Sense stopwatch should remain On even if Always-On display is off

[Workinhard]

Timeout is a useful feature to save battery life, but a stopwatch should never timeout. Just think of it, you are timing something (like a nurse timing a patient's vitals) and suddenly the stopwatch goes black. By the time you wake the watch up, it may be too late to get an accurate reading. This non-timeout stopwatch feature works on the Ionic.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject and updated label

[Guy_]

Hi @Workinhard - The Sense default Timers app has quirks.

As a work around try SimpleTimer - it has the choice of stayon while timing in either direction.

Or a clock face with an always on option explicitly for timing directly on the clock face, such as SimpleClockPro

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @Workinhard. Thank you for sharing your Feature Suggestion with the Fitbit Community. Let me explain that when activating the stopwatch on your Sense and it should keep counting the time even if the screen turns off, or if you use another app. You can also turn on Always-On Display if you want the stopwatch screen all the time. To learn about these settings, please see this help article.

If by any chance you're referring to something different, please reply with more detail or specifics on how this idea would work as this will help us to understand this idea better. We look forward to your response.

[Workinhard]

Thank you for your suggestion. The reason it is inadequate is because when
the screen does off several things happen:

1. You can't read the time (even though it is still running) and if you are
trying to start something 1 minute after you start the stopwatch, but it
goes off at 45 seconds, you don't know when that is.
2. If you are trying to stop the stopwatch and it is off, it may take 2 or
3 seconds to turn it back on which completely defeats the purpose.

Again, the Ionic stopwatch works perfectly. Surely you must be able to port
that solution over to the Sense.

Thank you,

[Guy_]

Did you try SimpleTimer with it's always on feature and use the button to start/pause?

On the Ionic you could use the buttons, this was dropped for the standard Timers app on the Sense and Versa 3 as was remembering last timer.

[Workinhard]

Is SimpleTimer a purchased app?

[Guy_]

@Workinhard- I think it's free.

[Workinhard]

I went to the app store on my phone and there must be 20 SimpleTimer apps
listed. Which one should I install?

[Guy_]

Are you looking in the Fitbit App Gallery? There is only one with that name.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @Workinhard, and thanks for taking the time to share this suggestion about allowing the Sense stopwatch to remain On even if Always-On Display is off with us. We rely on feedback like yours to help us develop products and features that we know our community wants to see. If this suggestion receives votes from other customers and gains popularity, it will be shared internally with various teams at Fitbit. To learn more about how Fitbit decides which suggestions get developed, visit our FAQs.

Watch this space for status updates. In the meantime, try visiting Health & Wellness to talk with other members about all things health and fitness.

[JPCorky]

Fitbit need to provide an option for Sense users have the display stay on when using the stopwatch and during exercise. This was a helpful feature of the Versa that has been removed. 

E.g. If I’m timing myself for a 1 min plank / interval training, the screen goes black automatically after a few seconds.

The Always on Display wastes the battery very quickly and is not a viable solution.

Fitbit listen to customer feedback and bring this feature to the Sense.

[JPCorky]

*to have the

[JacekB]

This supports the comment from the person whose comment is titled "The Sense stopwatch should remain on even when the Always-On display is off." A similar issue affects the Charge 4. When the stopwatch is activated, the screen goes black after 20 seconds. It only lights up again when tapped, but if I wanted to stop it at 21 seconds, I wouldn’t be able to. Couldn’t the screen stay active for as long as the stopwatch is running?

[Guy_]

Hi @JacekB - did you try the Simple4Timer app, if you have a Sense, that you can configure 4 timers in all sorts of ways, to stay on, repeat etc.

[JacekB]

Thanks, Guy, but my Fitbit is Charge 4. In my comment, I was only referring
to a similar comment regarding the Sence stopwatch.
Regards,
Jacek