Allow us to choose between "Active minutes" or "Active zone minutes"

[ophelialnc]

Please include a data field for real time active minutes, an essential metric you took away to replace with Active Zone Minutes or be able to choose which I want to see. I had to return my Charge 4 because it was missing this info. I just need a field that tells me how many total real minutes in a day I spent in active heart range. I cannot use active zone minutes in the same way.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Lovestofly]

Same, I now use the timer on my watch when I go for a walk or something, unless I forgot to turn it on, or turn it off! Today I got 155 active zone minutes so far. I spent the whole day working at my desk. Walked around office a little-to the printer, stuff like that... but nothing that would be considered activity. I don’t even know how I got all these minutes! I guess some of my meetings were a bit anxiety provoking?

[pondkeeper401]

why do i have to see advertisements for fitbit watches before i can see my page with my stats.  It just shows that fitbit doesn't care about their customers just about attracting more business i.e. more money for them.  Probably won't get posted but just had to vent.  It's very aggravating!

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Angryupdate, thanks for explaining why you would like to have "Active minutes" back on exercises Thanks for sharing your feedback. I've moved it into a similar request.  A lot of users are asking for this option, I hope we receive updates soon.

[SunsetRunner]

I am a therapist and while I can get more exercise on the weekend, in between clients all I can do is walk. I can walk intensely climbing stairs at my office for a half hour and see a few minutes of zone minutes. It’s upsetting to work hard and not see the pay off, and instead have to not log into the app, but log into my dash board on a browser to see the active minutes.

you need to let this be an option. I’m also pissed that I returned an Apple Watch with the argument of “I liked what my Fitbit tracked” to now be forced to used something that is so unmotivating. 

[Chriszee]

I have walked the same day three days in a row. Checked my heart rate during the walk always runs between 100-121. Ive gotten activity minutes between 45,47 and 52 minutes. Ive gotten zone minutes at 2, 52, and 3 minutes. The zone minutes are not only not accurate they give a false sense of accomplishment. Since fitbit switched to zone minutes my workouts have been altered in a negative way. Give us a choice or switch back because its not accurate. 

[Chriszee]

Ive posted about this zone minute nonsense a few times now. Just to prove how inaccurate it is -today I got 3 zone minutes for drying my hair!  Last week I got three minutes for walking 2 miles (Im a group fitness instructor so it wasnt a stroll!)  zone minutes seem a little flawed! Just saying BRING BACK ACTIVITY MINUTES or at least give an option. 

[Misspippin]

Active zone minutes don't work for some people because of their specific health conditions medications that are in. Having the active zone minutes can cause some people to push themselves more then they can. Please bring back active minutes or make it an option to choose between the two or have both.

[Misspippin]

I agree! I want active minutes back. The active zone stuff is really discouraging 

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Misspippin, thanks for explaining why you would like to have the option to choose between "Active minutes" or "Active zone minutes". Thanks for sharing your feedback. I've moved it into a similar request.  A lot of users are asking for this option, I hope we receive updates soon.

[JonErrington]

Well done FitBit. You've lost another customer. I have now bought an Apple Watch and will no longer be using or purchasing another of your Products.

In case this still doesn't seem to resonate some common sense into the ever so stubborn and dense skulls of yours, NO ONE WILL EVER SAY: "Ooo, I am going to buy a FitBit because of AZM! I just love the idea of buying a fitness watch so i can do half as much and get twice the score! What a genius idea!"

However, as this discussion thread has already shown, customers are leaving you and your products because of AZM and various other things.

If this doesn't somehow resonate a thought of "Just because we could do something stupid, maybe, just maybe, we shouldn't do it? Maybe, just maybe, our paying customers might not like use taking useful and functional things off their devices (that they've paid for) and replace it with gimmicks and irrelevant scores?

One could hope, but i doubt it.

Bye FitBit, thanks for making the change to Apple Watch so enjoyable.

Ps., many of my friends are also unhappy, they just cannot be bothered to post here because they get moved into another single discussion thread (hiding the numbers of annoyed people here) and because no one at FitBit cares enough to ever comment. They have also stopped using the device or are considering a new watch from another firm. None of them wants to stay with AZM. That really should be clear by now and a business decision really shouldn't be hard to make either. Guess that requires intelligence, integrity and caring about your customers though.

[Thomac3]

Also bought an AppleWatch today! Bye Fitbit, it was a real pleasure until you started mucking about with a perfectly useful stat.

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

I LOVED my Versa 2 when I got it last August. The motivation I got from my "sidekick" was key in helping me move more and stop using a cane after three years of issues with concussion-related balance and pain.

Then an update happened and minutes changed: tracking real/actual exercise became a nightmare. After spending lots of time with support folks and acquiring lots of additional gray hairs - even got a replacement watch at first, I am now using an Apple smartwatch. I definitely miss some of the features from the Fitbit but using it is no longer a helpful option.

With today's technology, and with the massive number of people who have indicated their complete frustration and who have moved on to other watches, I find the lack of response and a fix disappointing and disturbing. If the company created what it expected would be an exciting new feature and it isn't working as intended, I would think that a reversal of this change could be made and start from scratch.

I miss my Fitbit but am slowly getting used to a new smartwatch and have discouraged others from buying Fitbit anything.

[Lovestofly]

I got 90 active zone minutes yesterday for a 1 Hour drive in bad weather conditions! How lucky for me to be done my activity for the day before I even got out of my car!

[bfox]

Rumor out FitBit labs:  

“Coming soon – FitBit FitTime.  Rather than displaying the actual time of day (how boring is that???) all FitBit’s will be pushed an update that changes the trackers to FitTime.   FitTime will be:

Current Time of Day * (Number of Steps/Step Goal) + sin(PI*Heart Rate/ 120) + Active Zone Minutes^(-1000)”

Who needs to know the actual time when you can live your life by FitTime!!!

[Lionheart1204]

I completely agree.
My resting heart rate is 55 BPM, in order to get into the first "zone" you need to be at least 107 BPM. That's double my regular heart rate and it cannot be achieved without fully running. 
I used to be able to get 60 active minutes with a brisk walk on the treadmill but now I'm lucky if I can get 1 zone minute. 
And my goal has always been active minutes over steps.... so now everything is thrown off for me. 
Desperately want active minutes back. 

[Marquiche]

Hoping that this comments speeds up the internal process of bringing active minutes back.

[SunsetRunner]

I can no longer participate in Bingo games!  I wear my Inspire 2 on a clip - NO ZONE MINUTES FOR ME!  How frustrating to have a clip option but then be denied the full functionality of the Active Minutes.

I do love the challenges Fit Bit offers but it may be time to move on, am am getting more and more use from my Samsung watch.

[mkamoski]

I switched to AmazFit. Because FitBit has NOT put Active Minutes back in. Our family has 4 FitBit. Have been a happy customer for years. Until they took away Active Minutes. AmazFit is Way less expensive. More data. More features. Etc. 

[Hahs]

Give Fitbit users the option to display either zone minutes or active minutes on their devices and dashboards. You can remove zone minutes, but cannot replace them. An on-off toggle in settings would be nice, to choose which (or both) you’d like to see on your dashboard.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Hahs, thanks for explaining why you would like to have the option to choose between "Active minutes" or "Active zone minutes". Thanks for sharing your feedback. I've moved it into a similar request.  A lot of users are asking for this option, I hope we receive updates soon.

[hazelvodd]

This is my second post requesting we get the option to have active minutes back as opposed to just active zone minutes. For months now I have seen similar requests from many other users. What I have not seen is one single comment from Fitbit about a topic which is causing so much dissatisfaction and even losing them customers. What is the point of giving people a forum to air their views but then not responding. Are you going to listen and act or not?? 

[melani6]

Yes, you are right.

We were asked to lodge our concerns and like you, I have seen multiple
comments from dissatisfied customers....and yet Fitbit remain silent. I
think it’s been 6 months of waiting for Fitbit’s official response.

Fitbit have let us down.

[NickyN]

Re: Allow us to choose active minutes or active zone minutes.



Having worked as a physiotherapist for 38 years, I read the full WHO
guidelines with some interest and I can confirm that FITbit have
misunderstood and misapplied the guidelines.



1. The WHO case for monitoring 'active zone minutes' (heart zone
minutes) is clear. There is indisputable evidence that achieving a minimum
of 150 heart zone activity minutes per week is proven to prevent future
health problems. Therefore recording heart zone minutes is an excellent
addition to existing health metrics.

a. However, the activity zone minutes is a weekly, NOT a daily health
target. The guidelines say that the target can be achieved on 3-5 days a
week. Therefore, it is not appropriate to use it as a daily target on our
watches. Fitbit doesn't even seem to let us use it as a weekly target.



2. There was no reason for fitbit to remove the ability to monitor on
our watches the length of time we exercise for (WHO do not recommend this is
their guidelines).

a. WHO do not say that we should stop recording the length of time we
exercise, in actual fact, the reverse is probably true. It says that if you
are not able to meet the required active heartzone minutes, you should try
to 1st increase the duration (time) of the exercise, then 2nd to increase
the frequency of the exercise, and lastly to increase the intensity of the
exercise. SO Fitbit has actually removed an exercise metric that helps you
to work in real time towards active heart zone minutes.
b.



3. By removing the ability to see the time we are exersicing in 'real
time' on our watches, FITbit is discriminating against the disabled and
unfit.

a. WHO clearly state that the guidelines are for healthy adults of all
ages including those with conditions 'not related to mobility',
b. In their executive summary, WHO also clearly state that the
following "issues have not been addressed" ADD that further research needs
to be done (to test the guidance) against the following groups of people:

i. Physical activity and disability

ii. Those with a sedentary lifestyle

iii. The physical activity doses for the
clinical treatment of people with a NCD (e.g. cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, cancer, obesity, mental health conditions').

c. As a physiotherapist I understand that it is important to have a
variety of exercise targets that an individual feels are most appropriate to
them. For a person with a mobility problem, a useful initial goal may be to
walk outside for 10 minutes, twice a day; or an alternative goal could be to
walk from your house to the first lamppost and back. The important thing is
to have an exercise goal that is most motivating or meaningful to them. That
Fitbit have denied people the right to continue to use 'time' as an exercise
goal. This is clearly bonkers!



3. I have a disability: I have spinal injuries which mean that my
mobility is restricted by my level of pain. On a good day, I can get a good
number of active heart zone minutes, on a bad day I can get very few. It is
thoroughly demotivating to see that I can walk for 2 hours (on the flat),
yet that effort is comletely disregarded now as Fitbit has decreed that we
can no longert monitor the time we exercise in real time. Time spent walking
is my main motivator and you have taken this from me. I have bought a
stopwatch and use this now to help me to plan and maintain my mobility, I
barely look at my Fitbit watch now (however, it is really annoying having to
remember to start and stop the stopwatch!) By taking away 'time' as my
main motivator, I feel discriminated against.



In Summary

1. Fitbit have misunderstood and misapplied the WHO guidelines
2. Active heart zone minutes are a weekly, not a daily target.
3. There was no reason for FITbit to remove the ability to monitor the
time spend exercising in'real time' on our watches. Indeed WHO say that if
you can't achieve the heart zone mins, you should start by increasing the
'duration' (time) that you spend exercising, as step 1. People need a
variety of meaningful health metrics to choose from, 'time' being one of the
most imortant.
4. The Who guidelines say they do not currently apply to anyone who had
a medical or physical problem affecting their mobility.
5. As a person with a disability, my main motivator is to be able to
monitor in 'real time'. By removing this health metric, I feel
discriminated against.





So, please Fitbit, give us back the ability to monitor the time we spend
exercising in 'real time' on our watches.



Nicky Norriss

[melani6]

Wow! Thank you Nicki.
You have been so thorough in your explanation.
I wonder how long we’re going to wait for Fitbit to respond.
It’s probably been 6 months at least for me!

Melanie

[ME59]

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