Different issues experienced with the Sense

[Groove-Indigo]

As a loyal Fitbit user and compared with my previous four fits - Sense is very disappointing. I have had current Fitbit Sense for a few months, it promises much, but it is very clunky, inconsistent, unreliable and generally very frustrating to use. It is not up to speed and frankly not worth the money.  The additional features appear to be very exciting and useful, however you have to also subscribe to have full access to your own data.  In the past I have highly recommended Fitbit to my patients over the past five years but can not ethically do so now. 

Hey Fitbit (now Google) get you act together and provide a quality product that delivers what you promise.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there @Groove-Indigo, welcome to the Community Forums. We acknowledge the limitation we have on our part particularly on what you have experienced. We‘re taking into consideration your comments and sentiments with regards to our products and services.

Please note that our main purpose is to avoid negative experiences to our customers, we're always willing to help and provide troubleshooting steps. Then, if the tracker is deemed defective we review eligibility using the one year warranty option. Feel free to let me know the issues you're having with Fitbit Sense and I'll be glad to assist you.

Our products are indeed designed and made to last (this goes for each product component) however, there is not an infallible way to ensure that no issues will be present in the long run. Because of this, our Warranty Policy is set into providing as much coverage as we can.

If you have any additional questions about your Fitbit device or services, visit help.fitbit.com.

Have a nice day.

[Daveniv]

I could not agree more as continually trying to sort the sense out out !! I have  now given up on it .purchased to monitor heart rate well that’s a joke! . my fourth and worst fit bit and the last we will own.. £600 for two unreliable watches plus a subscription!! 
some one is having a laugh and it’s not us!

[SS2015]

I've been using Fitbits for the last six years.  You are lucky that you got a few months.  My Sense started to have problems after 4 weeks and completely died after 6 weeks.  Now it is in RMA black hole.  Sense comes with a lot of features, however, it is meaningless if they don't work and you cannot rely on it.  Better to have a dependable quality product that does few things well than a product that claims a lot, but does not deliver.  

[Odin1.]

I have been using Fitbit for a while and have had issues off and on. But this time I've had problems syncing my Fitbit to my phone and every so often I will wake up and fine I have 80,000 to 100,000 steps in. I don't wander the city while I sleep.

[Cocozerbo]

Well said but when I reached out to fitbit two months ago I did not get anywhere. 

For long term fitbit owners this is disappointing and at this point I'm wondering whether fitbit loyalty is worth it.

[Odin1.]

I have not heard from them since I posted this. But I have has less issues as well, so maybe they took care of the problem.

[Groove-Indigo]

Replaced the watch

[JimSOV]

Sounds like a bunch of marketing speak!  If you want to improve the customer experience, start over with a new support organization.  I have had a Sense for less than two weeks and have been disconnected from support five times and was “escalated” two days ago.  It looks like escalation means we are not going to talk to you anymore because I have have not heard back.  Normally when organizations have an OBF they respond with a new unit immediately.  Fitbit drags the process out creating immense bad will.

Just returned it.

[BradyLight]

I was looking at the latest Fitbits, but it sounds like Fitbit still has the same crappy customer service that they had when I gave up on them two years ago and got an Apple Watch.  I had the Ionic, which was the top of the line Fitbit when I bought it.  For the first 7-8 months, it worked mostly well, although initial set up was extremely painful.  Then the GPS stopped being able to connect after a software update, and it went months and never got fixed.  The forums like this were buzzing with the problem, but whenever I called customer support, they put their heads in the sand and pretended they never heard of the issue.  So I finally had enough and bought an Apple Watch.  Set up was painless and took all of five minutes.  I have no idea how good Apple’s customer service is, because I never needed to call them.  Their device just did what it was supposed to.  Learn from that, Fitbit, and maybe you wouldn’t be sitting at a market share of 3% right now!

[Mistymtn0102]

🤣🤣 I actually was wandering in the city during the night. Found out by trying to redeem my sip & Save at Circle K one afternoon only to find I had already redeemed it at 0200. Had never walked in my sleep before and I am 58.

[cjhd]

I agree.  The Sense is an inferior product.  The watch strap broke within weeks of buying the watch. I have replaced it with something very inexpensive from Amazon that has lasted much longer.  I have had to replace the charger cable numerous times.  I will likely be switching to a different smart watch supplier.

[vcs926]

This seems to be a canned response to anyone having trouble with their Fitbit.

I had the Ionic, which worked perfectly.  I was very happy with it until I received an email that it was being recalled because the battery gets hot and can cause injury (burn).  Mine never got hot but didn't want to risk that it might.  So I sent it back, got a full refund (not as easy as it sounds) and got a discount on a new and supposedly better model (the Sense).

First thing I noticed was that it would log only a couple hours sleep, and then that my workouts were only about 25% of what they were with my Ionic.  I contacted Fitbit and after a bunch of trouble received a replacement Sense.  The replacement had the same issues.

I'm fed up.  I've had several models of Fitbit watches and the Sense is by far the worst one.  I give up and will never buy another Fitbit product.

[GWoodSGN]

My first Fitbit Sense, purchased in Dec. 2021 stopped working after 7 months. Customer service responded with an offer of a replacement, which I took. I must say that they were very responsive and the replacement arrived in about 3 weeks. The replacement Sense stopped charging this past week. So, the second one lasted just about 2 months. I contacted customer service again via their chat option and was told that it was likely a battery problem, so they are investigating my warranty coverage and will respond with an email. I hope they'll offer another replacement free of charge, even better if they offer some sort of upgrade. I must say that my experience so fare seems to indicate that the Fitbit Sense is a product that is unreliable. Waiting to see what response I get.

[cmiklavcic]

I’m going through the same process right now. I returned my ionic, received a refund, and discount on a new watch. I bought the sense with the idea it was the closest to what I had been using. The screen froze on the logo yesterday and resetting it with customer service didn’t work. I’m returning the watch for a replacement. However, the warranty on a replacement isn’t as long as the original warranty. So, if the replacement has issues I may not be able to get a replacement for free. I’m worried about sticking with Fitbit and being out $$, time spent dealing with issues, and still not having a reliable product to use. 

[GWoodSGN]

When I received a replacement Sense for my first failed watch, I asked about the warranty on the replacement.  I was told the warranty was only valid for 12 months from the original purchase date.  Fitbit knows they've sold a flawed product with fragile and poorly engineered charging cables. I certainly won't be purchasing any more of their products. 

[SenselessNJ]

I never right review. However, I couldn’t agree with you more. I’ve had the Sense for 4 months. It won’t keep the time and I had to return the watch because the watch band was always falling. I almost lost the watch twice due to this issue. Don’t buy the Sense. You will end up disappointed and frustrated. How can a watch not keep the time!! 

[boricua3177]

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve had various Fitbits over the years and I got the Sense in July 2022. By November of 2022, my Sense stopped working. The face of the watch stopped displaying, it stopped charging & it kept restarting continuously.

i called support and they thought maybe there was something wrong with the charger and sent me a new one. The new charger did nothing. I called support again and this time they offered me 50% off of a new purchase or another Sense replacement at no cost. I took the replacement and received the replacement a few weeks later.

This morning, my Sense starting acting funny again. It wouldn’t display the watch face, but I could swipe to other menus and see them. I restarted the watch like 3 times before the watch face finally displayed. Then, I noticed that the time was incorrect. I then got in my phone and synced the phone with the app and finally got it to display the correct time.

The Sense really is not worth the hype. I’m considering another fitness watch.