Fitbit brings one of the best fitness platforms out there when it comes to presenting how much or how little you move in an easy-to-understand format. It not only delivers the data, but it does so in a simple and user-friendly way so you aren't swamped with too much detail.
The Fitbit app is comprehensive and while the basic features it offers might be obvious, some of Fitbit's best functions are a little harder to find. This feature highlights all the tips and tricks of the Fitbit app to help you get the most out of your fitness tracker, with device specific tips at the bottom.
Fitbit app Dashboard tips and tricks
Edit what you see in Dashboard: Tap edit at the bottom of the screen > tap the cross on the metrics you don't want to see appear > done.
Edit the order of the Dashboard: Tap edit at the bottom of the screen > drag the wobbling metrics into the order you want them in > done.
How to see a different day's activity: Tap the arrows in the main section of the Dashboard, under the Fitbit logo at the top. The information you see there will be what will be available for each day you go back.
How to manually log food, exercise, weight, sleep and water: Tap on the "+" at the bottom of the screen > select the metric you wish to manually log.
How to track a walk, run or hike with connected GPS: Tap the "+" at the bottom of the screen > select Track Exercise. Ensure the Track tab at the top is selected > choose run, walk or hike > press start at the bottom of the screen. The Fitbit app will then use your phone's GPS to track your run, walk or hike.
How to setup voice cues during exercise: Tap the "+" icon at the bottom of the screen > select Track Exercise > select the Cues menu > set which ones you want to hear, if you want to hear them at all, at what frequency you'd like to hear them and at what volume. You can also get to the voice cue settings through the Account tab by heading into the Exercise Tracking menu under the Settings section.
How to control your music from the Fitbit app: Tap the "+" > select Track Exercise > tap the Music Control menu. From here you can turn shuffle on or off and select what music you want to play with options including Last Playing, All Music and Recently Played.
How to see a breakdown of your daily activity: Select the metric you want to see more information on from the Dashboard, such as steps. This will bring up a summary in a list format of your entire history by day of that particular metric. The graph at the top presets a weekly summary but a further tap on any of the days listed will give you an hourly summary for that day in a graph. You can also hold down on a particular hour to see the information in number format for 15-minute intervals.
How to see a breakdown of exercise: Tap on the Weekly Exercise tile and you'll see a breakdown of all the various exercises you've done, from walking to elliptical workouts.
How to change an exercise that has been categorised wrong: To change an exercise that has been wrongly categorised, tap on the exercise you want to change > Categorise Exercise at the top of the screen > select the correct category.
How to set a silent alarm on your Fitbit device: If your Fitbit supports silent alarms, you'll be able to set it up by tapping the "+" at the bottom of the Dashboard > Set Alarm. You can also click on your tracker at the top left hand corner of the Dashboard screen. From either of these, you can either turn on an alarm if you have already set one, or set up a new alarm.
How to turn notifications on or off on your Fitbit device: If your Fitbit supports notifications, these can be turned on or off by selecting your tracker in the top left of the Dashboard tab and tapping the Notifications menu. It will depend on which device you have as to what options appear here, if any.
How to see your Fitbit's battery level: Tap on your tracker icon in the top left of the Dashboard to see when it last synced, as well as what software build and battery level it is on. There is also a battery indicator next to the tracker icon of your tracker at the top of the Dashboard.
How to select your main goal on Fitbit: Fitbit offers the choice of five main goals - steps, distance, calories burned, active minutes and floors climbed. To choose the one you want to concentrate on, tap on your Fitbit tracker at the top of the Dashboard > scroll down to Main Goal. Note that floors climbed will only be an option on the Fitbit trackers featuring an altimeter, like the Charge 2.
How to manually sync your Fitbit: To force your Fitbit activity tracker to sync, click on it in the top left corner of the Dashboard > scroll down until you see Sync Now. You will also see All-Day Sync above it, which if you turn on ensures your Fitbit syncs automatically.
Set Reminders to Move on Fitbit: To ensure you take 250 steps each hour between certain times in the day, click on your activity tracker in the top left of Dashboard > scroll down to the Reminders to Move option. From here, set a start time, end time and which days you want the reminders. You can choose anywhere between five and 14 consecutive hours in a day.
How to see how well you slept on Fitbit: Fitbit trackers automatically monitor sleep if you wear them to bed. To see the data collected scroll down to the sleep section on the Dashboard. Like the other metrics, you'll see a history if you tap on the sleep section and a further tap on a particular day will pull up a sleep graph with more information. You can also swipe across on the top graph to see other statistics.
How to change your sleep goal and set a sleep schedule on Fitbit: Tap on the sleep tile within the Dashboard > tap the settings cog in the top right of the screen. You can then change your time asleep goal, as well as set a bedtime reminder and a target sleep schedule.
How to manually add a sleep log: Click on the sleep tile in the Dashboard > tap the "+" in the top right corner next to the settings cog. You can manually add a sleep log here, or force your Fitbit into starting a sleep log.
How to manually edit or delete a sleep log: Click on the sleep tile in the Dashboard > tap on the sleep log you want to edit or delete > tap on the three dots in the top right-hand corner. From here, you can edit or delete the log.
Fitbit app Account tips and tricks
How to change your Fitbit profile picture: Click on your name within the Account tab > press the settings cog in the top right corner. From here, you can change your display name, profile picture, cover picture, privacy settings and add a location.
How to change your Fitbit profile information: Click on your name within the Account tab > Personal Stats. From here you can change your birthday, height and weight. You'll also be able to change the privacy settings of various 30-day graphs including calorie intake, sleep graph, steps and distance graph and weight graph.
How to see your Fitbit badges: Head into your name in the Account tab as above > scroll down to Badges and Trophies. Clicking on each badge will show you when you last earned it and allow you to share it.
How to see all your Fitbit badge and trophy collection: Click on your name in the Account tab > Badges and Trophies > Badge Collection or Trophy Collection. Tapping on either will show you all your achievements and again, you can click on each one to see when you earned it and share it.
How to make your Fitbit more accurate: Make sure your profile information is accurate and that the app knows which wrist you're wearing your Fitbit on. In the Account section or Dashboard tab, click on your activity tracker > select your handedness > then select which wrist you're wearing your tracker on.
How to change your activity goals on Fitbit: Within the Account tab, scroll down to the Goals section > tap Activity > change your step goal, distance goal, calories burned goal, active minutes goal, floors climbed goal and hourly activity goal. Again, as we mentioned above, floors climbed will only be available on devices with an altimeter.
How to set an exercise goal on Fitbit: Select Exercise under the Goals section within the Account tab > choose the number of days a week you are aiming to exercise for.
How to set a sleep goal on Fitbit: Select Sleep under the Goals section within the Account tab > choose a Time Asleep and a Sleep Schedule goal. This can also be accessed through the Dashboard, as we mentioned previously.
How to set a weight goal on Fitbit: Select Nutrition and Body under the Goals section within the Account tab > select your overall goal, such as lose weight or maintain weight, as well as your goal weight, start date and starting weight.
How to set a goal body fat percentage on Fitbit: Select Nutrition and Body in the Goals section of the Account tab > scroll down to Goal Body Fat percentage > choose your goal. Fitbit offers you an indication of what a normal range would be based on your gender, but you can choose whatever you want to aim for.
How to remove weight and body fat goals altogether from Fitbit: Go into the Nutrition and Body Goals section in the Account tab > tap the three dots in the top right hand corner > choose to remove the weight goal or the body fat goal, or both.
How to set a custom heart rate zone on Fitbit: Not all Fitbit trackers have heart rate monitors, but for the ones that do, it is possible to set a custom zone. Within the Account tab > scroll down to the Settings section > tap on Heart Rate Zones > toggle on the Custom Zone > set an upper limit and a lower limit.
How to change the metric units your Fitbit registers your activity in: Head to the Advanced Settings menu under the Settings section in the Account tab > selecting Units > choose between centimetres and kilometres or feet and miles, kilograms, pounds or stone, ounces or milliliters and metres or yard for swimming. It's worth noting that only the Flex 2 and Ionic are swim proof.
How to change your Fitbit's sleep tracking sensitivity: Scroll down to Advanced Settings in the Account tab > select Sleep Sensitivity > choose between normal and sensitive.
How to change which day your Fitbit starts the week on: Head to Advanced Settings > tap on the Start Week On menu > choose between Sunday or Monday.
How to get an accurate step count on your Fitbit: Head to Advanced Settings in Account > scroll down to Stride Length > manually enter it for walking and running, or set it automatically.
Which apps are compatible with Fitbit: There are several apps that will link up to Fitbit, including MyFitnessPal, Weight Watchers (Android only), Strava, MapMyRun and RunKeeper. To find out all the compatible apps, head to the Account tab > scroll down to Compatible Apps. It will take you to the Fitbit website page that lists them all.
Fitbit app Challenge and Friends tips and tricks
How to set yourself a challenge on Fitbit: For a little extra motivation, tap the Challenges tab at the bottom of your app screen > select one of the four challenges you want to take on.
How to set yourself an Adventure on Fitbit: For those after a tougher challenge, Head to the Challenges tab > choose from Adventure Races, which allows you to virtually race against your Fitbit friends or Solo Adventures that sees you challenge yourself.
How to find Fitbit friends: Head to the Friends tab > click on Add Friends or the icon in the top right corner > search through your contacts, Facebook and email. To add a friend, tap the add button on the right once you have found them. You can also add a friend in the Dashboard by clicking on the "+" at the bottom of the screen > Add Friend.
How to send a message to a Fitbit friend: Open the Friends tab > click on friend you want to message, cheer or taunt > select what you want to do. You'll also be able to see their top badges and a click on each badge will show you how many times they have earned it and when it was achieved.
How to see how you're doing compared to your friends on Fitbit: To see the step leaderboard, head to the Friends tab and you'll be presented with how you are doing compared to your friends. It's a rolling leaderboard so no slacking or you'll be heading for the bottom.
How to see your Fitbit messages: To see all your messages from your Fitbit friends, head to the Friends tab > tap messages on the top bar.
Fitbit Charge 2 tips and tricks
How to see different metrics on your Fitbit Charge 2: Tap your Charge 2 just below the display and you'll see the different metrics appear on the screen with each subsequent tap.
How to change what metrics you see on your Fitbit Charge 2: Head into the Dashboard section of the Fitbit app > tap on the picture of your Charge 2 in the top left-hand corner > scroll down to Customise Display > choose which metrics appear when you tap the display or re-order them.
How to access the different setting menus on your Fitbit Charge 2: Press the button on the side of the Fitbit Charge 2's display to wake the screen up. Each following press of the button will present the next menu option, from heart rate to exercise, to alarms.
How to change which menu options appear on your Fitbit Charge 2: Head into the Dashboard tab of the Fitbit app > tap on the picture of your Charge 2 in the top left again > scroll down to Menu Items > choose which menu items appear and re-order them.
How to select and start a specific exercise on your Fitbit Charge 2: Push the button on the left of your Fitbit Charge 2 until you get to the exercise option, which will be Run by default unless you change it. Tap below the display to flick through the various exercises, which include run, weights, treadmill, workout, elliptical, bike and interval workout, by default. Push and hold the button on the left of the display to start tagging an exercise, and again to finish it. A summary will then appear in the weekly exercise section of the Dashboard.
How to re-order or add exercises on your Fitbit Charge 2: Open the Dashboard section of the Fitbit app > tap on your Charge 2 in the top left corner > scroll down to Exercise Shortcuts. From here you can re-order the exercises, as well as delete one or more of the default options in order to add another exercise in its place. The Charge 2 can hold seven exercises in its menu but there are a total of 20 to choose from, including Tennis and Martial Arts.
How to see your resting heart rate on your Fitbit Charge 2: Push button on left of display until you hit the heart rate menu > tap below the display for resting heart rate.
How to start the stopwatch on your Fitbit Charge 2: Push the button on the left of the display until you get to the Stopwatch menu > hold the button to start the stopwatch > hold again to stop the stopwatch.
How to start a Guided Breathing session on your Fitbit Charge 2: Push the button on the left of the display until you get to the Relax menu > tap below the screen to select a two or five-minute Guided Breathing session > hold the button to start the session.
How to turn Notifications off quickly on your Fitbit Charge 2: Push the button on the left of the display until you reach the Notifications menu > hold the button down to turn Notifications on or off.
How to see your VO2 Max from your Fitbit Charge 2: Open the Fitbit app > click on Dashboard > click on the heart rate tile > swipe across to the left on the graph at the top. Your Cardio Fitness level will be shown here as a number range.
How to change the straps on your Fitbit Charge 2: The clips for switching the straps on your Fitbit Charge 2 are on the underside of the device. Pull each side back and the tracker will become free of the current straps, allowing you to put another one on.
How to customise interval workouts on your Fitbit Charge 2: Open the Fitbit app > click on the Dashboard tab > click on the Charge 2 icon at in the top left corner > scroll down to Exercise Shortcuts > Interval Workout > choose whether you want connected GPS on or off, how many repeats you want to do and set your move and rest times.
Fitbit Alta and Alta HR tips and tricks
How to change the straps on your Fitbit Alta or Alta HR: Changing the straps on the Alta works the same way as it does on the Fitbit Charge 2. Turn the Alta over, pull the clips on either side of the tracker sideways and the tracker will be released from the band
How to change the display on your Fitbit Alta or Alta HR: Open the Fitbit app > click on the Alta icon in the top left corner > Clock Face > choose your preference.
How to tell what the different vibrations mean on your Fitbit Alta or Alta HR: A phone call is representing with a series of vibrations with pauses in between, a series of continuous vibrations tells you you've met your activity goal, one continuous vibration is the silent alarm and two short vibrations are reminding you to move.
How to change what data you see on your Alta or Alta HR display: Open the Fitbit app > click on your tracker icon in the to left corner > Customise Display. From here you'll be able to hide, show and re-order the data that appears on your Fitbit Alta and Alta HR, including battery, steps, calories, distance and others.
How to get a deeper analysis of your sleep on the Alta HR: The Alta HR measures time asleep, REM, light and deep sleep stages. It will also give you a run down as to why each of these stages is important. Open the Fitbit app > click on the sleep tile within Dashboard > tap on the day you want more analysis of. You'll see lots of data if you scroll down, including a 30-day average and benchmark if you tap on the relevant tabs under Sleep Stages. You can also tap on the graph at the top for a breakdown of the stages.
How to turn sleep insights on or off on the Alta HR: Open the Fitbit app > click on the sleep tile within the Dashboard > click on the settings cog in the top right corner > toggle the Receive Sleep Insights on or off.
Fitbit Flex 2 tips and tricks
What do the different coloured LED lights mean on your Fitbit Flex 2: Blue is texts and phone calls with a longer haptic vibration reserved for the latter, yellow is a silent alarm, pink is a reminder to move and green is your daily activity progress.
How to tell how much of your activity goal you've completed on your Fitbit Flex 2: There are five lights on the Flex 2, each of which represents 20 per cent of the goal you've set. For example, for every 2000 steps, you'll get another LED light up if you have a 10,000 step goal.
How to ensure accurate swim tracking from your Fitbit Flex 2: The swim tracking feature needs to be turned on in the Fitbit app before you start swimming. Ensure the pool length is correct in the app and be warned that pausing between laps will result in less accurate tracking.
Fitbit Charge and Charge HR tips and tricks
How to tag an activity on the Fitbit Charge and Charge HR: The Charge and Charge HR will automatically track some activities but if you want to make sure your device picks up whatever activity you're about to do, hold the button on the left of the display until it vibrates. Hold it down again when you finish and a summary of your workout will appear in the Weekly Exercise tile in the Dashboard of the Fitbit app where you will be able to tag it.
How to customise the order of what you see on your Fitbit Charge or Charge HR display: Select your activity tracker at the top of the Dashboard > scroll down to Customise Display > hide or show the metrics you want to display by ticking or unticking them, as well as reorder them using the three lines on the left to drag and drop in the position you want.
How to change what you see when you tap your Fitbit Charge or Charge HR: The Fitbit Charge and Charge HR both come with a tap gesture feature that allows you to see the metric of your choosing with a double tap on the main body. To change this metric, click on your tracker at the top of the Dashboard > select what you want to see.
How to turn quick view on or off on your Fitbit Charge HR or Charge: The Fitbit Charge and Charge HR also come with a Quick View feature that will show the clock when you lift your wrist or flick your wrist. To turn it on or off, head to your tracker at the top of the Dashboard > scroll down to Quick View > choose your preference.
Fitbit Blaze tips and tricks
How to return to the Home clock display quickly on your Fitbit Blaze: Press the button on the left of your Blaze's display and you will be returned to the home screen no matter where you are in the menu options.
How to customise the clock face on your Fitbit Blaze: There are four clock face options for the Fitbit Blaze, each of which has its own tap-sensitive interactive features. To change click on your Blaze tracker at the top of the Dashboard > select the Clock Face option to change.
How to turn off notifications or access music controls on your Fitbit Blaze: From the home screen on the Blaze > swipe down from the top to bring music options up. If you are in exercise mode or another screen other than the home display, hold the top right button down for three seconds and they will appear.
How to use the Fitbit Blaze to turn your music up or down: When in exercise mode on the Fitbit Blaze, if you want to control the volume of your music, hold the top right button down for three seconds. You'll then be able to pause, play and skip tracks as well as use the top and bottom right buttons to adjust the music level when in the music control screen.
How to see your notifications on the Fitbit Blaze: An upward swipe from the bottom of the home clock display will pull up your notifications, which can be deleted by swiping right on the notification itself. If you are in exercise mode or on a different screen other than the home screen, hold the bottom right button for three seconds and your notifications will appear.
Fitbit Surge tips and tricks
How to control your music from the Fitbit Surge: Make sure your Fitbit Surge and your smartphone are connected via Bluetooth and then start playing a playlist on your phone. Pressing the Home button on the Surge will display what track is playing while the Select button will allow you to pause and the Action button will enable you to skip a track.
How to change the exercise list on your Fitbit Surge: To change the exercises and the order at which they appear on your Fitbit Surge or Fitbit Blaze, head to the activity tracker tab at the top of the Dashboard > select Customise Display to change things around.
How to change the clock face on your Fitbit Surge: Like with the Blaze and Charge devices, you can change the clock face on your Fitbit Surge by tapping on its section in the Dashboard tab of the app > Clock Face menu.
How to ensure you get a good heart rate reading on the Fitbit Surge: The Fitbit Surge uses Fitbit's PurePulse heart rate technology, like the Blaze and the Charge devices. To get a good heart rate reading, the company recommends wearing your activity tracker slightly higher up your arm, one finger width from the wrist bone. It also tells you not to wear it too tight.
Fitbit Flex tips and tricks
How to make the Fitbit Flex more secure: The original Flex's fastening is a little less secure than other Fitbit devices but there are rubber bands available that can be placed around where the strap overlaps to make sure it doesn't come off even if the pins come loose.
How to find out how close you are to your goal on the Fitbit Flex: Double tapping the Fitbit Flex will display the LED lights. There are a total of four so you can work out from how many light up how close you are to your goal.
Fitbit Ionic tips and tricks
Check your notifications on Fitbit Ionic: That's simple, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, or press and hold the bottom button on the right-hand side. You can also manage some notifications options on Ionic itself, swipe across to settings and head to notifications - here you can disable notifications during exercise or when you're asleep.
Instantly access music controls: Swipe down from the top of the screen or press and hold the top right-hand button. This will take you directly to music controls.
Connect Bluetooth headphones: To listen to phone-free music you'll need to connect headphones to your Ionic. On the watch, head into Settings > Bluetooth and you can connect to a new device. Put the headphones in pairing mode and they will appear on your Ionic. Select the headphones to pair them with Ionic and you're done.
Transfer music to your Ionic: With no phone, you'll need to put the music on the Ionic directly to listen to music on the move. You'll need to latest version of Fitbit Connect on your PC to do this. This app will give you the option to transfer music to your watch, selecting that music directly from your PC's hard drive.
Setup a payment card in Wallet: To setup a card for Fitbit Pay, you need to head into the Fitbit smartphone app, then tap your Ionic in the top right-hand corner. You'll see the option for Wallet in the grid of icons below. You can then add your payment card. For those in the UK, only a few banks are supported, you can find a full list here.
Pay with Fitbit Ionic: Long press the left-hand button on Ionic and you'll open up payments.
Customise your Fitbit Ionic display: Swipe to the apps and then press and hold an icon. You'll then be able to drag to rearrange the icons, including moving them to different pages.
Add more apps to your Fitbit Ionic: If you want to add or remove apps from your Ionic, head into the smartphone app and tap the Ionic icon top right. You'll see apps in the grid below. Tap this and you'll see a list of all installed apps and those apps you can install in a separate tab.
Sign into Strava on your Ionic: Although you can link and sync your Fitbit and Strava accounts, there's also the option to sign into the Strava app on your Ionic itself. This is again done in the smartphone app: as above, access your list of apps and locate the Strava app. You'll see a settings icon next to the app in the list. Tap this and you can sign-in with your Strava account details.
For more information on Fitbit and its devices, visit our Fitbit hub for all news and reviews.