What do you think of Versa?

[JLH64]

Like the Prodigal Son I have returned to the shores of Fitbit after being away for 2 years, when I left in frustration. Two years ago I had a Charge HR that developed the infamous "bubble band" after 3 months. I moved over to Garmin for two years and was happy enough with their HR tracker, but the Fitbit app is better - so I thought I would come back and try the Versa. I'm now disappointed to see the Fitbit forum, and Amazon reviews, are FULL of negative reviews of the Versa counting imaginary steps, not pairing easily, and the assisted GPS not working reliably. The threads are full of robotic responses from Fitbit that do little to address the issues. The issues have been going on for MONTHS with no fix, and on a $200 device! I'm sorry Fitbit, I'm trying my best to come back, but you burnt me once with a $150 Charge HR that fell apart (as did many others) in 3 months, so I'm paranoid here. So frustrating and a strange business model to not fix issues, but instead release yet another new model -  the Charge 3.

[Mothrasue]

I got my Versa when it first came out in April and haven’t had any problems with it.  Two main things I’ve learned from the forums are to use a glass screen protector and avoid swimming/showering with it (unless you bought it for that reason, in which case cross your fingers and hope you lucked out with a well-sealed Versa).  My texts/call notifications work; it usually pairs with my phone for connected GPS when I ask it to (I restart everything when it doesn’t pair right away and that usually works); the battery is fine (I charge it every evening for about an hour when I’m getting ready for bed).  It definitely seems like a significant number of people got duds with one problem or another.  However there are way more people whose Versas are perfectly fine.

[Niecy17]

 Hope you feel better.

[JLH64]

The Charge HR "burnt" me too. It does fade after a long while :). I have to religiously clean both wrist and device as the "burn" was irritation caused by sweat and the band.

As for the Versa, I spent last night researching issues and I think I'm going to wait until it drops to $99. Paying $200 and having the device count "ghost steps", and have problematic GPS connectivity, I would kick myself.

Thanks for your responses.

[Niecy17]

They have good deals around the holidays.

[MajaFit]

I've got my Versa as a birthday present in July and I have no complaints. Before Versa, I was using Charge HR for 2 years. It developed bubbles only late this spring after almost two years of use. I bought a replacement band from Amazon and passed my Charge on to my father when I got the Versa and it's still going strong. To return to Versa - as said I had no real problems. I too have read about Versa counting steps while charging, bad battery life, water destroying it... For 2 weeks I used both, Versa and Charge, and steps were pretty much the same, the difference was around 5% or less (less than 500 steps difference on the days I got in around 10 000 steps - and sometimes Charge would show more steps, while other times it was Versa). The heart rate was also pretty much the same. The only difference was in the number of floors - this is the only problem I have found with Versa which showed almost double the amount. I'm not sure if it's been solved or not, as I don't have Charge to compare (and usually don't even check the floors, never did).

As far as other problems other people are experiencing - I've had none. I've been swimming with my Versa in saltwater this entire September, rinsed it afterwords with fresh water and had no problems. When I listen to music from Versa, sync it multiple times a day, track exercise and similar, the battery lasts at least two days. But I usually only sync it two times a day, track exercise only every now and then, don't really use it to listen to music (prefer my phone), I have always connected and all day sync functions turned off and my battery lasts 5-6 days - I usually charge it every 4th or 5th day with 20-30 % of battery charge still left.

I've bought a few replacement bands of Amazon and love the fact I can adjust the look according to my preference. Lots of people had problems changing the band - I've never had any, changed the band in less than 30 seconds the first time I tried.

I've also bought a bumper case as well as protective glass just in case - so there are no scratches on my Versa as of yet.

So I'm completely satisfied with my Versa and would buy it again in a heartbeat.

[JLH64]

Thank you MajaFit for your in-depth response. Much of my trepidation comes from the negative experience I had with the bubbling Charge HR. $200 is a lot of money if the device is faulty. Though your experiences seem positive. Thanks!

[Hhogoboom]

I got my Versa in June. Although i do LOVE it.. I will be getting my 2nd replacement in the mail this week. ☹️ I love everything about it.. the look, the longevity of the battery, the app and many other features. However my first one just literally died back in august and my current one just wont hold a charge to save its life all of a sudden... which I’ve been reading is a recent problem? Both times hardly any questions were asked by customer service in regards to wanting a replacement... however I’ll be pretty upset when my 1 year warranty ends and it continues to have problems. Don’t really wanna drop the big money on an Apple Watch........ but. If it last longer then 6 months it might be worth it? 

[Niecy17]

 Hoping for the best.

[Walkman55]

I got my Versa a week ago and no issues whatsoever. The battery life on this thing is incredible. I charged it on Sunday evening and today is Thursday afternoon, and I still have over 40% left. 

Couldn’t be more happy with my new Versa!

[Konaneil]

I'm surprised no one in this thread has mentioned the problem with the heart rate monitor. It runs fast. If the heart rate is off, all other measurements will be wrong too as they're based in part or completely on the heart rate.

Fitbit has admitted the problem since April of last year and claims they're working on it but I really wonder that if they can't get it fixed in nearly a year if they will ever be able to get it fixed.

[beesxxxii]

It runs fast IF AT ALL!! 

I've now had 5, count em' FIVE versas of which none of the HR has worked. The versa is the WORST. 

[Niecy17]

It truly is a hit or miss. Mine has been good to me. Lavender woven band Special Edition. Three and a half days, and at 52%.   

[SunsetRunner]

Hi, is the Versa really that bad? This depends entirely on how you look at it. In this community you will only find posts of users having problems with it, mostly related to battery issues, but also a few ones that are the result of changes users made themselves in all faith without knowing that it could cause problems with the Versa. F.i. the problem with Third Party Clock Faces and the latest Firmware Version of Fitbit OS. On the other hand, as you'll noticed in some of the replies to your post, there are also very satisfied users of the Versa. I can add myself to this group, the only problem is that users who are happy with their Versa do not post here or are able to solve minor issues themselves. If I have to give you a personal answer to your question, the answer would be definitely "no, the Versa is not really that bad"  as I have no problems with it untill now of which I was not able to solve them myself. Hope this is helpfull for you.

BTW, regarding the battery issues: when they work well they last, as in my case, five days, which is a sheer miracle looking at the size of the Versa. Besides that battery usage is so dependant on multiple factors that's no wonder that some of them die earlier than expected or lasting less longer than wanted. Take f.i. listening to music, receiving a lot of notifications, using animated clock faces with sizes of more than 1 MB or even using Clock Faces with the option to be always on, etc, etc. All these things determine battery life, but are hardly ever mentioned.