Sense issues reported by reviewers

[Rinopopo]

I've read 7 different reviews and every single one says that this device is half-baked. I'm really worried about this. Anyone at fitbit could tell me if they are aware of those issues and if are going to be fixed in a day one firmware update?

- slow OS

- slow animations

- not so accurate HR readings when exercising.

- no spo2 readings if you don't enable the spo2 watchface (WTF FITBIT!!)

- no voice responses from alexa
- no voice calls at all.

- Lack of information about stress management data.

[Morrigan]

I've just got mine today.

I am from Germany. My phone is a Sony Xperia 5, Android.

When I charged it to install it, I used a charger from one of my previous Sony Phones (1500 mA) and it was working fine.

Had a couple of issues at first. After the phone found the Sense (I thought it didn't at first) it asked for the update right away. And it took forever, at least it felt like it.

What I can say so far about it: it works perfectly fine. No problems or slow menu / response . HR seams to be the same as accurate as with the Versa 1. But I also do not have other bands to compare it.

I just have to get used to the option of going back in the menu etc by swiping left, not by pushing the button. And to the button itselfe.....feels a bit awkward.

I can also not report issues with the animation (just saw one so far). 

Two things I miss so far:

- Storing my Music on it. I used that for workouts at the gym, not needing my phone on me all the time. Here in Germany we need Deezer Premium now for that.

- I can not sort the exercise, how I like them. Neither on the app nor on the Sense. They are sorted from A-Z. In the app the option is just gone.

And I purchased the Sense on my own, preorderd it.

[Tristannyc]

No offense to those posting “I got it today and no issues” it takes time
and tests to tell if there are issues. Comparisons are helpful. And also
knowing your stats. Height weight BMI resting Hr etc.

Try to include those things.


--
Sent from my phone. Please excuse any typos, over abundance of emojis, or
autocorrect duck ups.

[bobby2478]

I also don't like how I can't sort exercises. One thing however is if you start an exercise it jumps to the top of the list in a new section called "Recent", so that is at least helpful. But would like if they provided the ability to customize the order they display in.

Another minor feature that would be nice would be the ability to use "Connected GPS" where it uses your phone's GPS signal to save battery rather then the GPS on the Sense. But no big deal

[Tristannyc]

Wait they removed connected GPS?!

[eljae]

When I get my Sense, can I keep my chrage 4 hooked up to compare? Or will it mess up the app with 2 Fitbits running at the same time?

[SunsetRunner]

@Rinopopo 

Today at the gym I tested my Fit Bit Sense against a treadmill's HR monitor right after weight training and later against a spinning machine's HR monitor during cardio training.

Between sets of weight training I touched the sensor of the treadmill and I noticed that the Fit Bit Sense was kind of struggling to lock and it was showing 25bpm less than the machine.

During cardio with a spinning bike the Fit Bit showed same HR as the machine. 

I came to the conclusion, that when you don't move your hand and you keep your exercise at a steady pace, you get good and accurate results. 

As for weight training, it's something that all fitness trackers kind of struggled to present accurate data with dependability.

Unfortunately there is no notification when the Bluetooth brakes connection with the phone when you move away from your phone.

During weight training my skin was activating the side button which activated alexa 10 times per set. I got rid of alexa because of that and deactivated the side button of any function other than just going back to the main menu. A reviewer complained about it too but I thought he was crazy until it happened to me too 😞

During sleep it registered steps 🤣

Kind of laggy for the price point, something that was hugely observed by many. That unnamed CPU needs a little upgrading.

Any $30 tracker can show the same good results actually. I had two cheap ones and where also good. In youtube they got tested against dedicated pulsoxes and mostly got the same number.

Which indicates that HR technology for fitness trackers is not rocket science .

I hope fitbit will fix the innacuracy of the more advanced HR monitor because its smartwatch capabilities are not impressive. At least on the fitness level they should make it worth keeping it.

And these were my first results

[Ames23]

Nope. It will ask to replace the Charge 4.

[bobby2478]

Same with charge 3, it forces u to replace it. U can however have both a charge 2 and sense both linked to ur account at the same time. 

[Xipher_404]

I am a Premium Member, and I have to have that specific watchface in order to view my Sp02 in the morning, otherwise it says "No Data" on the chart. Granted, that was with my Ionic. I picked up the Versa 3 today, and running the Bitmoji face. I will verify in the morning whether I can view my Sp02 or not.

I have had no issues with performance on this watch.

**UPDATE**

I do not have Sp02 metrics today, which is really frustrating. I suppose unless they address this via an update, that I will swap to that watch face if I feel under the weather so that I can check my blood oxygen.

[SunsetRunner]

I just watched the DC Rainmaker Youtube review and would agree with that. Issues so far for me (using Iphone 11 - IOS14):

Inaccurate HR, steps and sleep recording - these are just basic things that any tracker should get right first time. I appreciate that recording sleep is slightly more difficult but it's way out here.

Having to repeatedly tap the screen to wake up - if you don't want the screen always-on and want the manual wake method (not using the button) then it should wake up as soon as you tap the screen - it simply doesn't.

SpO2 recording - why is this only during sleep ? I appreciate that it's good to know as part of your sleep routine (if it's recording that accurately) but you need to know this during the day too. Also ridiculous to need a specific watch face to record/view.

Data analytics - the health metrics appear to have been thrown in at the last minute with no clear use of how you can improve them or what they mean. 

Fitbit Premium - like most, I don't mind paying a premium for something if it's worth it, but most of the things that you need here (health logs etc) should be free as part of the initial price and all of the guided workouts / sessions you can get anywhere for next to nothing online.

Overall so far I'm really glad I kept the box and the Amazon box as I'm half way there to returning. I'll give it a few more days myself. It's such a shame as on paper this sounded like the smart watch to easily rival the 'tree-fruit' one (!) and therefore I jumped with a day1 purchase, and I'm still impressed with the extended battery life the Sense has over that one, but it's clear that it's not going to compete so far.

[Tay757]

I got the watch yesterday from Best buy, I have a Google Pixel 4a and I updated the firmware during install.

1. The fitbit pay doesn't work.

2. The back button is wierd you have to click it multiple times to get it to respond.

3. The os2 doesn't work unless you use their face app

4. The Google Assistant isn't available yet, and alexa is limited.

5. Pandora doesn't work until you have a premium subscription, which is disappointing.

6. The battery life seems pretty good, I charged at 3pm and battery is still at 80 percent. My always on is turned off.

7. On the Android phone, the Bluetooth connection doesn't exist, what i mean is your contact pairing isn't available yet.

8. The application doesn't ask for all the Android permission during install so your agenda/calendar so you have to manually change it the settings.

9. Still playing with the watch, decide to keep it with the hope of fitbit fixing all the issue.

[mbarylski]

I just posted a feature request because of this. https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/View-SpO2-in-app-and-don-t-require-SpO2-clock-fa...

It does seem to be a bit hit or miss. I selected a different clock face yesterday and woke up to the SpO2 variation in my sleep chart, but no % value on the clock face. This is such a silly way to implement this feature. Fitbit definitely needs to capture the data regardless of what clock face is used.

[PaulMat]

Hi @ all,

I have updated my sense to the firmware 44.128.1.42 and it runs smooth now. Seems like the performance problems are being fixed with this update. 

Was weightlifting today and compared the sense pulse with self counting at the vein procedure and it was almost similar. (1-2 bpm off but I guess it's due the counting method).

One thing I don't like is that my sense counted 4 floors while I was riding the bike and one floor during night at sleep. I was told this  hast do with pressure change. Idk!

My versa seems to work properly now. I also received my sleep and stress index today. (the first night I didn't get any,so guess it has to collect the data first before displaying it). 

I figured out that the galaxy buds doesn't work mit the sense even though u can pair them with the watch. It somehow crashes the player. I connected my taotronics and it worked super fine. I am listening to Deezer + playlist which I have downloaded to my sense. 

The alexa implementation works great, also for dictating answers to WhatsApp etc.

I am running on android 11 samsung s10e. 

Greetings from Hamburg, Germany 

Paul 

[eljae]

If I can download the app to my ipad, I will make an account for my charge 4  and compare for a week. 

[Lakelover78]

I'm having issues with my Sense not being able to answer phone calls and yes, I have an Android phone (Samsung Note 9).  This was one of the main reasons why I upgraded my Fitbit from the Versa 2.

[Tomtomato]

I can answer phone calls with my Versa 2

[AndiV]

I have a Samsung Note 10+ and just received the Sense earlier today.  The Sense shows up as connected on my bluetooth but when I go to Manage Devices on my Sense, my phone isnt recognized.  I feel as though every Fitbit I've had Alta, Ionic, Versa and Versa 2 and they all had issues with syncing to my android phones (the ones that could anyway)....hopefully this gets resolved soon, I love it other than that.

[AndiV]

I have the same phone as you and just received the Sense today. Were you able to get your phone to show up under "Manage Devices"?  I cannot for the life of me get my phone to show up after "Searching" forever....I think I have had almost the exact same Fitbit products as you as well.....crazy!!!! Thanks in advance!

[MattJ71]

I've had the Sense for 48 hours as of the writing of this post.  My only negative observation is that the animations are a bit "choppy".  All the features seem to work as advertised.  I've noticed that my heart rate monitoring seems to have less peaks and valleys, which indicates that PurePulse 2.0 is probably more accurate that the original PurePulse.

I haven't noticed any major deviations in calorie burn from my Ionic.  Perhaps I am burning a little more calories for the same exercises than my Ionic, which actually may be more accurate with PurePulse 2.0.

I'm actually quite pleased with the experience out of the box.  As Fitbit rolls our OS updates, I'm sure the animations will smooth out and any bugs (which I haven't actually observed) will be sorted out.  Syncing with my Galaxy Note 10+ (Android 10) is flawless.  Notifications come through without issue.

I will monitor the battery life, but so far, it seems on par with 6 days.

[TheNightSkyGuy]

I have had the Sense for 2 days, using iPhone 6.  No major issues other than having hard time clearing email notifications.   Health metrics overall are on par with my old Charge 2 and yes with less HR peaks and valleys.  Screen appears to be very responsive but there is a bit of a learning curve to swiping between screens.