This is replacing my recalled Fitbit Force, so that's what I have to compare to (I've also had an older Fitbit in the past). I got the Vivofit and the very first thing I noticed is that It's lighter and much more comfortable. It fits my small wrist much more comfortably than the Force. The clasp feels more secure. There is also no metal on this, making this one of the few choices for those of us with metal allergies (can't say that about the jawbone).
Set up was a bit of a pain, as you must use a computer to set up your login before you can set it up on your phone. Once set up though, it's easy to use. Note that there if you want to use fitdatasync to transfer your Vivofit data to your fitbit app, make sure to actually set up a new Garmin Connect account rather than logging in with Facebook, otherwise it won't let fitdatasync login. It was not intuitive to disconnect my Facebook account and create a Garmin Connect password, but it is doable.
Syncing is not as easy with the Vivofit as the Force was. The Vivofit will not automatically sync in the background. Instead, you have to open the app and then hold the button on the Vivofit for a few seconds. Once synced, you can close the app. Not difficult, and given that the Vivofit doesn't require weekly charging, I'm fine with it.
Regarding features, the Vivofit does not have the altimeter to measure stairs, but the Force never measured that accurately anyway, so no loss of accurate data anyway. The feature I miss from the Force is the vibrating alarm, which the Vivofit does not have. This is the only drawback I've found that I care about. The Vivofit also does not have a stopwatch, but I hadn't really used that on the Force. The Vivofit has the red activity bar, which the Force did not. It takes more walking than I expected to reset the bar, so it's not very feasible to get it to reset every hour if you have a desk job. But it is motivating outside of the office. Sleep tracking currently works the same, though the Garmin Connect app also asks your normal sleep schedule and will passively track movement during those hours without you having to push the button (a big plus, as I always forget to push the button!). The Vivofit's display is always on, so I actually have a watch now, which I'm happy about. It's not backlit, which is probably why the battery is good for a year. It doesn't require much light to read the display. Battery life and an always on display are worth the trade off to me. I haven't had it long enough yet to see how well the auto updating of the goal pans out, so I can't speak to that. I do like that one of the screens is a count down of how many steps are left to meet your goal and it's motivating to watch that number go down and just walk a little more so it goes down faster. The Vivofit is also supposed to be more waterproof so no concerns about accidentally drowning it. The Vivofit also has interchangeable bands, unlike the Force - so you have color choices and don't have to buy a whole new device if something happens to your band. The Gamin Connect let's you track your mood upon waking, which Fitbit doesn't. I thought you could use Garmin's app to compare how you're doing to other people in your area, but I haven't figured that out yet. Functionally, there doesn't seem to be a lot of difference between how I was using the Fitbit app and Garmin connect. I was not a power user of the Fitbit app. My tracker exists mostly to motivate more activity and sleep, so steps and sleep are the two metrics I care about. I never tracked calories, so I can't speak to that. For steps, Garmin connect has daily summaries showing your goal, achieved, and a graph of your activity throughout the day. You can also change the timeframe to a week, month, or year. Sleep is similar, plus the ability to add your mood upon waking.
All in all, I'm glad the Force was recalled. I'm happy with my Vivofit.
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From the manufacturer
The activity tracker that moves at the pace of your life
- Learns your activity level and assigns a personalised daily goal.
- Displays steps, calories, distance and monitors sleep.
- Pairs with heart rate monitor¹ for fitness activities.
- 1 year plus battery life; water resistant².
- Save, plan and share your progress at Garmin Connect.
¹Included with some models, sold separately on others.
²Water resistant up to 50 meters.
Always On
vívofit follows your progress 24/7, and it can stay on for more than a year without a battery change. Set the sleep mode when you go to bed and vívofit will monitor your rest. At Garmin Connect, you can see your total sleep hours as well as periods of movement and restful sleep. The vívofit band is water-resistant², so you can shower or get caught in the rain, worry-free.
Reviews with images
Dosent sync more than once with my S7
So i got my Viviofit yesterday. Synced and started properly and did its job of counting steps accurately.However, I could not sync it ever again. Everytime it says failed. I tried more than 15 times. Restarted my phone, and waited to see if any software update was recommended. I am highly dissapointed as I think I might have got a faulty product on the AMAZON's Prime Day.Update: I even tried repairing it after reading FAQs. As seen in screenshot at different times, the pairing got stuck at 50% and never ended. I had to close the app, however the device reappeared as paired device when i reopened the app. However it again failed to sync. Its worth spending a bit more than falling in this sale trap.Hugely dissapointed.
Top reviews from other countries
Jackie Marie
Great product and super fast shipping!
Reviewed in Canada on February 21, 2016Chinasyndrome
Bought this for my wife she used it for a ...
Reviewed in Canada on December 4, 2015