The redesigned iOS Fitbit app is rolling out!

[LizzyFitbit]

Hello everyone!

I would like to announce that the redesigned Fitbit app starts rolling out today! This new app will help you reach your goals, and bring the health and wellness information right on hand.

Check out our latest blog for how to get the most out of the new app. 

Note: Please be patient if you don't see the update right away, as it will take some time to roll out completely.

Happy stepping!

[Odyssey13]

Hi @BettyAnnie no, we can't revert to a previous version of the app.

[SunsetRunner]

Hello! Are there other iOS users out there that dislike the revised app as much as I do? I understand why it went to google, but it is LESS informative and much hard to navigate now. Also, I feel like I have to synch my Sense 20 times a day to keep connected. I’m an iphone

 user and always will be, but I prefer the Fitbit for my tracker/watch over the Apple Watch. I just loved the look of the old app, I wish they could bring that easy to use type of format back! 

[MissMyData]

Agree 100 percent  @SunsetRunner  I just remain hopeful that Google Fitbit soon agree to roll back to the old legacy version whilst they work on all the feedback and bug fixes that have appeared in v4.0 onwards. I’m getting a little tired of remembering to apply work-arounds just to get to see the data I paid an annual subscription for. 

[Lazywalker]

Please can you roll the app back. The new version does not assist anyone reaching their goals as the best features have been removed. We can no longer change exercise types or see the graphs showing how hard we’ve exercised.  But very motivational or helpful at all. Redesign and layout is terrible. 

[SunsetRunner]

Oh my gosh, YES!!!  So frustrating! I also dislike that I have to re-synch so often during the day. 

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It is!! There is actaully nothing that I like about it! 

[casperrrrrr]

Dude this just made all of our Fitbit lives worse 🤗

[SunsetRunner]

Now the app is calculating my pace incorrectly! But when it syncs with Strava it is correct! 
So now I can’t see the zones because of the colours used and I can’t trust the indicated pace anyway. 

[skipnicklee]

It is absolutely baffling this is considered an update. All FitBit seem to have done is take away the most key useful features and make the look more minimalist. Amazing to think it’s actually someone’s job to design this. Does it not go through testing and consumer feedback. It is so so so disappointing. I’ve barely checked in with the app since the update, such is it’s uselessness. You can no longer edit exercise types. You get no heart rate metrics for exercise: it’s very glitchy when syncing with my FitBit. It’s just so poor, it beggars belief that this app can have been run past anybody who actually cares or knows about its functionality. 

[Limegelato]

Please stop changing the interface from OG Fitbit to this new Google interface. I just noticed the zone minutes are now no long what it used to be. These changes are NOT improvements and a big step back. It’s so much harder to visualize and see trends and stay healthy with these new changes. Please stop changing to what’s not broken into something that’s significantly a downgrade. 

I’m so very disappointed with Google’s handling of Fitbit. 

for other OG Fitbit users, are there alternatives to what the old interface used to be with other applications or software? 

[banct]

After 8 years with Fitbit, I am done.
Every update to the app takes away functionality. Data are hard to find and view in a logical way. The dashboard can't be customized like it was. You have to scroll and scroll and scroll to find data. Too much white space. The spinning step numbers are silly. Now workouts are rounded to the minute, even for exercises in which shaving a few seconds off your time is a coup. And you can't see the heart rate graphs for workouts in the app any more.
Despite dozens of questions from users, Fitbit, from what I have seen, can't bother to comment on whether the missing workout data is an error or just the "new normal." They also can't be bothered to explain the logic behind the dumbing down of the app, but I suspect it's not good and I suspect more is in the offing.
My new watch (starts with a G and it's NOT Google) is on my wrist tonight, replacing my last Fitbit. I'm sad to ditch my old friend, but Fitbit made continuing untenable. I need a reliable tracker/watch that provides at least a basic level of data and feedback. Fitbit isn't doing that anymore.

[kerrieBBOZ]

@Limegelato not sure about all the other data, but Strava can give you some analysis in their free version, and a bit more analysis in their paid version. But it is only for gps tracked workouts, like outdoor walking, running, cycling etc. I am synching  all my tracked walks there so they are kept somewhere else other than Fitbit for when I end up being forced to update the Fitbit app. (I’m currently still clinging to the old version of the app until one of my iphone iOS updates forces me to update to the new app should the old app not work anymore. At which point I’m leaving.) The chameleon logo app is great for analysis in the app if you are changing brands, but their tracker which I am trialling undercounts my steps a lot for anything other than regular rhythm walking (ie algorithm ignores any steps less than 10 in a row) but it is way more accurate for swimming and very similar count for regular stride walking activities.

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@banct for what it is worth, although probably not relevant to you if you are leaving, I can tell you that the old data is still there because I have deliberately not updated the Fitbit app since late August and it is working as it always  was. I was just lucky that I turned off automatic app updates before the train wreck new app was imposed. But sooner or later I’ll be forced to update and at that point I’m moving to either the fruit, or the same way as you.

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@Odyssey13  Maybe so, ie maybe users can’t go back to the old app, but it is more a matter of not being allowed by Fitbit to revert, for strategic policy reasons, than not being possible.
I am still using the old app and all the data is still there and synching correctly just as it ever was. So the input data is all still being recorded and I am still enjoying the great old app version and it’s great data analysis, from an app version I luckily froze in August this year before this whole mess of an update was dumped on people. And I am avoiding updating the app as long as I possibly can, and when it eventually does, I’ll be waving Fitbit goodbye.

[Purple_wellies]

As expected and a bit earlier than I thought, my charge 5 has gone the way of the others. Works perfectly for a few months then starts messing up heart rate, jumping from 80 to 220 and back again in the space of a minute when I know I’m at c135 in my workouts. It’s not giving me zone minutes and drops heart rate entirely at times. My last charge 5 did this and then died entirely so Fitbit replaced it.

As a result of the new app being so awful, I’m not looking to stay with Fitbit and my new G..Min arrives today. I believe I can move my data to the G..min app so that’s me away.  

Been with Fitbit for many years but since Google took over, reliability has reduced, app update is awful, removed elevation info and other functionality in the new app. Plus trying to read heart rate data, pace on walks etc is terrible- the colours are just impossible to separate out. Would not recommend to anyone now. And I wouldn’t go with a google pixel either based on this experience. If Google won’t listen to customer feedback and complaints then I will never trust them again. I very much doubt that google even care though. 

[SunsetRunner]

Hi there - this update is horrible! I’m sure you have seen the multiple responses saying the same. My biggest issues are not only the look of it, but the apparent logging of incorrect data, compared to how it was before the update. Also, in all of my years with Fitbit, I have never struggled to keep my phone synched to my Fitbit as I do now. Yes, I am an iPhone user, but this latest update feels as though you’d like us apple users to depart in peace…

I started many years ago with the charge, and now own a Sense and I’m very much considering just taking the plunge and going to apple for my tracker needs. I’ve stuck with Fitbit all this time as I felt all along that you offered a much better product in terms of tracking and interface. I don’t feel that way anymore..sadly.

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I wish that my app had not automatically updated!! I SO miss the old app and its ease of use. The biggest headache I seem to have is having to synch my phone so many times a day in order to see current data. I am really thinking I’m going to leave Fitbit after YEARS of enjoying my trackers. I started with the charge and am now on the sense which I love, but I just feel so annoyed with how it all works now. 

[SunsetRunner]

EXACTLY!!!! Who thought this was a good idea??

[kgabelsb]

Has anyone talked to Fitbit customer service?  What did they say?

[LukaszGlaza]

Has anyone tried to get in touch with someone higher up on LinkedIn?

[MelvinL]

Contacted Fitbit Support about this issue. Apparently they say that they are aware of these issues and complaints, and are working on it. I hope this is true, as no timeline was told to me. I also hope Fitbit will make an official announcement to update all users and provide a timeline.

I don't see this as a difficult issue to resolve. If it is going to take a long time to re-develop the App, simply acknowledge the mistake and revert back to the old version first, and then Fitbit can take more time to work out a better app that is complete. A new app should provide more data, insights, details, and functionalities, not less. Being Simple does not mean Less.

As a long time Fitbit user, I will hang on for a while, maybe a couple of months, to see if Fitbit will restore all these functionalities on the App. Many of my friends are using the Apple Watch as they are all iPhone users including myself, and when they ask me why Fitbit, I would previously tell them that because the App is great. It is simple to use, yet provides most of the health and activity data that I need. And hopefully, it will continue to improve and add more health insights and activity/sports tracking data over time. This update is a step in the opposite direction and a huge disappointment. 

Anyway, If my current Versa 4 decides to breakdown soon, or when I run out of patience, I will certainly not replace it with another Fitbit unless the App is updated or returns to its former glory by then. I am already looking into different models of other brands so that I am ready when I need to make the switch.

I shall list the App issues again:

- Cannot change the name of an activity to something custom. If an activity is auto-tracked (usually the case), it is just going to be "Sport". (Deal-breaker)
- No heart rate graph, heart rate zones, and calories burned graph over the period of an activity especially if auto-tracked (usually the case) (Deal-breaker)
- Walk and Run data only shows hours and minutes, with no seconds data. This is incomplete data and important for runs. (Deal-breaker)
- Can no longer see the full list of recorded activities in one screen (separated by week, like last time). We do not want to select week by week by week.
- Poor UI Design in general. Too spaced out, which is a waste of screen space and results in a lot of scrolling and "tapping" around. Lack of colour makes it boring and not easy to read the different metrics.

[MissMyData]

Great post and well said there @MelvinL 100% agree with you.

[lisa.j.w]

Yes this experience has certainly made me very negative towards Google and that will last and influence my choices 

Im now in an  anti-Google camp when I wasn’t previously 

[Talahthas]

Welcome to the Fitbit community, @Whitemist!

Sad to hear about your initial impressions about the new Fitbit app.
Hoping to get you more comfortable with using this new version, please take your time and have a closer look here:

How do I use the Fitbit app? 

If you have any concrete questions please do not hesitate to come back.