How do I set alarms on Sense in the Fitbit app?

[RB_Swe]

Hi!

I cant find a way to set and manage the Sense alarm ”app” in the phone (android) Fitbit app, seems so strange, is it a bug or is it a ”feature”?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[rlithgow]

Originally, back when I began with the Flex 2, the ONLY way to set alarms was through Android, iOS, or using the desktop software and dongle that once existed. There was no screen, just five LED lights, and the only manual input was by tapping the wrist device, say to silence a silent alarm or to manually put the device into sleep mode (sleep tracking was less reliable then because the devices were just pedometers that lacked heart rate tracking with pulse oximeters like we have now). Then, for a time, with Versa 1 and Ionic (a and maybe Charge 3, I forget now) you could alter the timers both in the mobile device app and on the wrist device itself. Then, they changed something about how syncing works by having the devices use Bluetooth BLE instead of Bluetooth 4.0 or 5.0 or whatever it was on before. When they removed the alarm app from phones, they also removed the option for changing other things like whether the device was set to sync continuously all day or whether instead it would only sync manually, on demand via he smart phone app. These changes appear to me only to be in the smartphone app, as I have iOS devices that I’be refused to update for years that are still on out-dated Fitbit apps. My original Versa (died last month, and I went to sense) and my wife’s old Charge 3 and even my very old Flex 2 all can still communicate with those old apps, and I can still use them to set, cancel and alter silent alarm settings on the watch. The Sense didn’t want to be set up by those old apps so I had to use my child’s iPad to set up my Sense, but within days it began syncing to my own older iOS devices on it’s own. I shut off he Bluetooth on those devices because those old apps don’t have all the features they added to Sense and I don’t want to squander my premium trial by using older apps that won’t display the data that comes with premium; I also worry that I may corrupt data by syncing with the older apps, although the danger is less than Fitbit would have you believe.

Probably, if I used the older apps, I could still set silent alarms using my smartphone, but since no one here not already using those outdated iOS apps can’t get their hands on them, I don’t see the point in experimenting. My point is that obviously the watch still has the ability to receive input from a smartphone regarding silent alarms, it’s just that Fitbit removed the functionality from the modern instances of the smartphone Fitbit apps. Who knows, maybe it has to do with licensing or something, as this is he reason you can answer calls on iOS with the watch but not reply to text messages: Apple didn’t want competition with their Apple Watches, so they agreed with FitBit to allow the watch on iOS but only so long as you couldn’t reply to texts. At the time the first Fitbit watches were released, Fitbit shrugged it off as a technical problem inherent in the technology, but since then I’ve seen posts indicating otherwise.

[1dreamweaver]

Yo can add, delete, modify only through the watch itself!! I would start by
deleting the 420 a.m. alarm. And then try adding an alarm around the time
that you want the new alarm.

By far, Modifying the alarm is the most difficult part. As I recall, you
have to tap the time abs then can scroll to different time.
--

Moderator Edit: Personal info removed

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi there, @rlithgow and @1dreamweaver.

@rlithgow Thanks for the detailed information and your efforts while working on this matter. Before anything else, let me clarify that the Alarm app was designed and implemented on most of our newest Fitbit devices including the Sense, so you can set your alarms without having to sync with the Fitbit app. I'm sorry if this caused any inconvenience and we'll keep working to improve our features, and make sure we're making Fitbit more useful for you.

About your other concern, even though you've turned off the Bluetooth on your other devices, please make sure to remove the Sense from the Bluetooth settings to prevent any interference when using other features such as notifications.

@1dreamweaver Thanks for stopping by to help our members with their questions. Your post is very helpful and I'm sure others will think the same!

See you around.

[MaryKennedy5]

Really not happy with this 'improvement', nit convenient at all.

[LizzyFitbit]

Welcome to the forums, @MaryKennedy5.

Thanks for joining this thread and letting us know about the Alarms app on your Sense. I understand where you're coming from and I'm sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. As mentioned above, our team strives to improve our features and the overall Fitbit experience, and the input we receive from our members is a big part of the process. Your feedback is appreciated and it won't be taken for granted.

[Rufous44]

Since Fitbit is striving to improve the features and the overall Fitbit experience and that the inputs from users are a big part of the process the related suggestion to bring back the ability to set alarms from the app has been closed as NOT PLANNED.

[99montez34]

Setting alarms from the Sense seems easy to me and I don't see why we need
it in the app as well; what specifically is the problem?

[CarolinaScotty]

I have arthritis in my hands, especially my fingers. It is much easier for me to use settings in an iPad app than on my Sense.

[99montez34]

I am sorry to hear that, and thank you for pointing out a valid concern.
Up to this point I thought people were complaining just because they didn't
like change.
Hopefully Fitbit will listen too?

[Rich_Laue]

People where upset and complaining that the app needed to be used to set alarms. The ones complaining the most were service men and those on boats, where Internet access is limited. Alarm settings on the app, requires a live Internet connection. So after a few years of begging, fitbit moved these settings to the phone. This move opened the floodgates of upset users. 

Maybe if these users added their concern to the suggestion to move settings to the tracker, fitbit might have left the settings in the app, allowing us the option of where to set alarms. 

[Rufous44]

@Rich_Laue Would you please point us the suggestion? Because I looked everywhere and I can't find it. Kinda difficult to do what you suggested.

I can instead find instead the reverse suggestion asking to bring back the alarm setting in app, guess what, closed as NOT PLANNED.

[Rich_Laue]

@Rufous44 in what way is it the reverse? The current thread we are in is asking for settings to be in the app. The feature suggestion you point to is asking for settings to be in the app.yes it has been closed to adotiobalfcomments, not votes. With only getting 400 votes a year. It doesn't seem very wanted. 

[Dopovo]

I believe what @Rufous44 is asking is to have the link of the suggestion made long ago where users asked the alarm settings to be moved to the tracker

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi everyone, it's good to see you here.

Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback about the Alarms app. I understand how helpful it'd be to set your alarms on the Fitbit app, and I'm sorry for any inconvenience this has caused. As some of you mentioned, our team constantly strives to improve our devices and features, and the your feedback helps us to ensure we're delivering something that meets your needs.

For this reason, as our friend mentioned, please support this request by adding your vote. Even though it's marked as not currently planned, our team left voting open to keep tracking its demand over time. To learn more about how Fitbit decides what suggestions get released, see our FAQs.

[Rufous44]

@Rich_Laue I'm still waiting for your reply to see the original request to move the alarm from app to device where you said users should have voiced their opinions (quoted: "Maybe if these users added their concern to the suggestion to move settings to the tracker, fitbit might have left the settings in the app, allowing us the option of where to set alarms. ")

[Guy_]

@Rufous44  - I don't suppose that users requested to move the alarms settings to the watch.

Being able to add alarms and timers on the watch is a nice feature but not being able to see and manage them in the app is clearly a backward step.

Especially as it would be possible to easily give a label to an alarm or timer in the app which would be very useful for repeating ones.

The integration of voice assistant to set alarms is also not well documented as it seems possible to give labels to timers and alarms but the current alarms app doesn't even show the label.

[Rufous44]

I don't know, @Rich_Laue is always suggesting to tell users to make their voice heard in the suggestion section and, in this case he is so adamant to blame users to not have spoken when it was the time to speak. So i want to know where.

[Rich_Laue]

@Guy_ users where upset, especially the service men and anyonne on a ship, because without an Internet access there was no way to set an alarm. 

Besides this, can you name any other wrist watch that needs an Internet access to set an alarm? 

@Rufous44 I haven't looked, but the request went back at least 6+ there are 15 pages in the released. Then again, maybe the change was made because of the many complaints 

[Rufous44]

@Rich_Laue so you're giving yourself an answer. Fitbit implemented an update without asking actually users what they wanted because in a similar Apple.fashion they believe to know what is good for users. Other notably regressions:

- DND now restricted to fixed schedule rather than based on sleep detection

- HR measured by device no longer syncing with sessions recorded via app

- fitbit coach literally killed without being replaced by an alternative solution

- pace/distance measured via steps rather than GPS (as done with Surge)

-.implementation of multi tracker paired in the same app no longer available (I don't care if it's a limitation of Fitbit OS or the app store or whatever, it's Fitbit decision, not imposed by someone else)

- personal music storage no longer available starting from Sense / Versa 3

In all above cases users asked to revert back (similarly to the alarm as object of this discussion) and received a clear NO (or they have been ignored). So how do you want to convince the users that they should have been more.vocal when it's clear that Fitbit doesn't listen?

[Rufous44]

By the way Inspire 2 and Ace series still have alarms settable only from app and not from tbe trackers, so not following the excellent explanation given.