Surge Firmware Release - 16.34.6.1

[AlessFitbit]

Fitbit Update 8/23/18:

Hey, everyone! Just wanted to thank you all for your participation in this thread. 

Since the majority of Surge users have successfully updated to this firmware: 16.34.6.1. I have decided to close this topic from further comments. 

If you still have not updated your firmware to 16.34.6.1, check out this help article for how to update your device. 

If you're experiencing any issues with your Surge, unrelated to the firmware-up process, I invite you to start a new topic on the Community or find a related topic. 

Thanks for all your feedback and contributions on this thread. 

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Fitbit Update: 11/2/2017

Hey, Surge users! 

I wanted to let you all know this firmware release to version: 16.34.6.1 is now out to 100% of users. Please update your trackers! Take a look at our update instructions and make sure to charge the tracker to a full battery before you begin using it again. 

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Fitbit Update: 10/26/2017

This firmware has now been released to 50% of all Surge users. Please update your trackers if you see the update available to you!

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Fitbit Update: 10/17/2017

We've begun to roll out new firmware for Surge! This is a progressive rollout, and all Surge users can expect to have it within a few weeks. We roll out releases in phases as a cautionary measure so that we can monitor performance closely and make adjustments if needed. This firmware update includes:

• You can now turn off real-time data tracking. For more information, see Can I see real-time data in the Fitbit app?  
• Bug fixes, stability improvements, and an important security update. For more information about security updates see How do I interpret the severity of a Fitbit security update?

Click here to see our firmware release help article for more details on version 16.34.6.

Instructions for updating your tracker can be found here.

[markjuggles]

The update installed perfectly for me.  Syncing was normal and there didn't seem to be any problems at first.  Then I noticed that I am getting extra steps -- lots of them.  This doesn't happen in the tracker itself but seems to be related to the sync and web app.

I have both a Zip and a Surge.  My syncing is with the FitBit dongle on a Windows 10 machine running the Windows 10 FitBit app.

My guess is that the Surge steps and the Zip steps are simply being added at some point rather than being correlated as was done previously.  As a test, I can put the Zip in a drawer for a few days.

Day           Reported         Real

Sunday     19,398             ~10k

Monday     17,084            ~9k

Tuesday    15,536            ~9k?

[lapriester]

After what happened and didn't happen to my Blaze when I updated the
firmware I wouldn't dream of downloading an update for any Fitbit device we
have. My Surge works perfectly now so why risk mucking up a good thing.

[blubbe]

I recently updated the firmware update on my Surge but seem to have lost the ability to monitor my heart rate?! Everything else works with the exception of heart rate. Any ideas why??

[lapriester]

That's why I will never install another FitBit "update" on any of my
devices. Especially one that works perfectly without one....like my old
beat up Surge. My "new" Blaze is a wreck. Heck, it was a wreck BEFORE the
update. Now, battery life is less than half of the terrible battery life
it had to begin with, none of the notifications work at all, sleep stages
stopped working altogether from working half the time and syncing is slow
and inconsistent. It will soon be eBay food.

[SunsetRunner]

So, has anyone reported this to TechCrunch or CNet? I'll bet they'd be interested in this update tanking a bunch of Fitbits, everyone who owns a Surge getting left out in the cold, and people with issues being told to just buy a new one.

[sjsews]

Yes, my Surge in addition to stopping  its ability to sync to iPhone now
does not want to swipe from the time to anything else without repeated
attempts on my part.  I am disappointed.  Wore a Fitbit One for years
until I decided to go to "better" unit because the One finally quit
working.  Wish I had stuck with the One.  Joanne

[econklin]

Yay, that was easy! Thank you. FWIW I have detected no other problems with this release (and I even have an iPhone 6).

[HIGHPEAKS]

my app/tracker does not give me an option for an update?

[markjuggles]

With the Zip not in use, the Surge steps are accurate again.

[Sparky617]

You should have read the user reviews here before buying your Surge.  There are serious design flaws with the Surge.  Look for all the threads on the bands breaking.

Keep an eye on your band and before you're out of warranty submit a claim if the band is showing any signs of cracking.  Opt to go to the Ionic instead.

[SunsetRunner]

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@Sparky617 wrote:

You should have read the user reviews here before buying your Surge.  There are serious design flaws with the Surge.

---

Good job blaming the victim.

However, you're right. The consumer's trust in Fitbit was misplaced when we believed that the Surge was a top of the line product.

Shame on Fitbit for violating the trust of the consumers, duping them, and leaving them hanging.

[Sparky617]

 ProPhoto_56401 wrote

Good job blaming the victim.

My post was directed at some of the earlier posters in this thread that just bought a Surge in the past month, when they found out the Surge has been discontinued.   The band quality issues are well documented, and rather than coming out with a Surge2, they decided to kill the product and roll out a new smartwatch tracker, the Ionic.  

I'm a disgruntled owner of a Surge as well.  In my defense, I bought mine over 2 years ago.  Before I buy a replacement for it I'll go to the user forums for whatever I want to buy, or read Amazon reviews, CNET, etc.   I'd especially want to read the negative reviews to see if they are something that would concern me.

[sjsews]

Unfortunately, Consumer Reports had rated Surge #1---so much for that
reliability.  I have loved Fitbit so much, that I am truly disappointed
now.  Waiting to see what reviews are on the ionic. Anyone have an Apple
Watch?

[Sparky617]

I'm waiting to see how the Ionic fares as well.  I'm not going to be an early adopter of that one.

[SunsetRunner]

I tried to be optimistic (and had the firmware for a few weeks now), but... I fully charged my Surge last night and it's almost empty now. I didn't do much today.

I really hope that's a fluke, otherwise I wonder how I could go back to the old firmware... I don't want to have a single Applewatch feature (lack of battery life) without all the others, that'd be missing out a little too much. 😉

[Faeryrain]

Ever since I downloaded the firmware update for my surge, it will not sync to my phone. I rarely use the app on my computer and what I have to do in either case is to uninstall then reinstall the software everytime.

[jc53593]

It took me a couple swings to get the firmware update to go, but once I did everything seem to work okay. The only thing I've noticed is that I seem to be magically getting credit for 500 to 1000 more calories per day that I had before. I used to have to actually work to achieve my goal, now I'm hitting it quite easily.

[nathanlee]

If you have an Android device, you can get this app.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.abhijitvalluri.android.fitnotifications

It basically makes this the default messaging app which takes your notifications from other apps and sends them to your watch.

[Crazy-Fritter]

The exact same thing is happening to me 😮 No big deal though as I don't have any need for accurate calorie counting. 

The firmware update did fix a couple issues my surge was having..... I would recommend it 😉

UPDATE: My calorie counting on the surge is back to normal after the first full day after the update. It's working better than ever, and the update fixed the short battery life and inaccurate battery readings I was having as well 😉

[Pharmercist]

If you bought it at target, go back and buy the extended warranty so when it's over a year and the strap breaks you can still get a replacement. Or money which also works.