What are my choices for notifications on my Fitbit device?
See calls, texts, calendar events, and more depending on your Fitbit device. For more information about hourly reminders to move, see What is a reminder to move?
Device
Notification Options
Fitbit Charge 3 Fitbit Inspire series Fitbit Ionic Fitbit Versa series
Calls, texts, calendar events within the hour, emails, and other push notifications from apps you choose
Fitbit Alta series Fitbit Charge 2
Calls, texts, and calendar events
Fitbit Flex 2
Calls and texts
Fitbit Ace series
Calls
How do I set up notifications?
In addition to the Notifications options in the Fitbit app, you may need to modify settings specific to your phone. If you’re not sure whether your phone is compatible with notifications, visit fitbit.com/devices.
Have your phone and Fitbit device nearby. Setup may take a few minutes.
iPhone
Step 1. Verify your phone settings
Open the Settings app and confirm or adjust the following settings:
Bluetooth—Verify that Bluetooth is on.
Do Not Disturb—This feature prevents your phone from sending notifications. Verify that Do Not Disturb is off
Notifications—To see notifications from your phone on your Fitbit device, your phone must receive phone, text, calendar, and app notifications. Check these settings:
For Phone, Calendar, and Messages, make sure Allow Notifications and Show in History are on.
For Messages, also make sure Show on Lock Screen and Show as Banners are on.
If your Fitbit device can receive app notifications, make sure you receive app notifications on your phone. For example, to receive Facebook notifications on your Fitbit device you first must receive them on your phone. Find the notifications permissions under Settings > Notifications and use the same settings you used for Messages.
Step 2. Set up notifications in the Fitbit app
Set up the notifications you want to receive on your wrist. Make sure your Fitbit device is nearby.
From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap the account icon () > your device image.
Tap Notifications. If you're prompted to pair your Fitbit device, follow the on-screen instructions.
Choose the types of notifications you want to receive.
If your Fitbit device can receive notifications from other apps on your phone, tap App Notifications and choose the apps you want notifications from.
Sync your device.
Android phone
Step 1. Verify your phone settings
Open the Settings app and confirm or adjust the following settings:
Bluetooth—Verify that Bluetooth is on.
Do Not Disturb—This feature prevents your phone from sending notifications. Verify that Do Not Disturb is off. Find this setting under Sound and notification.
Notifications—To see notifications from your phone on your Fitbit device, your phone must receive phone, text, calendar, and app notifications. Check these settings:
Make sure your phone receives notifications while locked. Find this setting under Sound and notification.
If your Fitbit device can receive app notifications, make sure you receive app notifications on your phone. For example, to receive Facebook notifications on your Fitbit device you first must receive them on your phone. Find the notifications permissions under Sound and notification.
Set up the notifications you want to receive on your wrist. Make sure your Fitbit device is nearby.
From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap the account icon () > your device image.
Tap Notifications.
Choose the types of notifications you want to receive and the app you use most for each category. For example, if you want to receive text messages from WhatsApp rather than Messages, change the Text messaging (SMS) app setting. You can choose 1 app per category. The most common apps for these features are:
Phone app—Dialer
Text messaging (SMS) app—Messages
Calendar app—Calendar
Email—Email
If your Fitbit device can receive notifications from other apps on your phone, tap App Notifications and choose the apps you want notifications from.
If you want to require that only encrypted notifications can pass from your phone to your Fitbit device:
Go back to the Notifications screen and tap Require encryption.
Close and reopen the Fitbit app to start the bonding process required for sending encrypted data.
If the bonding process fails, tap Re-enable and try again. Most phones bond immediately or after a few tries, but some phones can’t bond to your Fitbit device. See the list of devices with known issues at What should I know about using the Fitbit app on my Android device?
If you receive messages in a language that doesn't use the Latin alphabet, for example Cyrillic or Arabic languages, your messages may not appear properly on your Fitbit device. To automatically convert unsupported characters into the closest Latin equivalent, tap Enable Transliteration.
Sync your device.
Windows 10 phone
Step 1. Verify your phone settings
Open the Settings app and confirm or adjust the following settings:
Windows version—Verify that the Windows 10 version is 10.0.1607.0 or higher. Find this setting under System > About.
Bluetooth—Verify that Bluetooth is on.
Quiet hours—This feature prevents your phone from sending notifications. Verify that Quiet hours is off
Notifications—To see notifications from your phone on your Fitbit device, your phone must receive phone, text, calendar, and app notifications. Check these settings:
Make sure ‘Show notifications on the lock screen and play notification sounds’ and ‘Show and sound reminders when my phone is locked’ are on. Find these settings under System > Notifications & actions.
Make sure you allow the Fitbit app to access your notifications. Find this setting under Privacy > Notifications.
Make sure you allow apps to read or send messages, and that you specifically allow the Fitbit app to access your text notifications. Find these settings under Privacy > Messaging.
Make sure you allow apps to access your calendar, and that you specifically allow the Fitbit app to access your calendar notifications. Find these settings under Privacy > Calendar.
If your Fitbit device can receive app notifications, make sure you can receive app notifications on your phone. For example, you can receive Facebook notifications on your Fitbit device, but only if you also receive them on your phone. Find this setting under System > Notifications & actions. Make sure ‘Notifications’ and ‘Show notification banners’ are turned on and ‘Keep notifications private on the lock screen’ is turned off.
Step 2. Set up notifications in the Fitbit app
Set up the notifications you want to receive on your wrist. Make sure your Fitbit device is nearby.
From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap the account icon () > your device image.
Tap Notifications. If you're prompted to pair your Fitbit device, follow the on-screen instructions.
Choose the types of notifications you want to receive.
If your Fitbit device can receive notifications from other apps on your phone, tap App Notifications and choose the apps you want notifications from.
How do I receive calendar alerts on my Fitbit device?
To receive calendar alerts on your Fitbit device, make sure you allow the calendar app on your phone to send notifications.
For iPhones and Windows 10 phones, your Fitbit device shows notifications from all calendars synced to your default Calendar app. Choose from the default Calendar app on your phone or several third-party calendar apps, such as Google calendar.
To turn on notifications from third-party calendar apps:
From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap the Account icon> your device image.
Tap Notifications > App Notifications,then tap the app you want to receive notifications from.
Sync your device to begin receiving notifications.
How do notifications work on my Fitbit device?
Ace & Alta series
Ace, Alta, and Alta HR vibrate when you receive a notification. Turn your wrist towards you or double-tap to see the notification. Text and calendar notifications scroll once, and caller names or numbers scroll 3 times. Notifications aren't stored on the device.
Note that Ace only receives call notifications.
Notification tips
To dismiss a notification, tap once.
Your device shows the first 40 characters of the notification. Check your phone for the full message.
A plus sign (+) means you have more than 1 notification to read. If you have 3 or more notifications, you'll see a screen with the number of notifications and the corresponding symbols.
Ace 2 & Inspire series
Ace 2, Inspire, and Inspire HR vibrate when you receive a notification. Turn your wrist toward you or press the button to see the notification. Notifications aren't stored on the device.
Note that Ace 2 only receives call notifications.
See incoming notifications
Phone calls
Name or number of the caller scrolls once. To dismiss the notification, press the button.
Text messages
Name of the sender scrolls once above the message. Swipe up to read the full message.
Calendar alerts
Name of the event scrolls once below the time and location.
App notifications
Name of the app or sender scrolls once above the message. Swipe up to read the full message.
Notification tips
To dismiss a notification, press the button.
Your device shows the first 250 characters of the notification. Check your phone for the full message.
Charge 2
Charge 2 vibrates when you receive a notification. Turn your wrist toward you or press the button to see the notification. You have 1 minute to read it. Notifications aren't stored on the device.
Notification tips
A plus sign (+) means you have more than 1 notification to read.
To dismiss a notification, press the button.
Your device shows the first 40 characters of the notification. Check your phone for the full message.
Charge 3, Ionic & Versa
Charge 3, Ionic, and Versa vibrate when you receive a notification. Turn your wrist toward you or press the button to see the notification. Notifications are stored on the device.
See incoming notifications
From the clock face, swipe down to see your notifications. Tap a notification to expand for more detail.
Phone calls
Name or number of the caller appears. If you have an iPhone or Android (8.0+) phone, you can also accept or reject calls on your Fitbit device.
Text messages
Name or number of the sender and the message appear.
Calendar alerts
Name, location, and time of the event appear.
Email notifications
Name of the sender, subject, and message appear.
App notifications
App name and message appear. App-specific icons may also appear.
Notification Tips
To delete 1 notification, tap the notification > Clear.
To delete all notifications at once, swipe to the top of your notifications and tap Clear All.
For longer notifications, tap the notification to see the full message.
To exit the notifications screen, press the back button or swipe up.
If you clear a notification from your device, the notification is removed from your phone's notification center. If you clear a notification from your phone, the notification is removed from your device.
To turn off notifications so that you don't receive them while you sleep, open the Settings app on your device and find the option to turn off Notifications During Sleep.
Accepting or rejecting phone calls
Accept or reject phone calls on your Phone or Android (8.0+) phone. If your phone is running an older version of Android OS, you can reject, but not accept, calls from your device.
Note that you can’t speak into the device — accepting a phone call answers the call on your nearby phone.
To accept or reject a phone call:
Charge 3
To accept a call: tap the check mark.
To reject a call: tap the X icon to send the caller to voicemail.
Ionic and Versa
To accept a call: tap the green phone icon.
To reject a call: tap the red phone icon to send the caller to voicemail.
To see this feature in action, watch our video (English only):
Flex 2
When your phone receives a call or text message, Flex 2 vibrates and shows a light pattern to remind you to check your phone.
See incoming notifications
Phone calls
Your tracker vibrates twice and shows 1 blue light and 4 white lights, repeated up to 4 times.
Text messages
Your tracker vibrates once and shows 1 blue light and 1 white light.
Does my Fitbit device receive notifications when my phone is in Do Not Disturb, Quiet hours, or Driving mode?
Most Fitbit devices don’t receive notifications when you turn on the Do Not Disturb, Quiet hours, or Driving mode setting on your phone. Fitbit Charge 3, Fitbit Ionic, and Fitbit Versa receive notifications, but your device won’t alert you. Swipe down to see your notifications.
If paired to an Android phone, your Fitbit watch or tracker can alert you to notifications at any time:
From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap the account icon > your device image > Notifications.
In the Vibration Settings section, turn on the Always Vibrate option.
