12 Fitbit Tips and Tricks Every Owner Should Know About

This story is a part of 12 Days of Ideas, serving to you benefit from your tech, residence and well being throughout the vacation season.

Simply obtained a brand new Fitbit for the vacations? It is time to discover ways to use it. Fitbit’s watches and trackers can do much more than simply monitor your steps and inform the time. The Google-owned digital health firm has packed its current wearables with new updates and options, together with a readiness rating, sleep profiles that present deeper evaluation of your sleeping patterns and the flexibility to measure stress ranges on the Fitbit Sense, Sense 2 and Cost 5. Google Maps and Google Pockets are additionally coming to Fitbit gadgets, which ought to make them much more helpful for on a regular basis duties.

Fitbit sells a variety of various trackers and smartwatches. The $350 Google Pixel Watch is the latest of the bunch and is the primary Fitbit smartwatch to offer entry to Google Play Retailer apps and provide the choice for LTE connectivity. The $100 Encourage 3 is among the many least expensive, whereas the $300 Sense 2 smartwatch is close to the excessive finish together with the Pixel Watch. 

As a result of the software program and options differ between gadgets, a few of these suggestions won’t work on all fashions. The steps listed beneath might additionally fluctuate relying on whether or not you are utilizing an iPhone or Android system.

See the time even when the display screen is off

Fitbit gadgets are designed for health and exercise monitoring, however they double as a watch. You can also make it simpler to see the time at a look with out having to lift your wrist or faucet the display screen by enabling always-on mode. Because the identify implies, this makes it potential for the display screen to point out the time even when the show is asleep. Simply keep in mind you will must sacrifice somewhat battery life to get this profit.

The directions for enabling this function fluctuate relying on which Fitbit you personal. 

• On the Cost 5 and Luxe, swipe down from the clock face, faucet the Settings choice, select Show Settings after which choose At all times-on show.  
• On the Sense and Versa 3, swipe proper from the clock face and faucet the always-on show image, which seems to be like a clock.
• On the Versa 2, swipe down from the highest of the display screen to see your notifications. Then, swipe down once more to entry the management middle. Faucet the short settings icon and press the always-on show icon. 
• On the Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4, swipe down from the highest of the display screen and faucet the always-on show icon within the fast settings menu. 

Change your primary day by day train purpose

Objectives are completely different for everybody, which is why you may wish to take into account altering the default purpose in your Fitbit. That is the primary metric that Fitbit celebrates upon completion every day. Selections embody steps, distance, energy burned, flooring climbed or energetic zone minutes. To decide on which purpose you would like to perform every day, open the Fitbit app in your telephone and faucet your profile image. Then, faucet your Fitbit system and scroll all the way down to Fundamental Objective. From there, you’ll choose your most well-liked purpose.

Learn extra: The Finest Fitbits

Select which stats you wish to see first throughout a exercise

Along with altering your day by day purpose, you’ll be able to change which statistics you’d prefer to prioritize throughout exercises. Some folks might care extra about calorie burn, for instance, whereas others prioritize coronary heart charge. That is why you’ll be able to select which stats you wish to see throughout a exercise on the Fitbit Sense, Versa and Ionic sequence. 

Get began by opening the watch’s Train app and selecting the exercise you’d prefer to customise. From there, faucet the gear icon within the high left when you personal an Ionic, Versa, Versa Lite Version or Versa 2, and choose the Customise stats choice. Then, select which stats you wish to see within the high, center and backside slots in your system.

The instructions are somewhat completely different for Fitbit Sense, Sense 2, Versa 3 and Versa 4 house owners. From the Train app, choose the exercise you’d prefer to customise after which swipe up from the underside of the display screen to entry the system’s train settings. Underneath the Present stats part, you’ll be able to choose the highest, center and backside choices to edit the stats you’d prefer to see in every slot. 

Pair your Fitbit with Android simply by holding it close to your telephone

Fitbit and Google wish to make establishing your new system virtually easy. Taking a web page from Apple’s e book, Google’s Quick Pair function accelerates the pairing course of by connecting your new Fitbit to your Android telephone when the 2 gadgets are close to each other. You simply want to show in your Fitbit system and ensure your telephone’s Bluetooth is enabled to get began, after which you must see a immediate to obtain Fitbit’s app. It really works on fashions such because the Luxe, Cost 5 and Encourage 2.

Learn extra: The Finest Exercise Subscription Apps

Customise your train choices

All of us want sure exercises over others, whether or not it is operating, spinning, yoga or simply strolling. Fortunately, Fitbit permits you to tailor the checklist of accessible exercises to your liking on sure gadgets. Simply open the Fitbit app, faucet in your profile image and choose your system. Then, faucet Train Shortcuts to change your Fitbit’s exercise choices. You may choose the + Train Shortcut button so as to add a brand new exercise sort, swipe left on a exercise to delete it or use the Edit button to reorder your exercises. Simply notice that the Fitbit Sense and Versa 3 shouldn’t have a shortcuts checklist, however Fitbit says all exercise modes can be found within the train app for the Sense, Versa and Ionic sequence watches. 

Extra from 12 Days of Ideas:

Begin an train with a single press on the Fitbit Sense

The Fitbit Sense’s train app is simple to entry, however there are occasions when you might wish to begin a exercise immediately. Customizing the Fitbit Sense’s wake button may also help you just do that. 

Press and maintain the facet button, and your watch will pull up a number of completely different apps and options that may be launched by lengthy urgent this similar button. Choices embody the alarms app, climate, Spotify and your voice assistant of alternative. Scroll down till you see Train, and choose the exercise mode you’d prefer to launch when lengthy urgent the facet button. For those who do not wish to select a selected exercise, you can even select to have the train app open when the facet button is lengthy pressed.

Moreover, you’ll be able to customise the facet button’s lengthy press actions by the Fitbit Sense’s settings menu. Swipe over to the Sense’s app display screen and faucet the Settings icon. Select Shortcuts, after which choose the Press & Maintain choice. From there, faucet Train and select the exercise you’d prefer to launch when lengthy urgent the wake button. 

Discover your misplaced Fitbit Encourage 2 with the Tile app

Smaller health trackers such because the Encourage 2 will be straightforward to lose or misplace. That is why Fitbit has partnered with Tile to construct its Bluetooth location-tracking service immediately into the Encourage 2. You will must obtain Tile’s app and ensure your health band’s software program is updated earlier than utilizing it. However as soon as it is arrange and registered within the Tile app, you’ll ring your Encourage 2 if it is inside Bluetooth vary or see its final location on a map. 

Use your Fitbit to seek out your telephone

We have all been there; possibly you left your telephone in your jacket, or maybe it slipped in between the sofa cushions. That is the place Fitbit’s Discover My Telephone app is useful. Simply open the app in your watch and your Fitbit will immediate your telephone to ring and vibrate till it is discovered. The Fitbit app should be operating in your telephone for this function to work, and it is obtainable on the Fitbit Sense, Versa 2 and Versa 3. 

Have Fitbit inform you when you ought to hit the health club or take it straightforward

Typically it may be laborious to inform whether or not it is time to push your self or take a relaxation day. Fitbit is making an attempt to assist with its Day by day Readiness Rating function, which rolled out in November and is much like the Oura ring’s Readiness Rating. Fitbit points a rating primarily based on elements like your current sleeping habits, heart-rate variability and exercise that signifies whether or not you must train or prioritize restoration. 

It really works on the Fitbit Sense, Versa 3, Versa 2, Cost 5, Luxe and Encourage 2, but it surely’s solely obtainable for Premium subscribers and should be enabled within the Fitbit app. You additionally must put on your system for not less than 4 days, together with in a single day. 

Modify your stride size to make step counting extra correct

Fitbit routinely calculates your stride size after you monitor a run with GPS. However you can even measure your individual stride size and add it to the app manually. To take action, Fitbit suggests counting your steps as you stroll or run at a location the place you’ll be able to simply inform the space, comparable to a monitor. You must also journey not less than 20 steps when measuring your stride, in accordance with Fitbit. Then, divide the space traveled in yards or meters by the variety of steps. 

As soon as you’ve got measured your stride size, open the Fitbit app and faucet in your profile image within the high proper nook. Underneath Settings, select Exercise & Wellness and faucet Train. Faucet Stride Size and enter your measurements.

Hearken to your train stats throughout a exercise 

Health trackers make it simpler to see train statistics at a look, but it surely’s not at all times possible or snug to look down at your wrist throughout a exercise. That is why Fitbit’s app can dictate sure metrics audibly, comparable to distance, time, common tempo, break up tempo and energy burned. You may select which of those stats you’d wish to hear throughout your exercise, and likewise customise the frequency of alerts by distance or time. 

Open the Fitbit iPhone app, faucet your profile image and scroll all the way down to the Exercise & Wellness class underneath Settings. Faucet Train and scroll all the way down to see the Play Throughout Train choice, which will be discovered beneath the checklist of auto acknowledged workout routines. For those who’re utilizing the Android app, faucet the train tile within the At present feed and press the stopwatch icon within the high proper nook. Then, toggle the swap subsequent to Use voice cues to allow or disable this feature.

Flip off these reminders to maneuver 

We will all most likely use a reminder to rise up and transfer round for a bit, particularly when working from residence. However these little nudges is probably not useful for everybody, and a few may discover them annoying. To show transfer reminders on or off, open the Fitbit app in your telephone and faucet your picture within the high left nook. Select your Fitbit system from the checklist, and scroll all the way down to the Reminders to Transfer choice. From right here, you’ll be able to flip reminders on or off fully, or set them for sure time home windows or days of the week.