waterproof versa... not really

[trewee]

I have had my Versa for about a month now and was diligent about taking it off for showering and water related activities despite it being advertised as 'waterproof' up to 50 meters.  While splashing in the water yesterday on a 90+ degree day I neglected to remove the watch.  It seemed to be tolerating the water just fine.  A couple of hours later when I attempted to check the time - the device was completely dead.  I have been in touch with customer service who had me do all sorts of things in attempt to revive the very dead Versa but it still remains very dead.  I placed it in a bowl of rice overnight (old cell phone trick) but even with that there is no sign of life.  I submitted a video of my attempt to 'factory reset' the device and now am waiting for a response.  Lesson learned here folks, VERSA IS NOT WATERPROOF!! From what I gathered, they will assess the video I sent and then provide me with further instruction on how to proceed.  All that said, I believe I will be without my watch for a couple of weeks at a minimum.  Pretty disappointed in Fitbit at the moment.

[jjohnso]

Sorry about that.  Fitbit appears to be an unethical company.  I won't buy their product again if this one goes bad and they won't replace it.  Obviously defective.

[TAZ0725]

Very unethical. I'm happy I looked this up to see if it was just me or more of a common problem with them not truly being waterproof and then giving customers a hard time when they try to get a replacement from their faulty product. 

[jjohnso]

Looks like many of us went through that experience.  We've purchased a watch that states swim tracking is something it can do yet it can't handle the water.  Plenty of posts from many people saying the same thing.

[KayleeAmanda]

Hey everyone 

I've owned my versa since April 2018. I actually bought it with my girlfriend. Neither of us had been swimming with it yet so we took the kids swimming and tried it out.

An hour later, my friends watch was completely dead (would not turn on at all) and my tactile response was off (press 1 and 4 lit up, could not swipe, etc)  

My friends is still dead 3 days later and mine now has the white screen of death  My screen is just literally bands of white and grey. 

And Fitbit has told both of us we get 25% off another versa. To be completely honest, had we not gone swimming, we would still have working trackers. And we only went swimming because it is rated at swimproof up to 50 m. 

Very upset .

[kiawahfox]

Update - I received my replacement Versa from Fitbit at no charge and have been in the lake with it several times.  It is still working fine (fingers crossed, knocking on wood, etc...). There must have been a bad batch of Versas that were sold.

[jjohnso]

A lot of bad watches in the batch considering the number of people that post theirs dies after swimming.  I decided to take mine in the water too - been for about 10 swims so far in a chlorinated pool.  If it dies again and they don't replace or offer a discount I will try the Garmin brand.  I've heard they make a better quality watch.  

[32elyse]

Why did they change their minds? They would not do more for me other than a
discount.

[Jewel8]

I agree that the versa is not waterproof for just casual water activity as mine is completely dead as well and I can see water condensation inside the sensors. This occurred after just casual pool activity. 

[TAZ0725]

They should NOT be selling a product that claims to be waterproof for casual swimming and has a swim tracker on it!!!! It's fraud and they are getting away with it, Also, if they want to do that then they should be replacing them and not just offering a discount. It's not an inexpensive watch. I went to Best Buy where I purchased it and they refunded me the amount I paid after I told them the story. I was going to get another one but decided to go with the Galaxy watch. All they people there said they loved it. It's a bit bulkier but I am not going to deal with Fitbit's horrendous customer service until they stand by their products. I do love the new Galaxy, although I am a little nervous to swim because I still have post trauma from the Versa failing. Get it together FItbit. It's obvious from these posts there is a major issue!!

[KayleeAmanda]

Everyone, 

Fill out a Better Business Bureau complaint. They can't ignore all of us. 

The telling thing about my case is that between us, we have 2 versas and 2 versas died the same night we went swimming. Not just one.

I got the whole 'out of warranty' blah blah blah nonsense, here's a measly discount.

I will be ruthless in telling everyone to fill out BBB complaints. 

[Roliemo]

I can't believe that this is such an epic problem. It seems only a few people have no problems with water. And one person has had 5 replacements. Should not be selling it as a water wearable device at all.  Shocking 

[Rcaper]

After I had my first one replaced under Fitbit warranty it died less than a year later (exact same problem—post swim wouldn’t sync then turned off and never came back on) so it was replaced under the insurance plan I purchased when I bought original from amazon. Much faster really emend process via insurance claim.

[Takevacation]

YES!!! I have taken it off for showers, kept it very clean.  Washed my hands yesterday and my screen is all black and white lines now.  It's not even 1 year old.  Do you think warranty will cover it? 

[jjohnso]

See how long the replacement lasts.  I've had three since I bought mine in March.  This last one will last longer because I don't have time to swim as much.  It can't handle water.

[jjohnso]

The warranty is for one year from the date of purchase.  Fitbit has been good about replacing mine - three since I bought mine in March.

[TAZ0725]

I'm sure they will cover if under a year...I finally gave up on Fitbit and returned it to Best Buy where they gave me all of my money back and then I switched to the Samsung watch...



Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone

[Roliemo]

Hmm not so sure, I've requested a refund as it's happened twice now but they keep stalling. My husband has a Samsung  but they're not very feminine are they? 

[Roliemo]

If its under a year yes but do it straight away.  When my 1st watch died I rang them. They went through all the restart procedures over the phone then agreed to send out a replacement one. Got it in two days my only regret is sorting out the 2nd one via email and sending it back as I've seen on here they take months to sort it out.  Call them today, x good luck 

[Roliemo]

This message was for take vacation. Xx good luck 

[TAZ0725]

They are more feminine looking than the Versa...they have a rose gold one that is



Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone