Let me start by saying I am no way affiliated with or sponsored by Fitbit.
No one needs a Fitbit (or other wearable device), but I love mine. I’ve had a Charge 2 Fitbit since February 2017. Yes, my phone also has a pedometer feature, but I am not one of those people with my phone on my person at all times. As the queen of the baby step, I need all of my steps to count, and I don’t want to actively think about it.
Anyway, I recently ran into my first problem with Fitbit. While traveling, I opened my Fitbit app while in another tine zone. It was completely accidental; I don’t normally bother with the app while I am away. My app is set to auto-sync: anytime you open the app it pulls the info from the Fitbit so you can see your numbers and statistics in the app. It updates (including showing time in the local time zone), and I don’t think any more about it.
Until about 1 am the next day when I’m unpacking from my trip. My belongings had seemingly multiplied like gremlins and I was curious to see how many steps I’d taken trying to get everything out of the car and into the house. Just wanted to get an idea, narrow it down a bit from umpteen.
I don’t remember the number of steps it showed exactly, but it was somewhere around 6,000.
6,000. Not even possible. Huh. Fitbit must’ve frozen or something. (Not that it had ever done so, but it has been 2.5 years.)
Restart and re-sync my Fitbit, and nothing. It syncs fine, updates my info in the app, is showing the correct time, but my steps won’t reset. Major annoyance.
After way too much Googling, I find in a forum that this is a KNOWN problem with Fitbit devices when crossing time zones, particularly from west to east. (No mention of this on Fitbit’s side, I might add.) Here I find the sequence of steps I should follow to have my Fitbit truly reset, and once the midnight mark is passed, all will be well.
I follow it, and it is. Number of steps for that Monday? 12,000-something. Number of steps for that Sunday? 12,000-something. Grr.
As issues go, this is a minor one. Going forward, auto-sync will definitely be turned off while traveling. But as a known issue, I feel Fitbit should at least acknowledge it, even if they don’t want to expend the time to fix it. Would’ve saved myself (and assuredly others) time and mild distress.
Rant over. Don’t be mistaken. I still love my Fitbit. The Charge 3 is already on my wishlist.
Still stepping…