Allow More Fitbit Devices than Ace to Family Account

[thewarden1618]

I am frustrated that I cannot give my Fitbit blaze to my daughter and use the family account. The only device it will allow you to since is the Ace. The Blaze is far better and it would be extremely useful to her. The only way I can have her use the Blaze is to lie about her age and create a single account for her. Please allow other devices on the family account for minors. 

Moderator Edit: Title for Clarity/Added Labels

[PatrickJL]

I have spent a good few hours trying to setup my son with a fit bit and am absolutely floored to find out it is not possible unless it is an Ace. How is this such a big oversight? Why are people not allowed to give fit bits to their kids? I was actually really excited to get a real understanding of how active my son is. Sure I can look at the daily results but I would like to be able to track it over a period of time. A reason why we buy in to a product like this over a basic pedometer.

Moderator Edit: Formatting

[M48485]

I agree I’m super frustrated by this! There is clearly a platform set up for kids they need to open it up to other Fitbit devices. 

[Ladair]

It would be nice to have more options to add diffrent trackers for the kids than just the ace. As my kids generally get the older ones as their father and I get newer ones and if you have more than kid buying,the ace can get pretty expensive.

[rskc]

A THOUSAND TIMES THIS!!  It makes me nuts that I can't give my son my old Alta and put him on the Family account.  It seems shockingly short sighted.  I'm heartened to see that I'm far from the only parent that feels this way.  Please change this immediately.

[HeatherBloom]

Yes! Initially, I was hoping that a heart rate monitor be added to the Ace, but this seems a much more flexible option. Here's why my kiddos need a device that tracks HR:

My two kiddos both have ADHD. They are very active (roller derby, gym with me, outside, etc.). All too frequently, they aren't getting enough calories to keep up with their tiny appetites (made even smaller by ADHD medication). It would be great, as a parent, to be able to show the kiddos a visual of their calories in vs calories out so they can actually see their body's needs.

On top of that, and even more important, with their active lifestyles while taking medication (which has an effect on their heart rates), it would be amazing for them to be able to, at a glance, see that they need to dial back their activity intensity and pull their heart rates back down.

My kid's doctors would very much appreciate being able to get a better window into the quality of sleep they're getting (similar to what I have on my HR2). And for that, I suspect a device with a HR monitor would be needed.

And last, the Relax cycle. Kiddos strapped with ADHD frequently have anxiety along for the ride. Having a Relax cycle (again, I've heard this is tied to HR) would be fantastic for them.

Tracking heart rate is about MUCH more than weight loss and body image. I'm going to be the loudest person out there, vocalizing against starting kids off with body issues. As someone who has struggled with weight her whole life, I wouldn't wish body image misery on my kids for anything. But heart rate is about health. I want to buy trackers for my kids that help them see, and learn what their bodies are doing, and learn to take ownership of their health. And as a Mom, I want to be able to monitor all of this in order to best help their individual needs. 

Please help with this by allowing all (or, at least more) devices to be added to family accounts.

[Pinksparklyange]

Would love to be able to hand my old charge down to my daughter, she has various conditions that mean being able to track how far she can manage to walk and time taken and HR in particular would be really useful!

[thewarden1618]

Amen. enough said

[smj34]

I would love to give my niece my Flex 2 or Alta. I’m not buying her an Ace until I know she’ll use it and keep it charged. 

[SunsetRunner]

I concur with all posters.  My 10 year old has started participating in athletic events.  I have upgraded my devices multiple times as FItbit has become more sophisticated and this seems like a lack of forethought to retaining me versus losing me to competitors (my husband swears by his Garmin).  Thinking this (ability to add legacy models for family under 13) should be a top enhancemeant.

[TheTexican]

I have a child under 13 years of age. I bought my child a Flex 2. I can’t add it to a child account and my child can’t have their own account yet.  You should be able to use whatever tracker you want on a child account

[Stelayton1980]

It’s good to see it’s not just me with this frustration.

I have a Charge 2 and my wife just bought a Versa. We both have old Charge HR devices sat around doing nothing that our kids want to use. They are 7 & 5. 

Fitbit say they have to be over 8 to use the new Ace and over 13 to use other devices??? (Surely healthy lifestyles suit all ages)

I begrudge buying new device when I have 2 perfectly good ones already. I don’t see why we can’t set up kids accounts and use the old bands to begin with. 

The only way to do this is to set up a profile with a fake age!!! 

Surely there is a better way to introduce youngsters to the Fitbit brand and get them hooked on health. 

[MarcelBK]

Hey @TheTexican! I moved your suggestion into this one because they are quiet similar. Thank you for participating in the Community and the Feature Suggestions board.

[afillmore]

Yes! I have a decond Charge 2 and gave it to my son (he wanted one just like mine) ... but I can't add him as a kid with all the cool kid features on the family app because it isn't an Ace.

No fair! 

I can't afford another hundred dollar purchase for an Ace. 

Please allow us to choose and assign any fit bit product to a kid.

Thank you!

[donnamite]

My almost 13yr old daughter just purchased a Versa with her own saved money.

How frustrating after trying to set an account up for her I was told she needed to ba added to my existing account, so went through the process of resetting my password to set it up... only to find Ace only.

Please allow all watches to be linked!

[mp264]

Good to know I’m not the only parent banging my head against this wall. My boys both got Altas for Christmas last year, and we had to lie about their ages to set up accounts. I only got one for myself recently, and I want to set us all up on the family account. Why in the world would your company limit kids to one device? I’m not going to downgrade my kids’ Fitbits! They are 11 and 12, so old enough that they want to upgrade, but it looks like our family will have to spend our money with Garmin instead, unless you make changes in the app pretty quickly. 

[Snickelfritz82]

The fact that I cant give my son a Fitbit Flex 2 that we purchased because he's a year to young stinks! He saved his money, picked one with the features we need (Arizona summers! = waterproof), we've been using Fitbit to control his ADD, but looks like we will have to change companies to keep the family tracking together! That's 4 devices you'd loose, because Fitbit won't let parents choose the tracker. He wanted a Versa, since he's already worn out two Fitbit Charge HR's that were handed down, but unless we get the option of a family account with whatever Fitbit's we choose, we'll have to change companies. Grandparents, parents, kids, cousins, and aunts and uncles all love to compete in steps, don't limit which ones kids use, or you loose business to companies that are willing to let us choose or upgrade as we want. 

[cecilia.pearl]

I agree!!!

Sent from my iPhone

[Darthjoolz]

Please allow other Fitbit trackers to be used in the children's account rather than just the ace, my daughter has an HR2 but we cannot add it and we don't want to lie about her age. Please, this would really help with childhood obesity in the U.K.

jx

[Aboosh]

I hope they do open the family account to all devices. My daughter is only 6 but she started doing the park runs so I gave her my old Fitbit zip. I’d rather buy her a flex than an ace as she’s in the process of learning the time with a analogue watch rather than a digital one.

[KzooPackFan]

The restrictions on the devices foe kids  in the family account is absurd.  I truly comprehend the reason behind this (blatant  money grab) but to not to be able to hand down my devices (i.e. my surge) to my 10 and 12 year olds is ridiculous.  You would be better off letting me upgrade and allowing hand me downs.   Thus is a reason I will not buy or recommend another fitbit device.  My kids will probably be old enough to have there own accounts before fitbit sees the light!

[Kmedina]

Yes! My almost 7 year old wants my old Charge 2 for herself. It would be awesome to be able to hook it up to a child account on her kindle and be able to also see it on my iPad.

what’s with that FitBit? Obviously people will still do it whether they make it convenient or not. Their customer service rocks. I’d just rather have it more catered to a child than have all of the extras I don’t need. 

Or else... we’ll I can sell my charge 2 and my child not have one (no big deal either way, she’s not going to be any less active... she’s a gymnast!)

[Borris01]

Please please add Charge 2 to the child account!!!!

[Badgers]

I support the idea of expanding the family capability beyond limiting to an Ace only for children.  Like others, I have a device that I’d like to pass down but am limited in options.  I look forward to that functionality being added in the near future.

[garry24]

Im getting close to the point of ditching my Fitbit.   I bought Blaze's for my whole (6) family but wanted to use one for my youngest daughter, not sure why i cant. I also cycle and although i love my fitbit, why cant i use a chest belt.

There seems to be no response to questions where there is not a positive answer to give, if your not going to add other devices for kids just say so.

consideration to go to Garmin in progress....

[Mrachcb]

Yes! Thank you! I agree with many of the posts in this thread. I have an old Charge 2 HR that I want to give my kids, since it works perfectly well. Please add more devices to child accounts. There is no need to buy yet another device when parents have stuff to hand down to their kids!

Fitbit - listen to your community of users!