20 April 2019

My Fitbit Alta HR Stopped Working

I have been wearing fitness trackers for about six years.  First with the Nike FuelBand in 2013, and more recently with the Fitbit Alta HR in 2017.  There have been issues with the Fuelband, mainly from a design and quality standpoint.  But overall, fun to wear.

About a week ago, my Fitbit Alta HR died.  I had just finished the first game of a double header and wanted to see how many steps I had.  By the way, a typical hockey game, for me, generates about 2500-3000 steps.  The displayed only showed the Fitbit logo and a battery logo with an exclamation point (!),  no blinky blink from the heart rate lights, and unable to access any other information like time, heart rate, steps, etc.  I even checked the battery before the game, and with about a third of juice left, it was more than enough to last the day.

The Fitbit has been worn for two years, through many games, and a few double headers.  Never had an issue with the Fitbit.  It seems that water, or sweat, got in to the unit and shorted the device while playing hockey.

While I do not exercise everyday, I do get a good amount of 'movement' through running around at work, going to the gym, hockey, and various errands.  There is no need to constantly check if I have met my step goals for the day.  The only thing I miss is the heart rate monitor.  Oh, having the Alta HR linked to my phone was a bonus. 

So, what now?  A week into being fitness tracker free, I like it.  I am no longer 'handcuffed'.  I am not looking for another fitness tracker to replace it anytime soon.

Update:  I just checked the Fitbit site, just to see what my options are should I choose to enter this game, again.  The Alta is no longer available, looks like that model has been discontinued and replaced by the Inspire.  The other option, with heart rate monitor, is the Charge 3.  I will just wait...or just not have anything on my non-watch-wrist.


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