Lock screen/buttons during exercise for all Fitbit devices

[Sharpypus]

I've seen similar ideas/feedback noted for the Surge/Blaze and I'd love to see the same sort of thing for the Ionic, I also saw an idea to change the 'stop exercise' button to the (left) hand button on the Ionic which would too be good but would very much prefer a lock screen if possible 🙂

When I'm sometimes performing pushups, boxing, burpees or anything that causes my hand to bend, I've sometimes ended up pushing the bottom right hand button to 'pause' the workout and then sometimes ended up pushing multiple buttons during workouts to end it prematurely.

I'd love it if it were possible to disable the buttons during certain workouts or have some kind of lock screen, maybe even a long-button push option to only unlock the screen when holding one of the buttons for a few seconds etc. At the moment, it's just far too easy to accidentally click the right hand buttons which are tied to pausing/ending workouts.

An idea which would be great would be that my old android watch had, I could turn the screen on with a button although in order to interact any further, I would need to manually swipe away a lock screen (or you could set it up with a PIN each time) and then you'd be able to start/end/pause the workout.

Thanks a lot for reading, really hope this could be considered for a future firmware update 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject and updated label

[MrBadger]

I have to agree that the lack of response to this issue, which should be
EASY to fix, makes me conclude that FitBit, which I think broke open the
market, has no real commitment to customer care. This was reported a LONG
time ago and it would appear that even new products did not address it.
Even a response of "we can't address this because of XYZ" would make me
feel that someone was at least paying attention. But the silence is
deafening.

[Suicidesuede]

I too find this problem of pausing during weight training from  gloves.  I only just bought the Ionic and have been completely frustrated by issues with notifications not working and pausing during exercise. It seems  now that problems I have experienced have been plagued by many people for years yet Fitbit fail to correct the issues.  I too will be an advocate for advising people not to support a company that doesn't support its products by ironing out simple flaws. Shame on you Fitbit. Shame, Shame,SHAME.

[jure1234567]

Same problem here. It is a shame this is not implemented yet.

[StephanieMcP]

They won't implement it. Their solution is to drop another 150 bucks on a
new Versa 2 which has no buttons on the side!
Which is why most of us won't be a returning FitBit customer.
We do not feel valued or heard

[Tkd_Link]

For those that can't afford to buy another brand's device quite yet, I bought a Supcase and just cut out the button for the right side so I can't ever press that button, even intentionally. 

Would be better to not have to buy a bulky case just to avoid this ill though out nonsense, but it's better than nothing. 

[kissmeandmeanit]

This makes me really frustrated. I'll definitely return the versa and buy a Garmin. 

[daLink]

Come on!

Just solve this now! It has been request by so many users for a couple of years now! It can't be that hard. This feature even seems to already exist when doing swin workouts. Please fix for all workouts!!!

[McNeves]

Honestly I don’t understand how a basic feature like this is under discussions since 2015 in the forums here and has never been implemented. It impacts any sports that use gloves, including weight lifting, or any outdoor sports in colder regions, where you need a jacket. You can simply have your entire workout session paused because your jacket / glove touched a button.

Even my old Garmin already had a button lock back in 2010!

 It can be a simple as having to press 2 buttons to lock / unlock the device and I guarantee hundreds of people will be happier with FitBit

[GarrisonTO]

Seriously...it's a joke...a very simple fix. I worked out for over an hr
yesterday only to find out that it had paused 15mins in to my work
out....terrible....fix it already.

--
Gary

[StephanieMcP]

They have chosen to ignore this for four years. Ain't gonna fix it now when
there a new model out!
Atrocious customer care

[iamprad]

I play ice hockey and I cannot use this device as my gloves interact with the screen and pause the workout. Since my main way to workout is playing hockey, this is where I;d get some of my best value from this device. 

I asked for this feature back with the Versa 1 and it seems it's still not possible with the 2. I find this highly disappointing. The Apple watch supports it. 

I have a Charge 3 that just died on me, and I have no reason to buy a new Fitbit or upgrade when the newer models don't work well for my needs. 

Would love to see this get added soon, or hear an update on the status of this. I see it was touched by Liz back in August of 2019. Anything new to report?

[rockstarsalvo]

So annoying when you start a workout and look down and it has paused or stopped before you are done! Please fix this for all devices. It’s been suggested for years!

[MrBadger]

Fitbit, while having a decent product, has been surprisingly resistant to
responding to this frequently stated and seemingly easy to fix problem. I'm
a fairly loyal customer but I do wonder if I shouldn't switch to something
that would resolve this problem.

--
Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world. -- Tennyson

[LizFitbit]

Hi everyone, and thanks so much for sharing this suggestion! While we don’t currently have plans to release this feature, this feedback has been taken into consideration in current and future designs, with inductive buttons and general button placement and positioning.

We always appreciate the passion and creativity that comes out of this Community. Since we know this idea is important to many of you, we have left voting open to continue tracking interest and will post another update if anything changes. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

We're always striving to enhance Fitbit products and services, and your input is a big part of that process. We truly thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us.

[StephanieMcP]

Liz

Thank you for eventually responding to these posts regarding this issue.

You say you don't have any plans to address the issue on current models and
I am happy to hear the feedback will be used to address future designs

For those of us who have a FitBit that we cannot use for excercising
outside, for all the various reasons mentioned in the forum.... What do you
propose or suggest we do?

I'd really appreciate your thoughts, suggestions and feedback.

[aliabbasn]

Hi Liz,

Not really a good enough response. You're basically telling all users of older models that they need to just buy a new model; when this model is quite frankly - ineffective at recording workout data; deeming the product useless. I don't understand how this device passed any kind of testing stage because... had it been tested on people who, uh, actually EXERCISE this issue would have come up at product development stage.

I'm really disappointed with the way this issue has been handled, especially considering it has been raised by so many members over a number of YEARS. I will not be buying a new Fitbit - Apple watch it is then.

[daLink]

Hi Liz!

This is a very unfortunate response. It is beyond my understanding how you can sell a product for exercise purposes that is pretty much useless for actual exercise. The handling of this has been below all reasonable standards.

I am currently at my third Fitbit-watch, but this will be my last. Too bad that you obviously don't give a sh*t about you customers.  

[JayFar]

Wow, translation: we already got your money out of you for a product we have no desire to fix.  If you don't like how the Vera works, buy a new Versa 2 and maybe we will get around to fixing the problem that has had thousands of complaints.  

I stand by my statement, I will not spend anouther penny on any Fitbit product, if you as a company refuse to address a glaring problem with your product.  As someone else has already stated, how did the versa even get out of the testing phase.  I will be going to an android or Samsung fitness tracker when this dies. In the last week I even bought a knock off wrist band to replace the Fitbit one that broke, just so you would not get any money out of me. 

[MrBadger]

So it's worse than just not updating current products. This problem was
noted YEARS ago (on my old Charge) and they have continued to issue new
products with the same problem. ??? How do you not take this seriously?
Maybe there are problems updating old items. But for new stuff... I'm a
firmware engineer and this should be a two day fix! Seriously. This is NOT
a rocket science problem.

Mark

--
Come, my friends, 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world. -- Tennyson

[lissaj]

Come on Fitbit.  Lets get this thing fixed.  It is unfathomable that you create a product with exercise tracking as a main component but don't give the tools for exercise tracking to actually work.  Why can't you figure out how to add a lock feature when exercising.  I'm sure you have programmers who are smart enough to figure this out.  UGH!  should have bought an apple watch instead 😞

[Lisalisajay]

This is definitely needed.  I now have a charge 4 and the issue is still ongoing. Not everybody walks or runs.  Any action involving wrist flexion is causing the pause or finish of a workout prematurely.  GET IT DONE PLEASE!

[tharp]

I purposely got on today to check to see if I was accidentally pausing the Charge 4. I see that I am not alone. It pauses during yoga (maybe I am grabbing it); and during walks. I agree with EVERYONE else. WHY?  The pause defeats the purpose of wearing  a tracker.  

[Lisalisajay]

OKso this was bugging me and my partner immensely so I contacted customer service via live chat.

The solution has been fine for 3 weeks with no interruptions since for either of us.

Basically we were told to not delete the existing device from the app but to add a device as if adding an additional one.

We went through the steps on the screen including the code to pair it.  Job done. 

Give it a try or use live chat for customer service if you don't understand what I mean. 

[Hverhoog]

To lock the Charge 4 during an activity, so that the activity is not interrupted by an accidental contact with the button on the side. The Charge 4 should be 'awakened' by for example holding the button for 3 seconds, of pressing three times in-a-row.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Hverhoog, thanks for explaining why you would like to have the option to lock buttons during exercise on Charge 4. This feature suggestion already exists, so I’ve moved your post here. While we don’t currently have plans to release this feature, we always appreciate the passion and creativity that comes out of this Community. Since we know this idea is important to many of you, we have left voting open to continue tracking interest and will post another update if anything changes. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.