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Fitbit, once again, was struck by a server outage

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Person looking at the notifications screen on Fitbit Charge 6. It reads “Nothing new.”
Fitbit’s having issues with its servers again. | Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge

It appeared that Fitbit suffered from another server outage that affected syncing data from devices.

The news was first spotted by 9to5Google, and Downdetector shows a spike in outage reports starting at about 11AM ET. Some users also posted on Reddit and social media that they experienced issues. I tried syncing my Fitbit Charge 6, and while I was able to pull up the app and initiate a manual sync, the data does not show up within the app itself. Another colleague tried to download the app and was unable to log in. And unlike the last outage — which happened just a month ago — this may not have to do with whether you’ve migrated your Fitbit data over to a Google account. Another colleague who hasn’t migrated their data confirmed that they, too, could not sync their device.

Google confirmed to The Verge that it was aware that people were “experiencing issues” and, shortly after, said that the problem had been fixed.

“We’ve addressed the issue causing some customers to experience issues with the Fitbit app. Anyone still encountering problems should contact customer service,” Google spokesperson Bridget Starkey told The Verge. I’ve asked Starkey to clarify what the issue was but have not yet received a response.

I’ve written this before, but the Fitbit-Google integration has been a bumpy ride thus far. While this outage was quickly nipped in the bud, the fact that there have been two other major outages this year doesn’t inspire confidence. Once is a mistake, twice is a red flag, and three times is a pattern. The timing is also troubling, as it’s still relatively soon after Google just launched the Pixel Watch 2 and the Fitbit Charge 6. Recent decisions have also angered users, with many criticizing the new app redesign to the point where Google had to backtrack and address feedback. Fitbit also recently pulled their products out of over a dozen countries.

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