Sense floor count and Support's solution

[cogsoz]

Around September last year, my Sense started counting a ridiculous number of floors, 10 times more than it should (see chart).  I contacted support who suggested I factory reset the Sense.  I did this but it made no difference, so contacted support again, who then offered to replace it under warranty.  Great, but they want it returned before they will ship out a replacement, meaning I will be without it for several days.  I understand the reasoning behind this, but the Sense has become a device I depend on for many of its smart watch functions and I don't really want to be without it.  With this in mind, I offered to pay for the replacement and receive a refund when the return of the faulty Sense is confirmed, but Fitbit advised that they are unable to accommodate this.

Every other device replacement I have received from other product brands has been able to offer an option to receive the replacement prior to return of the faulty device, I find it laughable that Fitbit cannot offer any option to this end.  Some companies don't even want the faulty device back.

Given this poor support experience, the awful backwards changes to the charts in the Fitbit app, and other niggly issues that pop up all too frequently, I think I'm done with Fitbit.  It's a shame as I was really happy with my first device (a Blaze) and the whole ecosystem for the first few years.  The Google takeover doesn't seem to have done anything good for Fitbit.

[Guy_]

Hi @cogsoz - that seems like a good solution to pay for a replacement and be issued with a refund, because returning it as they request means you are without a watch for an indeterminate period, sometimes months when the watch goes astray. Shame they don't accept that option.

You purchased a watch in order to track your health and returning means you lose that possibility.

See also Improve return or replacement policy to be faster (with code to exchange at any shop)

[cogsoz]

Following up on this, I sent the Sense off for replacement and in the 2 weeks without it I bought a Garmin Vivoactive 4.  Granted, the sleep tracking isn't as good and I've lost a few other features like skin temperature, on-wrist calls (which I never used anyway), etc, but the Garmin just works.  I always had niggly issues with my Fitbit devices (flaky Bluetooth, syncing issues, etc.), the Garmin does everything first time without fuss.

Given the constant news I'm being bombarded with about Fitbit removing features and upsetting its customers, especially the announcement that 3rd party apps and watch faces are being discontinued, and Garmin news releases being the polar opposite, the time has come for me to jump ship.  I wore both watches for a few days after the new Sense arrived and this only confirmed that the Garmin is leaps ahead in terms of reliability.  It never missed a notification, always reconnected when in Bluetooth range, and synced flawlessly.  I couldn't say the same for the Sense.

Goodbye Fitbit, it was a great ride but the pastures are greener elsewhere.