Whether or not you are a first-time Fitbit purchaser or returning to the model, it may be a bit overwhelming to determine the best way to use it correctly. Fitbit walks you thru the setup through its app, however there are extra obscure methods it’s important to discover for your self.
The Fitbit Assist hub in all probability has all the data you want, however nobody needs to trawl via dozens of assist pages. So we’re right here to information you thru the primary Fitbit suggestions and methods it is advisable know that may not be instantly apparent, from activating Google apps to turning off annoying features.
For simplicity’s sake, this Fitbit newbie’s information will deal with the newest fashions: the Cost 6, Sense 2, and Versa 4. A few of our Fitbit suggestions and methods will even apply to older fashions just like the Cost 5 and Versa 3, however not all of them.
Migrate your Fitbit account to Google
After buying Fitbit, Google began transitioning Fitbit accounts into Google accounts. Now, newer Fitbit units require a Google account to perform, and beginning in 2025, legacy Fitbit accounts will not work on any Fitbit.
Chances are you’ll as properly make the bounce if you have not already, so observe our information on the best way to migrate your Fitbit account to your Google account within the Fitbit app. It will take you thru your preliminary Fitbit setup as you resolve what knowledge to share with Google and different related apps.
Begin carrying your Fitbit continuous
Individuals purchase Fitbits for health monitoring, well being monitoring, or each. If you happen to’re effective utilizing it for step counting and monitoring exercises alone, you’ll be able to go away it off at evening or whenever you’re stationary. In any other case, although, you are going to wish to put on your Fitbit as a lot as potential to get essentially the most out of it.
Why? As a result of most key Fitbit Premium options require you to put on the system continuous and lack the context to evaluate your well being when you cease. A stress administration rating with the Sense 2 requires a full 24 hours of cEDA monitoring, for instance.
The Each day Readiness Rating — telling you whether or not to work out and for a way lengthy primarily based in your tiredness and soreness — requires not less than 4 full days and nights, and should take weeks for Fitbit to correctly calculate. And a full Wellness Report requires an entire month of steady monitoring. Skip carrying your tracker for too lengthy, and Fitbit will go away a bunch of app well being fields clean.
Plus, your Fitbit measures extra knowledge at evening. The Cost 6 constantly tracks coronary heart fee knowledge through the day, however solely throughout sleep monitoring does it measure blood oxygen, coronary heart fee variance, passive AFib detection, respiration fee, and pores and skin temperature ranges. That is the juicy well being knowledge that many health trackers lack.
Customise your At the moment tab
The Fitbit At the moment tab is the very first thing you see whenever you open the app, displaying all the newest knowledge taken out of your system. You’ll be able to resolve what knowledge reveals up on high, primarily based in your priorities.
Within the top-right nook below your profile image, faucet the small pencil icon to open the Editor mode. There, you will select your Focus, whether or not it’s Exercise (the default), Sleep, Weight, Stress, Coronary heart Well being, or Customized.
Then, beneath the Focus, you’ll be able to select the widget order and toggle off particular metrics. For instance, when you’ve got no plans to trace weight or vitamin with the Fitbit app — you’d want to take action manually — then you’ll be able to and will make these invisible.
Set a Fitbit Premium cancellation/renewal reminder
There’s a long-standing debate on whether or not or not Fitbit Premium is well worth the annual subscription. Your Fitbit features completely properly with out it, however long-term well being developments, exercises, meditations, and your Each day Readiness Rating are all locked behind a paywall.
Each new Fitbit at this time comes with six months of free Fitbit Premium, as Fitbit tries to hook you into changing into depending on these instruments. You may even have to present Fitbit your bank card data, and 6 months later, you are on the hook for both $9.99/month or $79.99/12 months. Our guess is that most individuals overlook to cancel it.
That is why, after you activate your Fitbit, your first step ought to be to enter your calendar app and create a reminder one week earlier than the six-month deadline. At that time, you will know whether or not or not you utilize Premium sufficient to maintain paying, and you may resolve to (A) cancel or (B) swap from month-to-month to annual to save lots of your self $40 over the 12 months.
Sync your Fitbit knowledge to (or from) your favourite app
Until you are a couch-to-5Ker who’s new to understanding, you in all probability have already got a favourite health app. Whereas you should use the redesigned Fitbit app natively to trace exercises, you might want to sync the info to a different app like Strava, the place you have already got health buddies.
If you happen to use Strava, you’ll be able to go to strava.fitbit.com/ and log into your account to sync the 2. Different health apps like Runkeeper and MyFitnessPal have devoted “Apps” or “Join” sections in their very own settings the place you’ll be able to choose Fitbit after which log into your Google account to sync them.
Fitbit would not play good with different health apps, both for Android or iOS. You probably have an Android telephone, you’ve gotten a ready-made answer: Well being Join. It is an app that may sync Fitbit with Google Match, Samsung Well being, Oura, Pelaton, and several other different well-known manufacturers. We’ve got a information on the best way to use Google Well being Join to arrange the connection, but it surely would not take lengthy.
Apple Health Plus is a significant competitor to Fitbit Premium. If you would like your Fitbit knowledge to go to Apple Well being, you’ve gotten two choices. The primary is to make use of an middleman like Strava that can sync with the Well being app, however this may solely ship particular knowledge like exercises. For a full switch, there is a paid app known as “Sync Solver: Fitbit to Well being” that can ship your energy, sleep summaries, steps, and so forth to Well being.
Lastly, when you personal a Withings good scale, you might wish to ship your weigh-ins and physique fats percentages to the Fitbit app to enhance its suggestions and well being studies. In that case, go to fitbit.com/weight/withings and observe the steps.
Regulate your day by day targets and transfer reminders
Within the Fitbit app, faucet your account photograph within the top-right nook, then Fitbit settings > Exercise & Wellness. Right here, you’ll be able to regulate your targets to your time spent asleep, weight and physique fats proportion targets, what number of days per week you wish to train, how lengthy earlier than your Fitbit auto-recognizes a exercise (quarter-hour is the default), and your goal coronary heart fee zones for exercises.
Even when you do not contact these, everybody ought to have a look at the Each day Exercise tab. Right here, you will regulate your day by day steps, distance, and weekly Energetic Zone Minutes targets.
We have written prior to now concerning the advantages of strolling 10,000 steps a day, however research present that 6,000–8,000 is a extra cheap goal with noticeable advantages as you attempt to begin a Fitbit step streak.
You should not intention for much less than 150 Energetic Zone Minutes per week — it is usually agreed to be a baseline for staying wholesome — you might wish to problem your self to push even tougher. As a runner, I personally intention for not less than 250 AZMs and often hit above 300.
On this similar view, you’ll be able to faucet Hourly Exercise Purpose to show off Transfer Reminders or regulate what number of hours you are anticipated to maneuver. With this characteristic on, Fitbit calls for that you simply stroll 250 steps each hour, reminding you of your aim on the 50-minute mark — and you may’t regulate this step aim to be shorter.
Some Fitbit customers inside our workers name this characteristic annoying and instantly flip it off, whereas others amongst us acknowledge that the annoyance is the purpose since sitting an excessive amount of causes severe well being issues, and Fitbit is prodding us into being more healthy. For a compromise, you’ll be able to slender the window of reminders to, say, 12p to 5p in order that it is extra manageable and you’ve got time to get up first.
Activate your coronary heart well being instruments
Within the Fitbit app, faucet the You tab and look below Well being assessments. There, you will see the choice to activate passive irregular coronary heart rhythm (AFib) notifications and activate the electrocardiogram (ECG) for lively AFib readings.
In each instances, Fitbit will try and detect indicators of coronary heart points that usually sign the potential for severe circumstances like blood clots or coronary heart failure. A Fitbit is not medical-grade by way of accuracy, however passive detection throughout sleep monitoring is more likely to choose up not less than some signal of it, and you may take 30-second lively readings with the ECG. You simply should activate these instruments in your telephone first.
Make Google Maps seem robotically in your wrist
Since Google acquired Fitbit, the wearable model has left behind most third-party companions in favor of Google’s personal apps. It has been a controversial shift in some methods, however we’ll freely say that having Google Maps on a Fitbit is a good perk.
The Sense 2, Versa 4, and Cost 6 all help Google Maps, although not a correct app; as an alternative, they’re set as much as auto-sync to your telephone’s instructions, displaying an arrow and distance to your subsequent flip or vacation spot.
Our how-to information will stroll you thru each step, however basically, you simply have to faucet the top-left icon within the Fitbit At the moment tab, faucet your related system’s title, after which faucet the Google Maps icon. It will take you thru the steps to sync Maps to Fitbit, after which you’ll be able to resolve which kind of instructions present up in your wrist. We might advocate enabling Strolling and Biking however not Driving if you have already got an infotainment display in your automotive.
Arrange Google Pockets for tap-to-pay
Older Fitbit trackers use Fitbit Pay, and our previous information on the best way to add a card to Fitbit Pay ought to hopefully nonetheless apply. In any other case, newer Fitbits have transitioned to Google Pay, with the identical tap-to-pay perform however the upside of utilizing your Google account’s saved bank cards.
We’ve got a separate Google Pockets on Fitbit setup information you’ll be able to observe for the newest fashions. As with Google Maps, it is advisable faucet your system icon to search out the Pockets icon. If you happen to’ve used Fitbit Pay prior to now, you will want to decide on Change to Pockets first, however then everybody might want to signal into their Google account, choose a bank card from their Pockets, after which add a PIN to their Fitbit to guard funds.
As soon as lively, Pockets might be discovered on the Versa 4 or Sense 2 by tapping the aspect button and scrolling via the listing of apps, or you’ll be able to set Google Pockets as a shortcut. On the Cost 6, Pockets is the default shortcut whenever you double-tap the haptic button, or you’ll be able to swipe down from the primary watch face to search out it.
You may then should enter your PIN. The bigger Sense/Versa show offers you a full quantity pad, whereas the tiny Cost 6 show makes you swipe up and down via every quantity. It is sluggish, so take that into consideration when you do not wish to annoy the individuals behind you in line.
Stream your music playlist (when you’re fortunate)
Nearly all the finest health trackers management your telephone’s music over Bluetooth, however after the discharge of the Fitbit Sense and Versa 3, Google took management of Fitbit and eliminated this primary performance from the Sense 2 and Versa 4. With these and the Encourage 3, you don’t have any technique to management your telephone’s music.
With the newest Fitbit Cost 6, Google revealed why it did so: to make YouTube Music Premium (sure, you want a subscription) the solely music choice accessible on Fitbit and to try to pressure Fitbit clients to change to its personal service.
The exclusivity is aggravating to individuals who use different music streaming apps, however when you’re keen to subscribe, then you’ll be able to Play/Pause a tune, change the amount, skip to the subsequent tune, or discover a new current playlist with the YouTube Music widget, which you will discover whenever you swipe left from the Cost 6’s predominant watch face. To activate it, go to the identical Fitbit app menu as Pockets and Maps, then register.
Replace your watch face and activate AOD
Fitbit often picks a trendy watch face because the default choice, so you do not have to change when you do not wish to. But it surely’s good to take a look at your choices earlier than you commit!
To replace your Fitbit’s watch face, you will as soon as once more have to faucet the top-left button displaying your system’s proportion, then faucet your system’s title. Choose Gallery > Clocks to see each official watch face accessible to your system.
Select any watch face and hit Set up to ship it to your system. Fitbit Sense and Versa watches can save 5 watch faces at a time, whereas the Cost 6 will solely bear in mind one by one.
Keep on the watch face display till it finishes putting in, then faucet Customise to vary issues just like the clock colour, whether or not your present coronary heart fee is at all times seen — which could stress some customers out — and what different knowledge apart from Steps pops up whenever you faucet the show.
Every watch face has its personal customized All the time-On Show (AOD) setting that matches the clock font. To show AOD on or off, merely swipe down on the Sense 2 or Versa 4 to tug up your Fast Settings and faucet the Clock icon. On the Cost 6, it’s important to swipe down till you discover Settings, then Show Settings > AOD.
Steadiness battery life and higher UI
Most Fitbits are rated to final about 6–10 days in splendid circumstances, however that quantity dips relying on the settings and sensors you activate. You may make certain your Fitbit lasts so long as potential, however this might make your Fitbit annoying to make use of or much less helpful to you.
These are the primary components to think about:
- If you happen to run together with your telephone, you might wish to use Linked or Dynamic GPS as an alternative of built-in GPS monitoring. In our assessments, Fitbit’s built-in GPS did not do a lot better than a smartphone’s GPS and steady GPS can kill a Cost 6 or Versa 4 in 5 or 12 hours, respectively.
- In Settings, you’ll be able to Dim or Brighten your show, deactivate AOD, and alter your display time-out length. We advocate a Very long time-out, even when it hurts the battery, so you are not continuously having to shake your wrist or squeeze the haptic button whenever you take too lengthy.
- Chances are you’ll wish to Uninstall the SpO2 app. Blood oxygen readings use an honest chunk of battery life. Within the Gallery, the place you modify your watch face, faucet Apps on the high to search out and take away SpO2.
- You’ll be able to scale back the variety of instances your Fitbit show lights up per day by tapping Notifications within the system menu and altering which telephone notifications are allowed to point out up in your wrist.
Join your Cost 6 to your Peloton
One other unique Fitbit Cost 6 characteristic (sorry, Versa and Sense homeowners) is the flexibility to broadcast your coronary heart fee on supported train tools or third-party apps. Particularly, Fitbit has partnered with Nordic, Peloton, Concept2, and Tonal, with the potential for different suitable tech down the road.
In your Cost 6, swipe down from the watch face till you see HR on tools and faucet it. This basically places the tracker in lively Bluetooth pairing mode; now, go to your train tools, activate the Bluetooth search perform, and choose the Cost 6. Again on the tracker, faucet Share to substantiate the connection.
Your Cost 6 will maintain broadcasting as you begin a tracked exercise, then cease sharing with the tools when you finish the train.
Begin a video exercise
If you wish to benefit from Fitbit Premium (whereas the free trial lasts, not less than), then reap the benefits of the lots of of guided exercises or meditations within the Fitbit app below the Coach tab.
You may discover full-body exercises, yoga, dance cardio, pre-run warmups, post-run stretches, energy coaching with at-home instruments like kettlebells and dumbbells, and a ton of different exercises within the 10-to-40-minute vary, focusing on everybody from inexperienced persons to severe athletes with “bootcamp challenges.”
Whichever of the finest Fitbit trackers you purchase, you are getting a formidable quantity of well being and fitness-tracking tech packed right into a petite band or squircle body. A lot of the smarts are dealt with in your Fitbit telephone app through Premium, so simply maintain that in thoughts when you did not notice you’d should (finally) pay for the privilege of accessing your watch knowledge.
We did not speak a lot concerning the Pixel Watch 2 right here, a Google smartwatch with Fitbit Premium tech packed inside. In some methods, it is now the “finest” Fitbit accessible, but it surely’s not accessible for iOS customers and has a one-day battery. It additionally comes with six months of Fitbit Premium, however you’ll be able to at all times swap to a different Put on OS health app as soon as the trial ends.
If you happen to’re nonetheless deciding whether or not or to not purchase a brand new Fitbit, you’ll be able to verify our basic information on the finest health smartwatches of the 12 months throughout all manufacturers. Our Fitbit suggestions and methods information reveals the perfect that Fitbit has to supply; now’s the time to resolve in the event that they’re sufficient to tempt you in comparison with different manufacturers with a special focus.