared. Let me share with you that because you're using a Fitbit Versa, the Active Minutes feature was replaced to Active Zone minutes. For more information about this, please check our help article: What are Active Zone Minutes or active minutes on my Fitbit device?

Let me know if you have any additional questions.  

[goitz]

Thank you for your prompt and informative reply to my query, Ricardo.

I am a heart bypass surgery survivor who cannot really exercise at maximum
capacity. I walked for an hour today and got only 9 active zone minutes as
opposed to full credit in active minutes before.
I would like to ask if there is any way I can revert back to active minutes
on my versa or am I stuck to active zone with the OS upgrade.
Thank you.

[deegie02]

Please is there any way to go back to the active minutes and get rid of these zone minutes. I do not like this new update at all. I’ve done more intense workouts this week and I am not getting the credit like I would with the old active minutes. It’s very discouraging. 

[Samiam0709]

I’m with you guys.  I did an hour and 20 minutes of exercise tonight and thanks to this asinine update, all my active minutes are completely wiped out and thanks to ridiculous zone minutes it looks as if I did nothing.  Like others I have to track my daily exercise for very specific heart issues so this zone stuff just won’t work.  How do we get fitbit to revert back?  This whole zone minute thing is so seriously disheartening and discouraging.  In the very least, users should have the option.  And again, now all my activity for today is gone

[GrannyA]

Agree- I don’t like this change 😕

[crnalah]

I am on a beta blocker and use perceived exertion to gauge my exercise. 

I also track active minutes and now they are gone.

I want them back, please.

Can I undo this update?

Linda

[AbmL]

Fitbit, please listen to your users' complaints... there is a very sizable chunk of your users needs the Active Minutes feature. I understand that healthy and/or more athletic users would find Active Zone minutes more useful, but for users like me and lots of others that wrote in, we cannot handle more stringent exercise due to different reasons. Eliminating Active Minutes is VERY DISCOURAGING, our trackers stopped gauging or tracking any mild exercise or activities, which are the only type of exercise we can get. Please bring back Active Minutes to Versa, n offer both views of Active Minute n Active Zone Minutes

[crnalah]

Thanks for your comments,

I agree whole heartedly. And I mean that as the pun intended. at 72 I will never hit a Zone heart rate. I simply want to know how many minutes I am active. Period. If I want to stroll and not speed walk or run like a 20 year old, that is for me to decide, not Fitbit. 

I have spent several wasted hours with the Fitbit Chat people who seem totally unconcerned that there are many of us who find Zone minutes totally useless. 

I am planning on going to Amazon.com where I purchased and let anyone else who may be considering purchasing exactly what they might be getting into. 

[LZeeW]

@goitz  @GrannyA @crnalah  @AbmL   I'm not trying to dismiss the concerns of the others who posted on this thread.  I am specifically addressing you because you mentioned specific health concerns and your activity.  Fitbit absolutely does not want you to exercise beyond your limitations.  Only time will tell if Fitbit allows users to opt in/out of zone minutes.  But you can adjust your maximum heart rate and this change will adjust your fat burn zone.  You do this by setting a Custom Max Heart Rate.

There is a bug in the iOS app that keeps you from making this change, but it should work on the Android app.  To set a custom max heart rate:

• Tap on you profile picture
• scroll down to Heart Health and tap on that
• Toggle Custom Max Heart Rate to On
• The accepted maximum heart rate is 220 - age.  Enter a number at least 10 beats per minute lower than your calculated number, sync your Versa and see what your fat burn changes to.
• You need to play around with these numbers.  Your resting heart rate goes in to the equation.  You might need to change it 2-3 to get it back to your previous zones.

For iOS, or if you just want to do it on the web, log in to your account at fitbit.com on a web browser.

• Tap/click on the gear in the upper right, then on Settings when the dropdown appears
• You should be on your Personal Info page
• Scroll all the way down to Heart Rate Zones
• Tap/click Max Heart Rate to Custom
• Enter a new number, the tap/click on Submit.  Again, you might need to do this 2-3 times.

All users seem to have a noticeable increase in their fat burn threshold.  How big it is depends on your resting heart rate.  I am 65, so my fat burn used to start at 77.  Now it starts at 88 (my insanely healthy resting heart rate is 44).  I do need work harder to get zone minutes, but I feel like there were times when I got active minutes at something less than moderate exercise.

Please try this adjustment before you give up on your devices.

[Samiam0709]

Thanks for addressing this.  However, I should not have to adjust my heart rate to suit Fitbit.  It would no longer be an accurate rendering.  My heart rate is what it is and I shouldn’t have to adjust it because of how Fitbit did their update.  Not to mention I do have Apple.  You might want to make sure your post is visible to others because they may actually take you up on your suggestion if they know it’s an option

[Samiam0709]

I think there are a whole lot of us with you.  I was told by Fitbit to go out to Fitbit.com and make the suggestion to bring daily active minutes back and put it back on the dashboard on the app.  We should not have to go to a pc/mac/laptop just to see active minutes.  There’s a reason we use the app.  Best of luck to you.  Let’s not give up hope they’ll change it back!

[crnalah]

I have posted a complaint on Twitter and now heading to FB. 

I am seriously concerned that aging, BP and heart restricted owners of these models of Fitbits may not understand how dangerous this could be.

I hope they change it quickly before someone is injured or worse. 

[JD11]

I’m also having issues with the new “active zone” update. I can’t seem to get into my peak heart rate anymore, I’m doing exactly the same runs I was doing before, I’d stay in peak hr for a good portion of my run before the update,  but now I barely get any peak minutes, if any. It’s very discouraging, I hope it gets reverted back to active minutes. 

[barbieedging]

I am just so confused on how this even works? It doesn’t even show the correct calories burned or anything 

[Mel3963]

But, I do not like Active Zone tracking. I want Active tracking back. 

[Mel3963]

I have only had my Fitbit Versa Lite 2 months. I liked it until this change from Active minutes to Zone minutes. Now I'm thinking about getting another fitness tracker that is not a Fitbit. This Change is not helpful to older adults. Let us change back.

[KelsFelter]

The weekly goal for my Zone Minutes was automatically set for 150 a week/22 minutes a day. I don’t mind the zone minutes because I actually get more credit for my cardio/peak zone minutes while I run. What I do mind is that when I have more than my 22 daily minutes, my tracker circle fills in on the app to show I’ve met my goal, however when I hit my 22 minute goal it doesn’t highlight on my watch. With the clock face I have from FitBit, when I tap the screen it shows me all of my stats in a list. When I hit my goal it highlights in blue. So yesterday my steps, calories, miles, and stairs were all highlighted in blue because I hit my goals. My 128 zone minutes, well over my daily goal of 22, was not highlighted in blue. For an OCD user like myself, that really bothers me. How do I get my daily zone minutes to show I’ve reached my goal like my other stats do? Thanks!