Users unable to install

[Tiosi]

This has been talked about in other posts but there are issues with not being able to install apps when you haven't kept the Fitbit app updated.  In the past month I received 15 messages from users who can't install my app.  This is half of all the support messages I got.  It's obviously peanuts but it's a free app and it adds a ton of work on a developer to have to troubleshoot "Platform" problems. Users assume there's a problem with my app and not the Fitbit app which is the most disappointing part for me.  The fix is obvious, but clearly not well distributed to users.

[JonFitbit]

Thanks for the feedback. With the obvious fix, do you mean updating the message which is displayed to users when they aren't allowed to install in the gallery?

[Tiosi]

Hey Jon!

Yes, I am hoping there would be a way to communicate this to users, because the users who are reporting this are not getting a message.  The app will start installing, then abruptly fail.  I am assuming the issue is that the app is not up to date, even though it's not showing that to users, as it is fixing the problem for them.  So it could be an application state issue?  If you want I can send you the emails of the users who aren't able to install.    

[Tiosi]

Here's one of the messages I got about this:

"This app will not download for over a week... keeps buffering and there is no way to stop it or cancel the download that won’t ever work!!!! I want this fixed or stopped please!!!!"

[Gondwana]

If it gets that far, I don't think the problem is out-of-date Fitbit app. I think there's an intermittent bug in the installation code that can result in the installation seeming to continue indefinitely (my pet theory is that an acknowledgement from watch to companion is going astray). Shutting down and restarting the phone often seems to work. This is an embarrassingly ugly solution, but if it works...

[Tiosi]

I think you are right.  Here's a recent message:

"Hi, I have a Fitbit versa lite and I am not able to install the app. It says the app needs to be update. However, I have updated it several times and it still won’t let me install it. Thank you for your time and assistance."

[Gondwana]

Oh, if it's explicitly saying that the Fitbit app needs to be updated, then it probably does. If updating the Fitbit app doesn't actually result in a newer version of it being installed, this could be because the phone operating system is an old version.

[Tiosi]

Hmm, I worry that there are multiple issues going on here then.  Others user messages mention nothing about updating or that Fitbit is giving any explanation for why the app won't install.  That actually occurred on my phone.  It was not up to date but Fitbit did not give that as the reason for it not installing.  It seems likely what you said in your previous post -- something related to the installation process -- is going on here.

[JonFitbit]

There's definitely a firmware issue which affects clock installs. It will be fixed in the next update. In the meantime, when someone is stuck installing they should try just switching using the on-device clock app. After they then sync their device, it should be back in a good state.

[Capitano]

Hi all,

I just want to add the same issue from a couple of my users;

For example a user wants to install my clockface CD Breathe which was built with SDK version 4.0,

My user uses OS Version 32.32.10.15 on her Versa which should be able to run the clockface, but she always gets the message "to make sure that her Fitbit and the app are up to date".

Regards

Capitano

[JonFitbit]

The mobile app and firmware both need to be up to date in order to support new SDK versions.

x.32.10.15 is old!

SDK 1.0

Fibit OS 1.2 - x.31.1.29

Fibit OS 2.0 - x.32.4.19

Fitbit OS 2.1 - x.32.10.15

Fitbit OS 2.1.1 - x.32.10.20

SDK 2.0

Fitbit OS 2.2 - x.32.12.19

SDK 3.0

Fitbit OS 3.0 - x.33.1.30

SDK 4.0

Fitbit OS 4.0 - x.68.9.15

SDK 4.1

Fitbit OS 4.1 - x.70.7.14

[Tiosi]

Hi Jon,

This is not a clock app.  Does that matter?

[Capitano]

Oh,-- very old obviously.... -- Sorry...

So I assume that my user doesn't get updates offered for her watch.

Is there now any way to force the update without doing an total reset?

Regards

Capitano

[Gondwana]

It could be helpful to find out what version of the Fitbit app and phone operating system she's using. If either of those is too far out of date, she won't get offered the latest watch firmware.

[Tiosi]

The goal of this post was to report what seems like huge platform issues.  I’ve gotten zero tangible response from Fitbit at this point.  I have no reason to think this whole thing isn’t far from being abandoned.  And as a developer who spent considerable effort working with the problems in the platform and even creating my own payment processing system for my app it’s absolutely not worth building apps for Fitbit if a user is not going to be able to install it.  

[JonFitbit]

As I previously mentioned, the SDK version is  the tied to mobile and firmware versions.

If the mobile OS is version is too old, if the Fitbit app version is too old, or the device firmware is too old, then the user cannot install. I don't think this issue is different from any other platform. 

If you can tellm the version numbers for the specific users, I can check if there is an issue preventing them from downloading your app, or preventing them from being recommended a device update.