Considering a Fitbit Sense

[isenki]

The Fitbit Sense Watch seems to do most of what I want in a successor but I have a few questions because there seems to be old information floating around online.

How many days are you all typically actually getting on one charge?

Can you still maintain all the health/sleep tracking/ECG monitoring without paying their bullsh*t subscription fee?

Have they got Spotify playback working without your phone working? Or do you still need to use Pandora?

[Shelby661]

Hi Isenki,

I got mine three weeks ago and I am already regretting it....the wrist band already broke, the ECG never works and the step counter is grossly inaccurate.  I cannot speak to the Spotify question as I have not used it for that, but to answer your other questions, yes, the health, sleep and ECG work without the fees but there are some additional features such the snoring monitor and nighttime heart rate reports for which you would need a premium account.  My issue with the ECG is that is always says inconclusive when I am having arrhythmias. My doctor had recommended an apple watch after I developed a heart condition so I could monitor the arrhythmia. I went for a fit bit instead. I can feel when it happens, so I know exactly when it occurs, but the ECG will always just say inconclusive. I am always very still and follow the directions exactly.  It accurately detects normal sinus rhythm, but that's not very helpful. I have charged mine twice now in the past 3 weeks so the battery does last long.

[flagrant99]

You can click next song for spotify on your phone from the watch only while not tracking any exercise.

[AcarliA]

Totally feel you. Had it a

month and it’s total cr**!!

[MarkMM]

@isenki Are you a workout person? If so, search the forum for Sense heart rate issues. That'd pretty much end it for me. As for the screen, I've had Blaze, 3 Versa 1's, 4 Versa 2's, and Versa 3. Never cracked a screen. If you're respectful that it's a small touch screen not designed for impact and try to be mindful of it, you should be Ok. I've had accidents where I thought I cracked one a few times, but so far haven't. 

[scaddenp]

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with my Sense. To be honest, I bought it as a cheap smartwatch with lots of interesting bits rather than fitness device though I thought that given my age and some chronic asthma, the fitness stuff would be useful. The smartwatch bits work very well for me. In particular, the phone stays in pocket mostly as I can see the notifications I want to know about on my wrist. The control over notifications is great though some things cant be managed on wrist (dont do proper notifications on phone). This has been liberating and no. one feature that I wanted.

The fitness/health features - not so much. ECG works for me but this is tech in its infancy. SPO2 I thought would be useful for asthma but it is unreliable, syncing seems to be on UTC time and only get a reading once a day. Stair-counting is a joke though did improve with last update. Steps has its foibles like apparently walking in sleep but out and about, it seems ok and not too different from what phone counts. Heart Rate gets a hard time here with some excellent comparisons with other reliable devices showing deficiencies but it works well enough for my use. Sleep is so so. Often things I am in light sleep when trying to get to sleep or reading, but otherwise matches perception. These deficiencies annoy me - it seems fitbit would be better doing less but doing it better rather than trying to stuff in lots of crappy features.

I get 3 days of charge trying to work with 85-30 range but with minimum brightness, snore detection turned off, no music. The lack of an alarm for 80 makes overcharging to 100 all too common. Use a timer now.

The biggest annoyance is in support. "We are aware of the problem and working to fix it". Very polite but also apparently complete nonsense. I have it a year now and there has been one update which looked to be focussed on pretty useless (but cheap) new features, but little in way of fixes. Simple things like the date/time on SPO2 measurement not touched.

Premium is grossly overpriced in my opinion. Up there with Netflix, but not as much value and cant be shared.

I think I was primarily fitness-focussed I would look at watch that does that well and doesnt try to be all things. Sense is too ambitious I think.

[scaddenp]

At least in my country, the Venu 2 is also rather more expensive.

[Clove6060]

I’ve had minor software issues that were corrected.

no problems with build

Protect it with spigen case/band.

no scratches 20% drain every 24hrs

SimpleClockPro face

Button activated 

Brightness on Dim

calls, texts, outlook  and personal email

No snore report or readiness report enabled 

Leave app running in background and sync all the time.

charge when battery gets below 20% up to 95%.

Buy with the 35% discount. They have the right to send you a refurbished if not and the warranty on new is the longer of your old warranty or 30 days on the refurbished. 
Buy a new one and get new warranty and new watch. Or go somewhere else. Grass is always greener….. right?

[Guy_]

Hi @isenki  - there is

• No on watch only Spotify.
• No need for premium for ECG usage but you must live in a country that supports it.
• A possibility to get over 5 days battery if you don't use Snore detection (premium only) or SpO2 which only works to give a single value for the night ( no on the spot readings)

Best to consult the forum for what people have issues with to get a better picture.

[KB9WNS]

Next step is to compare the Sense to a $35 Chinese knockoff sold on Amazon (which has been ordered and will arrive tomorrow).

[BassFace.2]

The screen is very fragile. Mine broke while working at my desk. When I contacted fitbit, they said they would have someone contact me. That has not happened. My family and I have owned 5 fitbits. We will be finding something else. Sense is a disposable product at at premium price.