Fitbit Fumbles: Google-Owned Giant Admits Glitches, But Offers No Quick Fix

Alphabet Inc.’s GOOG GOOGL Google-owned Fitbit app faced some major technical difficulties, which the company confirmed. However, hours after some users shared that the issue had been resolved, many continued to face problems.

What Happened: On Wednesday night, Fitbit users encountered various issues within the app, with reports flooding in from frustrated customers on social media like X (formerly Twitter) and Downdetector. 

According to the frustrated users, data failed to load, and the Coach tab displayed an unhelpful “content not available” message. Users also faced challenges with activating the new Charge 6, a process entirely dependent on the app’s functioning. 

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According to Downdetector, a platform that monitors and reports on app outages, over 3,000 people reported Fitbit-related problems, with the surge occurring around 5 PM ET. 

Late at night, the Google-owned company affirmed the glitches and even added a banner stating, “We’re continuing to investigate the issue affecting Fitbit devices. Thank you for your patience,” on its community page, the issue continued to persist for hours. Moreover, Fitbit offered little in terms of a timeline for resolving these ongoing problems. 

We're aware that some customers are experiencing issues with the Fitbit app and we are currently investigating. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience, thank you for your patience!

— Fitbit Support (@FitbitSupport) October 12, 2023

Sorry. We can't provide any time frame as of now. Rest assured our team is doing their best to fix this as quickly as possible.

— Fitbit Support (@FitbitSupport) October 12, 2023

At the time of writing, some users started reporting that the app has started functioning for them, but many others continue to report that it is still not working. The solution will likely roll out gradually for all users.

It's 11:02 PM and Fitbit still not working. Was glitching for the past few days, so one of the recommendations was to switch to Google. Major mistake. Any idea of when it will be fixed?

— David McGoey – IG Wealth Management (@DavidMcGoeyIG) October 12, 2023

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Hi, Darren. We're sorry for the inconvenience. We're aware of this issue and working to identify a resolution as quickly as possible. Thanks for your patience.

— Fitbit Support (@FitbitSupport) October 12, 2023

A Fitbit spokesperson later told Benzinga, “We've addressed the issue causing some customers to experience issues with the Fitbit app. Anyone still encountering problems should contact Customer Service.”

Why It’s Important: This recent disruption follows two major outages experienced by Fitbit in February, according to The Verge. 

Meanwhile, in August earlier this year, advocacy group Noyb lodged complaints against Fitbit in Austria, Netherlands, and Italy, accusing the company of breaching the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR privacy rules.

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Editor’s Note: This Story has been updated to include comments from Fitbit.