Weak Vibration Alarm

[MattJ71]

The vibration motor on the Sense seems to be much weaker than the Ionic.  Repeatedly, it has failed to wake me up in the morning, whereas the Ionic always did.

Does anyone else feel this way?  Since this is hardware related, is it possible that this could be resolved through a software update?

[Alvajay]

That’s true dear

[Rinopopo]

you can set the vibration to "strong" in the settings section. if that's not enough, maybe you should vote for the alarms with sound feature here: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/Audible-alarms-on-Sense-and-Versa-3/idi-p/445388...

[Miscad]

So true, I just got mine set up and set it to strong and the vibration is so weak. This has me really down. 

[anteloe]

It's also much weaker than on my Versa 2. I have set the Option to "strong" but it's just noticable when I'm awake and definitely not suited to wake me up...

I hope it's not just a weaker motor and that they can fix this with a firmware update... 

[Micsb]

Thank you for the comments on the weak vibration motor.

I am holding back purchase of the sense and this will actually be a deal breaker. I use the inspire HR as alarm clock to avoid waking up the family when going out for an early morning run.

I reserved a sense for purchase yesterday at the local store however I will cancel it and keep my Inspire HR another year.

[Micsb]

Interesting, the inspire HR got the same complaints, and yet the unit I have, bought early in 2020 has a strong vibration motor.

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Inspire-Inspire-HR/Inspire-HR-vibration-too-weak/td-p/3487675

Maybe I just have to wait 1-2 hardware revision updates of the sense to have a useable alarm.

[MattJ71]

I find that the design of the band may have some impact on the strength of the vibration.  If you wear the Sense looser, it's hard to feel the vibration, but if the band is worn tighter, it makes a big difference.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

[Micsb]

Hi MattJ72, thank you. I normally wear my InspireHR loosely and only tighten it during excercises. Havent tried the sense yet, however I have found previous watches being uncomfortable if being too tight, need to have it loosely enough to wiggle around with shirt sleeves etc. 

I might eventually give it a try, however for now I will keep my Inspire a bit longer. Actually got it from my daughter who found it too uncomfortable and I have to agree with the slim profile and having it worn tight. I hope the Sense will address this with its larger profile and it does look nicer than the Inspire which I hide away under my shirt sleeves at work. 

[KarenF2020]

I've got the same problem.  I've got it set to strong as well

[Micsb]

I went out and bought the Sense yesterday, with a 30 days return policy I wanted to give it a try.

The vibrations are lower than my Inspire HR. With vibrations at normal, they are almost not detectable and even at strong I hardly notice the notifications during day. I will be setting 3-4 alarms in a row, 2 minutes a part each morning until I feel confident the low vibration levels will wake me at the first attempt.

It is othwise a great watch and worth the upgrade from Inspire HR. They just need to add a Very Strong vibration level and I will be happy, would hate to return it and go back to Inspire HR.

[enext]

Yes, same for me. When I tried it I said to myself, man this wont wake me up at all. 😉 It is weak.

[ahall1]

I'm having the same issue, and it is set to strong, the alarm will never wake me up barley feel it with notifications through out the day

[Guy_]

Hi @ahall1 - the Sense and Versa 3 have a very poor vibration, even on Strong.

As @MattJ71 asked over a year ago, can it be resolved through software. Most probably.

You can use the SimpleVibrate app to test the 8 vibration patterns

Look at the table in the documentation of the app, it explains why it is poor,. This could be improved via a firmware modification.

It should also be noted that vibration gets worse as the battery level declines, so the only option there, until Fitbit address the issue, is to keep the watch fully charged.

It still needs fixing.

[marilyn49]

I wear my Sense as snug as possible without choking my wrist and the watch is often stuck to my skin. It doesn't seem to make a difference.

[Guy_]

Hi @marilyn49 - nothing will improve the weak vibration feature of the watch, except with a fully charged battery, it is fractionally better but not by much.