Ability to change daily goals without changing all past days

[msbroberts]

We should be able to change our goals without changing all of our past goals.
For example, on holiday break I was happy to lower my goal to 5,000 steps. Or converter, some days I want to do more and want to up my goal to 15,000 or even 20,000...but then It changes all the past days.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject and updated label

[peg1]

I feel the same way ! I have tried to ask for this on FitBit Facebook and have been told to post it on the community page for consideration. It seems lost in tons of posts, never to be considered at all. I see from earlier posts that this issue has been “under consideration” as early as 2014, maybe earlier ! How hard could it be to do what so many customers have asked for FitBit to do ? The very purpose of FitBit is to help customers meet their goals and to encourage, not discourage!
There have been numerous requests for this issue to be fixed and FitBit seems not to care.

[peg1]

I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask FitBit to fix this problem. In my opinion, this problem goes against the very reason to have a FitBit at all.
Keeping track and meeting goals is encouraging ! It helps to meet greater goals along the way. To change your goals and then look back and have all you’ve done changed to look like a trail of failure is ridiculous. FitBit has been aware that their customers have asked for this to be fixed for quite some time. They simply seem to ignore this key flaw in the use of their product. I think it is bad to ignore this.

[tac11848]

I don’t feel that it is too much too ask, for them to fix this. This has been very depressing to me that it doesn’t make me want to continue working towards my goals. But I have seen other apps that use this very successfully! One that I recommend is called Walkadoo. It gives a goal card everyday that you can work on. You get points for what you have accomplished. If you have a day that you can’t make that goal, it is ok. It will adjust according to what you can accomplish. I really like this app. It also includes a community that will cheer you on for what you are able to accomplish. I highly recommend this app for ones like me who struggle to reach your goals. I can use it in conjunction with Fitbit or a steps app.

[alienjenn]

SIGH!

I put my message on their FB page, and this is the reply I got.

Thanks for reaching out, Jenn. Currently, there is one goal setting and if you change it, it's an expected behavior that it'll change for all days including the past days. This feature has been suggested in our Feature Request Board and it's under consideration by our team. We suggest showing your support for this feature by voting here: https://community.fitbit.com/.../Ability-to.../idi-p/72817. By the way, we're hoping for your continuous recovery from your ankle surgery. Let us know if you have further questions.

So this is what I replied to them

 I replied there. Also looking on the boards it seems that people have been requesting this BUG to be fixed (we don't consider "expected behavior" as a GOOD thing, this is a bug ) for MORE than four years. It seems like this is less than stellar customer service to deny your customers a simple fix! I mean if there are users who actually WANT this "expected behavior", is it possible for the thousands of us who don't want it to have the ability to turn off the bug/feature? 

This one post has been up voted 1622 times. That means there are so many more of us who are very frustrated who don't know that the post is there, or those who just quietly slipped away and moved to other platforms. 

This bug is VERY disheartening! I want to see that I have a streak since 1 Nov. I want Fitbit to celebrate this with me and allow me to track this. 

You are breaking my heart and my spirit here. I literally CRY when I see the stars that SHOULD be there (I am not kidding, I have even talked to my psychiatrist about it because it is THAT disheartening.) I am not trying to be melodramatic about it, I am really trying to impress upon you the importance of either fixing this bug or allowing us to turn off the feature.

I ADORE my fitbit. I have a plethora of badges and trophies. I am active in my little friend circle and we do challenges and cheer each other on and everything. It's not amazing that you dishearten me like that.

I don't understand why this is even an issue 😞

[Janene55]

How hard of a software fix is this to implement? Will it happen? It doesn't seem that it would be too hard to turn off the code that goes back to all the previous goals and removes the stars that marked achieved goals. Is there a software developer that can give a quick answer about this?

[Marelco]

The fact of the matter is--they DON'T CARE.  This has been mentioned for FOUR years now?  And it's not been taken care of?  And really, the comment that "it's an expected behavior"....REALLY???  If I get a job with a lower wage, will the new company go into my bank account and take away money, because hey, I'm making less now, and that should change the past?  That's complete baloney.  Changing a step goal or a food goal should NEVER change the past.  And Janene55--I'm not a coder, but why on earth would anyone create a code that changes completed goals retroactively?  That makes no sense at all.  This isn't going to be changed or fixed, considering how long these comments/complaints have been coming and nothing has been done so far.

[daleylife]

It's really embarrassing that this has yet to be implemented. 

It's only natural people would increase their step goal... 

[SunsetRunner]

 I came on to see if there is anyway if changing the "active hours" goal for different days depending on shifts at work, but it seems that is the least of the issues. 

I would be happy to change it day by day, if it wasn't going to take away my achievements of days previously. 

I cannot believe it possibly takes 4 years + to develop a fix for this! 

[Aistog01]

Could there be a section to choose when you want your step goals. I.e turn it off on the weekends? Like where you can chose your active minutes, coukd you chose if you want your goals for that day? So slide across for monday Tuesday wednesday etc but turn off Saturday and sunday? Or if someone has Sunday and Monday off turn those 2 days off? 

[Jackflak]

It is insane that this easy modification has not happened yet.

[JodieCee]

So disappointed to see that this still hasn't been addressed, my partner and I are new fitbit owners and our plan was to set goals and as our fitness improved increase our goals accordingly, we absolutely love our fitbits but after achieving all our set goals for 7 days straight we increased our goals only to see that all our hard work and achievements now appear to be failures and this made us both change our goals back to their previous lower amounts. We want to look back and be able to see clearly how we've progressed towards each goal and how well we actually did. Also with my hourly steps as a shift worker my hours are different on any given day and I have my hourly steps set over a 14 hour period simply so I can reach them on those few days my shifts have me active,  on other days even my shifts vary I'm still sleeping for a few hours I would otherwise meet my step goal and this is actually discouraging,  if we could change our goals without losing past achievements this would greatly help us continue to strive, I'm worried that we'll become complacent and not push to our full capabilities since our goals will now stay set at a level no longer reflective of our increased ability simply so we don't look like we've failed when we've worked so hard to achieve every goal thus far. This also reflects my sentiment on weight-loss goals,  I had planned to make interim goals of 5kg losses on my way to my final weight goal as to break down the amount into smaller more achievable goals to help me stay on track,  I unfortunately had to set my goal at my final destination as it also makes it look like you've failed when you change your goal. I've used other free apps that do a much better job of allowing you to set smaller goals on the way to a final goal without losing the evidence of all your past achievements,  when losing weight looking at the whole picture can be overwhelming and seem so unachievable it does wonders for self-esteem and staying on track to be able to break the big goals down and look back on how much progress you've made. Please,  please fix this 😔

[BrianHoover]

I want to begin by welcoming you and your partner into the Fitbit community
and for your attention to my post. You make really valid points as well as
elaborate more completely on ideas already in play.

While this post originated from updating exercise goals and looking back on
our progressions, I hadn't thought of doing likewise with weight control
goals and the capability to break them down farther. It would be a great
motivational tool.

Sleep tracking is another hot topic. As in your case, a lot of users work
different shifts. The tracker's programming doesn't allow for those
differentials. That does need to be incorporated into the Fitbit settings
and able to be changed and those periods monitored as well.

Thank you so much for your help. Please stay active in the community.


Brian Hoover

[Anominal]

I'm so surprised this isn't a feature yet any where.

I don't have a fixed 9 to 5 work schedule. I start work at different times depending on the.day.

I don't exercise 7 days a week. 

Rest days and cheat days exist..

So why is it that we can only set one goal? 

I want to choose the day and customize sleep, exercise, etc. 

Maybe I go for short runs on specific work days, but a long run on Sundays. I want to be able to set different goals for those days.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Anominal, thanks for explaining why you would like to have this option. I've moved it into a similar suggestion which has a lot of votes. As the more votes and comments an idea has the more visibility and momentum it gains. You can learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released in our FAQs.

[peg1]

I would like to point out that this topic has been "Under Consideration" since 2014 - FIVE YEARS !

(Ability to change goals per day, without changing all past days.

Status: "Under Consideration" Submitted by msroberts on ‎01-10-2014 15:31 )

Fit-bit is a TRACKER.   With this flaw, it is NOT fulfilling it's intended purpose as a tracker.  I have messaged the Facebook page twice about this and both times have been referred to this forum.  I have posted about this issue in the forum and have received numerous post responses agreeing with me.  I'm not the only customer that feels this way.  I have had replies from moderators saying that they were moving my post around under other headings so as to get more "votes".  I think the "vote" system is not applicable to a request such as this.  We're not asking for a new pretty feature, we are asking that the Fit-bit work as intended as a tracker.   I give up !  If Fit-bit cannot see that this is a much needed fix by now, then I consider my Fit-bit to be no more than a watch with a cheap plastic band.   I will be looking elsewhere for a functional tracker.  I won't name brands here but I have been referred to other trackers that do track progress without wrecking past progress logs.  FIVE YEARS of people asking for this....wow.

[peg1]

I just posted a comment on this and more than half of my comment was deleted !  I originally posted this under (Ability to change goals per day, without changing all past days) and it has been moved to a post called "First Steps".  The moderator says this is to garner votes.  We're not asking for a pretty new feature, just a repair of a flaw.  Why would Fitbit need votes for that ?  This request has been under consideration for FIVE YEARS.  I've posted on the Facebook page twice, got no response other than a referral to this forum.  I've posted about this issue at least two times and have had numerous responses from people saying that they agree, this is a basic flaw for a tracker.   If, after five year of asking, Fitbit has not seen it's way to make this change, then I think it is not fulfilling its function as a tracker.   All past progress should not be wrecked just because you changed your goal.  I'm giving up on Fitbit and will be switching to another tracker.

[Anominal]

Yeah, I got the same message about being moved. In my original post I mentioned I was surprised this wasn't a feature yet becasue it's something I've looked for years ago, and it seems so obvious and not that hard to implement.

I just don't get it. So I set some of my goals incredibly low to meet my minimum requirements  which defeats the purpose of having a real target.

[Molly10]

It's not what they say, it's what they do. They have done nothing to alter this for over 5 years because they have no intention of doing it. They are putting their money towards marketing for new customers with little regard towards customer loyalty. That's their gamble and I hope it fails.

I'd suggest that it would be more helpful at this point if people identified trackers where you can adjust the goals without losing your successes. If ANY other trackers do this, then I'd rather buy from them. I gave up on this years ago; it's a waste of time playing the "popularity" comments and it's also completely misleading and deceptive, from my point of view. 

I think it's good to look at what people/businesses actually DO and what they follow through on in determining future purchasing. 

[Anominal]

I agree. If other manufacturers, and there are several with good reputations, also had the software features I wanted, I wouldn't hesitate in switching. With the current software there really isn't a huge loss in moving over.

[Janene55]

I think everyone should go back to the software app site and rate or rerate
your rating and complain about this sofware lack. I just did. Maybe Fitbit
will do something if there app rating goes down. People look at the app
rating before they buy. Maybe this would wake them up! Just posting this
complaint for 4 years and waiting patiently hasn't worked. A shame.

[j8cruzen]

Good idea!!

Sent from my iPhone

[Janene55]

As a group, we have waited patiently. I think this problem should be reported on the app rating site. Maybe they would fix this then!

[Molly10]

Just gave them a one star rating. By the way, I'm not a jogger but saw no way to change it despite searching for the fix. I'm a rehab walker but of course, could find no easy way to change it from jogger. 

[Janene55]

I am a walker, too. They change that byline by the number of steps you
make. Thanks for joining the effort!

[peg1]

Seems there are so many people wanting this feature fixed but it just isn't going to happen, or it would have already.  It seems as if there's no monetary incentive for fitbit to be concerned with anything beyond the initial sale.   I guess you can simply use it to store your food/activities data and disregard "success" or "failure". You can keep track of "goals met" in another logbook/app or get a different brand of tracker.