GTrusted

While Fitbit provides a great user experience in managing and tracking fitness data, Fitbit gives a much poorer user experience when changing time zones (especially internationally) and keeping accurate fitness data and time.

One of the main limitations of the Fitbit is that the Fitbit Charge 2 can only keep minute by minute data for up to 7 days while the Fitbit Alta only can store up that data up to 5 days as pointed out on the Fitbit website. This means that if you are traveling overseas, you need to make sure you have your phone and find a way to keep connected to the Internet so that you don't lose your data.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get access to the Internet (at least affordably) when overseas and the Fitbit App will not even try to sync the data from your tracker to the ample memory that is found on your phone. The App requires that your phone be connected to the Internet and have access to the Fitbit cloud servers in order to offload your fitness data from your tracker through your phone to those servers.  

Without access to the Internet, the data collected on your Fitbit can't go anywhere and will eventually get lost. It would be much better for the user to be able to sync this data locally on the phone since it's possible to go for long period of time without Internet access.

However we experienced loss of data multiple times simply by changing time zones until we discovered that the Fitbit App required you to turn on 'Automatic time zone' in the Advance Settings. Fitbit should not assume that a user should somehow know ahead of time that they have to change this advanced setting to avoid losing data.

  

Once you get access to the Internet (perhaps through Wi-Fi when finally at a hotel), not only can you sync your fitness data but you can also get the correct local time shown on the Fitbit. This is another design flaw where Fitbit requires that you have Internet access on your phone in order to show the right time on your Fitbit device.

Doing something as simple as change the time on your Fitbit should be possible anytime or anywhere, even where there is no Internet access. We found using our Fitbit to tell time while transiting at an airport to catch a flight pretty useless since no Internet access was possible.

  

Even when you do have Internet, the phone may not immediately sync with the Fitbit tracker and the wrong time can remain on your Fitbit after you have connected your phone to the tracker. You may have to manually try to force a Sync Now several times just to change your time on your Fitbit.

 

Given the fierce competition in the fitness wearables market, Fitbit should maintain its position as a premium product by making sure users who travel a lot should continue to have a good experience with their Fitbit no matter which country or time zone they are in.