Allow to customize Active Zone Minutes Goals

[Jocrab]

Allow users to revert back to active minutes or be able to customise zone minutes. Preset goals are too high and unreachable for some. For those with health conditions or on medication, pushing themselves enough to increase their pulse to the higher fat burn zone can be either impossible to do or extremely dangerous.

Moderator edit: Clarified

[Texmelanie69]

I too have to take beta blockers and it is beyond me who though this through. I get more out of the old way of tracking activity. Plus we cannot play the games with our friends if we cannot reach the goals--I am not happy and I dont pay for this.

[JonErrington]

What i find more astonishing than the inept development team developing this "feature" and the inept project management team approving the  deployment of this utterly p***poor "feature", is that someone with a degree of authority hasn't turned around and instructed a roll-back of the feature!

I work in IT and during any feature update, if you suddenly find a negative reaction that was not expected, YOU ROLL BACK!!! I looked at the original request that this awful feature was based on, it was from way back in September 2017, it has nothing to do with removing Active minutes, it was to do with having a "heart rate zone" notification feature allowing users to see when they hit certain levels of activity. Instead, the **ahem**s who came up with this AZM crap have completely missed the brief of the request, yet announced that it has been completed and rolled out! The request made no mention of fictional statistics, or removing normal, healthy exercise monitoring from devices, or even to adjust the zones to higher levels so only those who seriously workout can achieve their goals, it was simply for an alert on their devices when they reached a zone. 

This needs to be rolled back immediately. If i have to wait more than a few more weeks for that to happen then Fitbit's reputation in my eyes will be irreparably damaged and i will just go buy an Apple watch. This has to be resolved now. Moderators, do your jobs and report this up to whoever is in charge and get it done. We bought and paid for our devices and do not deserve to be so cavalierly dismissed. Hoping we will just get used to it is not going to happen. We will just leave Fitbit.

To those who like the new feature, good for you. Next time Fitbit deploy a forced feature change on your device, i hope you like that one too. And the next. And the next. But when you buy a product, you should be able to expect it to remain the product you bought for the duration of it's life expectancy. My Ionic no longer is the product i bought and doesn't do what i need or want from it, so Fitbit should refund me my money.

[themightylayman]

This is a **ahem**ty, **ahem**ty, **ahem**ty decision, Fitbit. Please give us back our active minutes. Active zone minutes is a useless joke for many of your users. Why get rid of a feature that so many of us found to be very valuable?

[Milo1134]

I’m in the exact same place. I’ve shut off the zone notifications but my setting are a mess, my gps isn’t working. I’m frustrated and annoyed.

L.

[dphiangel]

I just updated my tracker. Had I known it would change to the active zone, I wouldn't have done it. I worked out this morning for 51 minutes with it showing over 90% of that time in the cardio zone. Now it says all my exercise was 100% out of zone. I have worked out for years, and this is crazy that my vigorous exercise didn't register. I am a fast walker naturally, and it is hard to get my heart rate up as a result; I can't run due to injuries, so I rely on the elliptical and hills while walking. We should have the option to choose which setting we like. I used the Chat feature trying to get help and was angry and frustrated to learn I have no choice. I have worn a Fitbit for years, and I seriously may stop using it because of this. I don't remember when I have been this upset about a product update. I rely on the active minutes to help me measure my activity especially while being stuck at home. This just sucks.

[mikeinto]

Did a deep dive on fitness trackers and Fitbit is now the only fitness tracker NOT to include active minutes as a fitness metric. Several watch faces will still log  active minutes but that info is not synced with the app or website. I view this major eff up by fitbit as a blessing in disguise. I was going to purchase the new Sense but now I'm all in for the Apple Watch.  I like many of you purchased a fitbit product because they advertised it as  : All-day activity tracking: Receive information about activities, such as steps, distance, active minutes, and calories burned to show how every part of your day gets you closer to your goals.  In 2015 active minutes were explained by Fitbit as 'active minutes- if a user participates in an activity for over 10 minutes, which is what the American Heart Association recommends'.   Now Fitbit has thrown all that out for a completely useless trash fitness metric that NO ONE ASK FOR OR WANTS. I've walked 14K miles with a Fitbit. I'll walk the next 14K with an Apple Watch. 

[Melissa311]

The zone minutes are not realistic for all of your users, just your athletes. I am currently pregnant and was using the fitbit to track my activity and stay motivated. However, I can not allow my heart rate to get to the zone range minutes due to my pregnancy.  This update has been a disappointment, because the active minutes were my motivation to make my walks longer and keep me moving. Where now I am unable to track my progress during my walk and makes the fitbit useless to me. Without the active minute feature I will be looking at other products. 

[BhuS]

Same here :((

My Cardio heartrate is set to 131, which is not possible to reach throughout the exercise and it is messing all my goal. User should be able to switch back to Active mins if they don't like Zone mins.

Bring back Active Minutes to the dashboard.

[Paigeanne6]

I 100% agree that Fitbit should allow users to choose either Active Minutes or Active Zone Minutes (or both!!) I just hiked for almost 1.5 hours, I’m a very active 26 year old female, I was sweating and working hard, and I got 10 “zone minutes”. I jogged 1.5 miles earlier this week and got 52 “zone minutes” (which took less than 15 minutes). The goal per the AHA is 150 active minutes per week and Fitbit has taken that tracking away. I understand their goal so I don’t think they need to get rid of it, but it is very difficult to track. I also worry that those using Fitbit for weight loss or to be healthier are going to be so discouraged. I graduate from medical school in May and I have worked with so many patients who we tell to just start with 40 minutes of walking/week and work their way up. If they were trying to use Fitbit, they’d likely get 0 “zone minutes” and be completely discouraged and not motivated to continue on their workout plan.

Please please bring active minutes back! And soon!! 

[LZeeW]

There are many Fitbit users whose active minutes are tied to health plan rewards.  Several users have posted that they can't get their rewards because their device now gives zone minutes.  Zone minutes aren't posted to their accounts.  Wellness plans allow users to pick from a number of brands of fitness trackers.  Zone minutes are the default for new devices and are being added to existing devices.

Fitbit needs to actively work with other wellness plans.  Fitbit needs to take charge of this and get ahead of this or users will vote with their wallets and leave Fitbit.  Changing to active zone minutes has its place, but this looks like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand did.  This could turn in to an epic bungle for Fitbit.

[AlKemist]

Count me in on replacing the Zone Minutes with Active Minutes as well.  I don't find the Zone Minutes to be at all useful to me, since it gives me completely different data from what I've been logging so far.  The device obviously still records active minutes, because that information displays on the Fitbit Dashboard when I pull it up online, and it also displays with other watchfaces that I use that do not yet support this "enhancement."  If the data is there, then the Fitbit app and the Versa Lite device should still be able to display it the way they always have.

[Anoya]

I can totally relate to what (most of) you guys are saying. I'm 36 and on Beta blockers (among other meds) for high blood pressure. I'm relying on the Active Minutes to be counted as a total for the entire week. I can jog or run what I want, my heart rate barely gets to Fat Burn. Not even speaking about Cardio. I've made agreements with my specialist about the Active Minutes that I need to reach per week, and without any warning you change it to something impossible to reach for a lot of FitBit users. It's just not done. I want it to be changed back completely, or make Active Minutes an option. I do not need these Zone Minutes. At all. 

I was already considering looking into different brands, and I sure will now. It's a shame, I've used FitBits for years, and always mainly to track Active Minutes. 

[pkj]

I completely agree with this recommendation. While I have not liked all of the previous “improvements”, on balance the positive attributes of the tracker far outweigh minor negative changes. However, this one makes the device unworkable for me. I have a resting heart rate in the 40’s, so the “zone” levels do not reflect my daily exercise in a way that is useful to me. I currently have a Versa and really like the device sans this new development. I am sorry to leave the community, but If Fitbit keeps this new “zone” function without modification, I will be saying goodbye to Fitbit with my next upgrade. 

[SteelBill]

I couldn't agree more. The programmers can simply add the option to use Zone or Active minutes on the App. This update should be made very soon. I have been an athlete most of my life but those days are over. I just want to track my active minuites.

[SamRvB]

I agree. It’s an unattainable goal now. I have been exercising and I regularly hike, which would always get me a lot of Active Minutes. I went on a two hour long hike today and got SEVEN zone minutes. I’ve gotten like 15 for the entire week, even with doing cardio workouts in the evenings. I feel like I wasted money upgrading to a Versa 2, and if we don’t get the option to switch back to Active Minutes, I may be switching to another company altogether. I had too many issues with my Charges not working and now not having my activity tracked properly is demoralizing. 

[Milo1134]

I can attain it, it’s just counting something I’m not counting. It’s arbitrary and ridiculous. The idea one can attain more active zone minutes that the entire session lasted is unhelpful. They need to give us the option to shut it off. We can’t even reset our devices to factory default anymore. Software hijack of our devices.

L.

[nightowl.]

i want to add that this issue is not solved, you seriously need to allow us to change heart rate zones. You have from what the forums show alone, a lot of customers with disability and or other health issues that don’t have the capability of reaching the active zone minutes that you have set. It’s beyond ridiculous it’s not in the feature that the zones can be adjusted.

You do not promote health with this new feature, you only encourage athletes. I do not wish to be an athlete, I do wish to use this device to encourage myself to move more after the capability I have.

The whole feature screams “you’re not doing good enough” and it’s very strange to me that that’s how a fitness company want to promote themselves.

It’s also strange that the only reply customers get in the forums is that it might be taken up internationally if the post get enough upvotes.

Customers are complaining and feel discouraged by your product, isn’t that enough? Take it up now, instead of waiting for even more displeased customers. 

(Yes I’m posting this comment all over right now hoping some

moderator will see it and report up) .

[Mikeydee]

Let me start by saying again that I hate the zone minutes. I even purchased another tracker ummm...ummm no comment on that but anyway I was tinkering around on the dashboard and realized that some how my wrist choice had changed. I wear mine on my dominant arm but the setting was set on my non dominant arm that did make a bit of difference for me BUT wait there's more. Whilst I noticed and corrected that I noticed that in the heart rate section there was an option to customize it. I had never noticed that before so I customized it. Now please understand I'm not a technical guru on these things and there was at least a glass or two of scotch involved (don't judge me) however i customized my heart rate using a chart I found on heart rate for a 53 year old male. The chart didn't actually have it for 53 but there was one for 50 and 55 go figure. So I just took two numbers off the fat burn rate for 55 years old and put that in which I think I put in 90 for the low end and 120 at the high end...remember there was scotch...i did keep 167 for my max....you know 220 minus my age. So today I did fifteen minutes during lunch started off moderately and when I checked my wrist I had reached 110 when prior to that I would almost have to be doing a full run to get there.  I'm still testing this out. When I get off work I'm going to do another 15 and step up the intensity and see what I get. Perhaps this customizing of the heart rate is a way to get past this insane update.

I still hate the zones.  Again I'm no guru on any of this so please give it try and tell me what you think. Did I stumble across something (with my glass of scotch...i do enjoy a scotch if you didn't know) or is it possible Fitbit listened? And one more thing

I HATE THE ACTIVE ZONE MINUTES...STILL!

[northwalk]

I have to agree that the change to "Active Zone Minutes" is a complete pain in the butt - as other commentors have stated, the result is that previously meaningful exercise is no longer achievable. Having just got a Sense after having my relatively useful Charge 3 bit the dust, I'm deeply frustrated that it took me hours to figure out how to get the zones to adjust to levels where I can reach them. As others have pointed out, medication can easily force my heart rate low enough that even the lowest 'Active' zone cannot be safely reached.

In consultation with my doctor, I dropped my max heart rate in the App to a safe level (as opposed to the default {220 - age}), and that artificially pushes the zones back to where you can actually - and safely - exercise and be credited for it by the App. Bluntly, he was surprised that the option to set the 'Zone' heart rate levels wasn't something that a user can adjust individually anyway. But it still doesn't fix the issue to have made that adjustment. Active Minutes is far safer!

[MarlaG]

I truly hate to be forced to abandon Fitbit but I'd rather not die trying to get my heart rate high enough to count "zone minutes."  "Active minutes" was sufficient motivation & medically safe for my purposes & I'll miss some of Fitbit's other features but this idea that good isn't good enough isn't working for me.  So, now I'm wondering what device I should buy to replace my Fitbit? What devices have others tried, what pros & cons are you aware of?

[mkamoski]

Allow users to pick their choice of zone minutes or active minutes, or allow a way to show both, because without showing actual running time minutes (the way a standard watch does) this fancy "fitness tracker watch" is not even a watch anymore, and that's really sad, because it is perfectly reasonable for a runner to ask "how long did that take me  to run 2 miles" and to see the actual time itself that he or she has spent running. Sheesh. It is not asking a lot. You already had it there Fitbit. For crying out cornflakes... Please.

[Milo1134]

Completely correct

L.

[pkj]

Agree 100%!

[RichardHB]

If you select custom max heart rate and reduce the maximum heart rate figure, it will lower the heart rate zones accordingly and still alert you. You don't need to set custom heart zones.

[jreid1949]

Thank you. I have come to like the new zones after all. But yo be safe I
will set max heart rate so I don't have to workout so hard.