Announcing Sense Update OS 5.3 (44.128.6.12)

[FitbitCommunity]

This update should now be available to all customers! If you have any difficulty updating, make sure you are following the directions in this article, and then provide as many specific details as possible in your post so that we can assist.

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Update 11/7

We are continuing to roll out this firmware for the Fitbit Sense, and expect more users will see it as available. This is a progressive rollout, and all customers can expect to have it within a few weeks. We roll out releases in phases as a cautionary measure so that we can monitor performance closely and make adjustments if needed. If you don't see the option to update, don't worry - you'll have it soon!

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Update 10/27

We’re excited to announce that a firmware update for Sense will be available soon!  Some of you may already have this update available - if you installed it, let us know what you think!

If you don’t see the update yet, that’s expected. Check the Fitbit app in a few days, and you’ll see a message when you can install the update. We expect everyone to receive the update in the coming weeks. We appreciate your patience while we get this update to all of our customers. 

Did you know that we gradually release our updates? We do this to make sure everything is working just right for you. Sometimes we find an issue and it might take a little longer than expected for everyone to get the update. While you might see suggestions on how to “force” an update, we ask that you don’t try any of these workarounds. Most of the time the update won’t be available and you can lose data or encounter other difficulties. The best way to get the update is to be patient and wait for the update banner to appear in the Fitbit app.  

WHAT’S NEW AND FIXED

You can find release notes here.

HOW DO I UPDATE?

You can find step-by-step instructions for updating your Sense here. 

We recommend updating your Sense over a home Wi-Fi network as this can greatly reduce the time it can take to get set up. For more information on connecting your Sense to Wi-Fi, check out this article. 

If you run into difficulty updating please review these troubleshooting tips. 

We’re interested in hearing your feedback on this update! Let us know what you like! If you encounter unexpected behavior during or after your update, please post the details below.

[GuyBoggan]

I passionately hate the new 'phone not connected' notification.

I KNOW my phone isn't connected, I don't want it to be, I never have my Bluetooth on, nor do I want notifications from my phone. I bought a watch to track fitness and health metrics and doesn't need a phone connected to do that, definitely shouldn't either.

This stupid and pointless new notification RUINS the watches aesthetic, and within just a few minutes of updating is driving me crazy.

Every single time I lift my arm to check the time or my steps, the info I want to see goes a dark for a second whilst it highlights to me that my phone isn't connected, again I (*insert swear word) know it isn't connected.

PLEASE allow us to turn this off. Fitbit does hardware brilliantly but constantly falls short with software, who thought that this was that something that needed to be added, especially by default with no user settings to remove it. Is there anyway to downgrade a software version?

[Irish57]

Sadly, I am not sure Fitbit does anything brilliantly as I have constant
issues after spending 300.00!

[gemdrite]

You can turn it off.  Go into settings/display on your Sense and toggle it off.  

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Does anybody know if this update fixes the "no Ring notification" issue on the Sense?

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi everyone.

@Willem48 Thanks for trying the suggestions shared above. I'm sorry the issue persists and if you've also tried removing the Sense controls from the Bluetooth settings prior to reconnecting your watch, I'd recommend getting in touch with our Support team. They have specialized tools that allow them to evaluate your watch's behavior and provide you with assistance. Click here to get connected with them via chat or phone.

@Irish57 I understand where you're coming from and appreciate you for getting back with the requested information. I'm sorry you're having this experience with your exercise details and because the suggested steps didn't work, please provide me with the model and OS version of your phone so I can further investigate on my end.

@Tbrhbs Just to confirm, do you mean that the calories and heart rate graphs don't appear complete in the Exercise log? Or is the issue with your Sense not tracking this data during your activity? Please confirm if the Fitbit app is updated and if possible, take a screenshot of what is displayed on either the Fitbit app or your watch, and attach it to your reply.

 @GuyBogganThanks for your thorough feedback about the status indicators. I understand your point of view and I'm sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you. As our friend mentioned, you can always turn off or back on these indicators by opening the Settings app on your Sense, tap Display and the switch next to Status indicators. These instructions are also described in this help article.

@gemdrite Thanks for stopping by to help our member. About your question, let me share that our team continues working on this issue with the Ring notifications to identify a solution soon. I'm sorry for this situation and while there isn't a time frame for the fix, please know your feedback will be passed along to keep them informed.

Hope this helps.

[Bruce_S]

• I have noticed the same thing since I loaded the updated software yesterday. 

[Clove6060]

Did you try changing the clock face to see if it is still there? 

[SunsetRunner]

@LizzyFitbit what about my issue with BR not appearing in health metrics for about one year now? Issue not sorted by the update or by following all the suggestions and step by step guidelines? 

[Toons114]

44.128.6.12:

Low HR got more precise.

High HR got worse with values that are sur estimated from +20/+40 bpm.

Floor counting still nowhere !

We do not care about notifications when batt is low or when the phone is off Range!

We solutions on basics ! HR Reliability in ALL conditions and Floor counting which works well in other brands 

A year on a Premium product and it is still nowhere

Moderator Edit: Formatting

[SunsetRunner]

@Toons114 totally agree with you. It's been a year now with no breathing rate in my health metrics. And still no answers, just me sounding as a broken record. 

[Guy_]

Hi, in the last firmware update Fitbit are attempting to inform you if there is a problem.

It may indicate an issue with your telephone set up, that needs investigating - such the Fitbit App or Bluetooth has stopped running in background.

Often the cause of this is battery saving on the phone, so check the phone settings for this to ensure they both run all the time..

[Lorcasaur]

Updated Sunday night and have no longer been seeing displays for text messages, reminders to move, step goal reached, or battery charging. I did, however, constantly see the little icon notifying me that I walked too far away from my phone (which I have since turned off). Could it be an issue with my watch face? Doesn't make a ton of sense to me... [UPDATE: turning off the new notifications seems to have fixed the display issue with the old ones. Not ideal, but fortunately I don't find the new notifications helpful.]

[LPease]

Last time Fitbit  did an update that ruined my last Sense tracker (which was already glitchy) I waited for support and they did not help me with even one problem out of many. I had already restarted my tracker and phone 4 times, but I did it all again to humor him. My other tracker was counting 100’s of floors. He said to see if it worked and call back if it didn’t help. I answered that I had just walked 10 feet and the tracker said I’d just climbed 15 floors. I said it had clearly not worked. He calmly repeated the words, “We see if it works.” To which I answered, “You can clearly see it did not. You want me to call you right back and wait on hold?” Him “We go and see if it works.” We had this exchange FOUR times and I hung up hopeless. You seriously think help will be procured by calling them now that my other NEW tracker has stopped tracking floors because of another of your updates?

[Irish57]

I did reach out to the Twitter techs, my HR and calorie data is now present but not any change in accuracy! Quite frankly it’s worse. Yes, I did ask Twitter tech guys when that would be corrected. They do not know! 
Thanks for reaching out though! 

[LokeAa]

@SunsetRunner No BR data for a year? Sounds like a sensor failure. You have asked support about the sensor?

[SunsetRunner]

@LokeAa Let's say 50 records max in nearly one year. But it's not a sensor issue. First because everything else works, second because when Fitbit changed it for another sense, same problem. It's simply comes out randomly. I have asked. Also asked to admins if you look around in my posts, they don't reply. They say they are looking into it, at that s that. However, if tech guys would compare a day where I had the BR against the days where I didn't , should give some suggestions. E.g. For a whole month I had a BR reading only on Tuesdays but only if I was leaving the app on in the background during the night. Every other nights with the app on, no BR reading in the morning. Monday night with no app in the background, no reading Tuesday's morning. And then it stopped working and no record, till something mysterious triggers it. My guess is, my next reading will be around 11-13 of November. 

[LokeAa]

@SunsetRunner Sense has many sensors. One sensor is dedicated to SPO2. Doesn't matter since you have tried a replacement. Unlikely two should have the same faulty sensor. It is a weird error, no logic to be found whatsoever. 

[SunsetRunner]

@LokeAa and that to me is the main problem here. Rather than launching brand new Fitbit devices every week, they should focus on these weird errors and try to fix them once and for all. 

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi everyone.

Thanks for your continued feedback. I've moved some of your posts to this thread in order to keep our team informed, as well as the forums organized and on-topic.

@SunsetRunner I'm sorry your text messages aren't coming through. Given this situation, please review this help article which describes the required settings to receive text notifications, as well as some troubleshooting tips.

In regards to your details disappearing from the Fitbit app, could you and @SunsetRunner let me know the model and OS version of your phone? This will help me to check on my end. Additionally, I'd suggest checking if the Fitbit app is updated, force quitting the Fitbit app, reboot your phone and syncing your Sense one more time.

@zpetkova and @Tbrhbs Thanks for the details provided. If possible, could you take a screenshot of what is displayed on your iPhone? To attach a file in your reply, just follow the instructions from this post. Additionally, I'd like to ask you and @Irish57 to let me know the dates that you had this error, and the type of exercises you did.

@mummer18 and @Bruce_S Thanks for your efforts while working on this situation. Just to confirm, did you try the restart process as described here? If so, I'd also suggest changing the clock face to one from Fitbit. I understand you've been using this clock face before but it's just to see how it responses. If it starts working, you can then change it to the original one. However, if the issue persists, please take a picture of your Sense and attach it to your reply so I can investigate one my end.

@DenGer May I know where you're getting that message? Are you able to sync your details? If you haven't done so, let me recommend the steps described in this help article and let me know how it goes.

See you around.

[m-umar]

I'm quite interested to find out if any one had the chance to test the HR on the sense after this latest update. I mean comparatively with some accurate device like Chest HR monitor etc.

[SunsetRunner]

@m-umar , Toons114  post sums up quite well my first impressions three days after the last update, apart from the high HR, which I have not tested yet due to health issues. My low HR were compared to the very accurate H10 chest band and are the single important feature that seems to have improved, though it's still a bit too soon for me to say for sure.

You can find more users feedback about HR on other HR related threads.