Doubts before purchase

[akumar14]

I would be soon buying my first fitbit fitness watch. It would be either be a surge or a charge hr. I love to do my research when it comes to new devices and I spent almost a month looking at these two devices from every able possible. I have to say I am very afraid to even buy anyone of these and that's because of the band peeling issue. If I buy a fitbit I would be wearing it all the time except shower and swimming.i can even make sure that it doesn't get affected by sweat. But still despite all that I have seen reviews, posts and videos all pointing to the same thing. What am I supposed to do with a replacement when that too is gonna crack like the previous ones. Can anyone answer any of my questions? Thanks!

[SteveH]

There have been a number of people affected with band issues with both the Surge and Charge HR. The problem is made worse because with both of these fitbit models the band is not replaceable as the electronics are built into it. 

However, not everyone has this problem - I had no issues with my Surge - and it's hard to judge the possibility that you would.

If this concerns you though then you might do better to consider the fitbit Blaze instead. The advantage is that the bands are replaceable so if you did have an issue then it would be easy to resolve. As well as that I think the Blaze is much nicer than either the Charge HR or Surge (I have had both in the past).

[akumar14]

@SteveH: Thanks a lot for replying and giving a frank opinion. However i have even thought about Blaze as you mentioned but I was guessing if I am gonna pay for a device like Blaze, wouldnt it be nicer to have an inbuilt GPS as well?

[SteveH]

I'm not sure. Without GPS it is lighter, smaller and has better battery life. If you need GPS then it has connected GPS via your phone. I found with the Surge (which has GPS) that I didn't need it anyway.

Do you feel that GPS would be valuable to you?

[akumar14]

Well @SteveH thats eaxctly why I am trying to bounce off as many questions of the wall here and find out more before I actually push in for the purchase. I am really unsure about GPS as having it would be great but i wont die without it 🙂 Anyways i usually cycle and run, more of cycling....I feel if this watch can give me at least 2-3 years, provided I maintain it well, i will go for Blaze cause i agree its classy and sporty both.

[Smitty2424]

I would suggest buying an extended warranty at Best Buy, etc. Then you don't have to rely on Fitbit alone to remedy. It was 50 dollars more for two years on my Surge.

I think you are very smart to look at this form before buying anything from Fitbit. I wish I would have. I've only had mine a few days, but EVERY day there has been an issue that has made my calorie tracking MORE difficult than just using a free phone app (Lose It, etc). The stress and difficulty have not been fun.

Examples...it measured a gps walk as a weight session day 1. It measured a horseback ride as a walk day 2 (phone in pocket). You can't go back and edit steps...and the workaround stated in this forum doesn't work...as so many have noted.

I'm on day 4 and have yet to have even ONE day of useable clean data. Without useable data...Why have a Fitness tracker?

I'm hoping there are brighter days ahead. :-D. On a positive note, I'm thinking this stress COULD lead to greater weight loss!

[shipo]

My feeling is, if you don't "need" GPS on a regular basis, then you'll be better served with a Blaze which will allow you to do the GPS thing via a "tether" to your phone.

The above said, I typically go on at least 20 long trail runs per month and I hate carrying a phone when I run so that pretty much rules out anything but a Surge.  The good news is I have had mine for over a year, and while there are some wear spots at each of the four corners where the tracker and band are bonded together, the band itself is perfectly serviceable.

[akumar14]

Thanks @Smitty2424,I will surely keep your inputs in mind while making the purchase!😊

[akumar14]

Hi @shipo, thanks a ton for replying back. I understand what you are saying but can you elaborate on the last line when you say the band itself is serviceable?

[shipo]

When I say "serviceable" I mean, the band has some cosmetic wear at the corners, but functions as well as it did when it was brand new.

[lateshowrob]

Great question, and good for you for asking before buying.  I would not buy any Fitbit product without a replaceable band as the seemingly numerous problems with the bands make the devices useless since they  can't be replaced.  I have a Surge with a failing band and Fitbit would do nothing other than offer 25% off the purchase of a new tracker (that's Fitbit's standard offer now for units out of warranty--pretty sad).  As others have said, I would look at the Blaze if GPS is not an issue.  There are other companies besides Fitbit--as you can probably tell, I'm a bit bitter over spending $250 for a product that barely lasted over a year and Fitbit won't stand behind their product or even admit that there is design flaw in the Surge bands.

[chris2121]

I have to agree.  The Surge isn't repairable so if anything fails once you are out of warranty then you will have to buy a new one (or something else).  I'm sure the same is true of most if not all competing products, the problem is that the Surge doesn't seem to be very reliable.

I'm on my third now (two replacements under warranty) and to their credit Fitbit have been very good at sending out the replacements.  My concern is what happens once the warranty expires.  If I have to buy a replacement it certainly won't be a Surge.  The only Fitbit device I would consider is the Blaze where there won;t be problems with the strap breaking.