Lock Touchscreen to Clockface

[Thob86]

I'm finding over the course of the day and while sleeping my Surge's touchscreen becomes switched from the watch face to one of the other screens. It would be very helpful if there was an ability to hold down one of the physical buttons to lock the touchscreen on the watch face and repeat to unlock. This would prevent accidental navigation away from the watch face. Please consider adding this functionality in a future firmware update. Thank you.

Moderator Edit: 

The latest Surge firmware update added a function which reverts Surge to its clock screen after 15 seconds. Some users would prefer to continuously view another data tile, such as Steps, Heart Rate, or Distance. This is no longer possible for more than 15 seconds outside of starting an Exercise log.

This existing Feature Request represents a good solution to the issue, and I encourage anyone who might be interested in this new feature to vote or comment in this thread.

[NiaK]

I wish I could change the default display settings so that it would always show my heart rate and I wouldn't have to swipe twice to get to it. I prefer a heart rate default over time display. There are so many sources of time and I only have one of my heart rate. 

[Playhard]

The ability to lock the screen, for example, to heart rate, should be touted as a personal safety feature.  Instead, there are over 400 votes crying over the current deficit, or non-feature, instead of applauding it.  I ride a road bicycle.  It is important to know what my heart rate is at any one time.  Medically and physiologically, I need to know how close I am performing to my limits.  Needing to swipe the face of my Surge, not once, but twice, to access heart rate, risks calamity, while hurtling down the roadway.  It is akin to texting on a phone, while driving.  But actually worse. C'mon man.  C'mon Fitbit.  

[AZEducator]

I have said this before, when I purchase the Surge, it didn't lock on any screen. I was able to monitor what I wanted, when I wanted, anytime I wanted.  Once in a while it would go to another screen, expecially if you had on a long sleeved and it wiped againsted it, but that was relatively minor compared to it going back to the clock every 15 seconds.  I don't remember any vote or anything for the lock to be the watch face.  As far as I remember, fitbit decided this on their own.  This is a fitness device why would anyone want the lock to be the watch face.  I would of though a more logical one would be steps or heart rate.  But even better, let the user make the chose.  I feel fitbit should go back to the way it was when us early adopters purchased the Surge or gives the user the chose on which screen we want to lock.  Over 400 people have voted.  How many do we need to change this?  Like I said it was changed with no vote at all and now at least 400 of us want it changed and this is only us vocal ones, what about the the people who haven't complained?  This does not mean they don't also want this changed. Please change this.

[Michael]

@AZEducator Actually it was requested by end users: Surge: Add an option to return to the Watch face after 10 seconds (It only got 73 votes before it was implemented.)

And Fitbit said that it was a highly requested featured via their email support.

Of course, the request was for it to be an option, so Fitbit didn't totally get what people were asking for...

[AZEducator]

@Michael And why would anybody want it to go back to the watch face, anyhow.  This is a fitness device.  One of the fitness screens would be more appropriate.  Seeing there are six main screens, why the clock screen?  Like I said,steps or hr would be more appropriate. Me and everyone else wishes they had made it user selectable.  Watch face 73, user selectable over 400.  So why haven't they changed it yet?  This has been going on since March.

[jeffduvall]

Please make the lock vs auto-home function selectable in the settings.  It seems that it used to be locked and now it auto-homes to the clock screen.  Since this has already been coded both ways by your developers, it should be no problem to include both features and let the user select how they want it to behave.

[Dannymc]

There seems to be 2 topics in this thread.

I would like to have the backlight automatically disabled during sleep or restless mode.

A screen lock ability would be awesome too. Maybe an Enable and Disable button?

[SunsetRunner]

I can't believe there isn't an option to lock the touch screen already - c'mon Fitbit, let's get a firmware update to make it possible - great product otherwise...... 

[Playhard]

Spock: Do not grieve, Admiral. It is logical. The needs of the many, outweigh...

Kirk: The needs of the few.  Credits: Star Trek II, The Wrath of Khan.

Fitbit, you listened to 73 users and (overly) implemented a reasonable feature request, at the expense of atleast 400 users who, maybe,  otherwise feel disenfranchised by how long the issue drags on, with no sense of relief.

Is the firmware so fully implemented that all available memory is exhausted and cannot accomodate one (1) extra line of coding to implement the request? 

The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few; 73 vs 400+.  C'mon Fitbit.

[Michael]

@Playhard We don't know how many people emailed Fitbit support requesting the automatic return to clock, we also don't know how many people would have voted for the feature request by now if it hadn't been implemented. I think it was an option that a lot of people, myself included, wanted. But we wanted it as an option.

BTW: It would take way more than one line of code to make it an option. For example you would likely need to update the UI in at least 4 places: Web site, iOS app, Android app, Windows app, and possibly on the Surge itself. (Which is probably why Fitbit didn't make it an option since making it an option is a lot more work.)

@MatthewFitbit Is there any update on if/when we might get some additional functionality here?

[AZEducator]

I would be happy if it went back to the way it was.  No option.  Put it on the screen the way it was when I purchased it.  User chooses.  I am not concerned if it lock on the screen or not.  It was the way it was when I purchased it, so it should be all that had to put it back.

[AZEducator]

@Playhard Being the math teacher I am, that about 5.5 more more people wanting one option over the current one.  I guess fitbit doesn't know how to do the math.  Like I said before, computer illiterates.  I guess they also have and math illiterates.  In reference to the Star Trek similies, are the fitbit people even logical?

[Michael]

@AZEducator I suspect that there are way more people that bought their Surge with the current return to clock feature than there were that bought it without that feature.

And you have no idea how many people want it the way it is now, as people can't vote for it now because it has been implemented. (Like they would even think about coming and voting for a feature that they already have.)

[AZEducator]

@Michael  In many ways I feel I have been duped.  When they first changed it, they made it sound like they were going to make it user selectable if enough people voted for it.  They even told me if that was what I wanted to vote for it.  When this happened I was about 150.  It is now up to about 400 and they are still not really listening.  They may hear but are not listening to what people want.  They make it lock on the clock face.  Really?  Who would ever spend $250 for a watch this ugly.  You would have thought if it were going to lock it would lock on steps or HR. They are the two faces most people wanted it locked on before they changed it but they, in their infinite wisdom picked the watch face.   Yes, there were a few who wanted the clock but after all this is primarily a fitness monitor.

[MatthewFitbit]

@Michael I apologize that I don't have more info to provide on this. A strong case was made for this feature here on Community, and I do believe that was heard by our development team. The decisions past that point haven't been shared with me, so it's hard to say whether such a change could be planned for a future update.

I will make sure that our team continues to be aware of the interest in a screen lock (or at least a way to persistently watch activity stats), and will check back in if I do hear anything definitive. Thanks everyone for your discussion around this, and I'll continue to advocate for this change.

@AZEducator Feature Requests are never a certainty - we would never say "if this request gets a certain number of votes, it will be implemented." However, I encourage users to vote on their favorite ideas because it's an effective way of presenting those requests to our teams. A request is much more likely to be seen as favorable if we're able to show significant backing for it in this way.

[AZEducator]

Until you can figure out if user selectable screen lock is possible, I would be happy if you just took the screen lock off altogether.  Having it on the clock does not make it a preferable screen for locking

[Cupcakekid]

Would like to have the ability to lock onto the heart rate screen.

[DanThomas]

I would like to be able to swipe to the heart rate screen and have it stay there and not go back to  the clock screen. This is what I purchased this watch for. Little did I know I could not do this.  😞

[AZEducator]

You could before they made the stupid change to make it lock on the clock.  Why can't they just put it back to the way it was?  Then you could keep it on any screen you wanted.  The only problem was if you had long sleeves on, the screen might go to another screen.  So what's the differerence?  I have to keep swiping it every 15 seconds when I want it on a screen other than the clock.

[Wphaklid]

I got FitBit to monitor misting my heart rate, as I'm getting up in years. Disappointed HR can't be locked on the screen. Perhaps include a little lick icon on each screen to hold display there until unlocked by on screen icon once again?

[Cupcakekid]

If you select one of the exercise screens, such as "Walk", and start the screen the BPM will stay on the screen until you stop the screen. I found this to be a work around for this issue.

[Kmallas]

A way to lock the screen when in an exercise workout like Circuit Training would be great. I find that it gets paused often when doing certain things like push-ups or lifting weights. I try to wear it higher on the wrist and fold my workout gloves in so not to imped the device but there always seems to be a way it gets paused. Yes I could simply move it from my left arm to my right but that's not my natural way of wearing watches. Anyway to have a 3 second press and hold to lock and press and hold to unlock while in exercise mode for one of the buttons? Thanks

[twistaround79]

I really hope this gets implemented. It was my biggest complain with my Garmin 405. When mountain biking i would hit the stop button on the workout and pause the timer and gps. really annoying. I hope they add in a lock feature. seems like it would be really easy to implement. Like, hole the top button for 3 seconds and it locks in your workout and displays a little lock icon. boom.  

[bartholomule]

I also have mine randomly pause when I bend my wrist. If I am wearing gloves and a jacket, I might as well not even start recording an activity, given that it will pause and unpause randomly but as frequently as every 20 seconds. I don't think the correct title is "lock screen", however. I would really like to disable, deactivate, or change the button mode. Ideally, I would like to hold down the left button to enable the right buttons while a recorded activity is in progress.

[ZIltch]

Agree 100%. When using this to hike or workout with gloves on, I innevitably pause my workout and do not notice. Pretty frustrating to say the least. Implementing a long-hold on one of the buttons to lock would be great. My cheapo Ipod shuffle has such a feature. Ideally, this would lock both the touch screen and buttons. 

Cheers. 

Jon