Tracking your health is becoming more important in this fast-paced world. Earlier techniques of measuring an individual’s fitness were a lengthy process. It included going through blood tests, various endurance tests, and body scans to know your body’s vital information. To overcome this length princess, the fitness industry is rapidly collaborating with various new technologies.
Fitness tracking watches or bands are part of this evolving technology. Fitbit is a popular fitness tracking device. Equipped with various features, it gives accurate information about the user’s body vitals. Since it is an electrical tracking device, it must have some safety features like waterproofing to keep it safe from damage. This article will guide you through detailed information about the waterproofing feature in Fitbit’s range of fitness bands.
Fitbit Bands And Their IP Ratings
A fitness band goes through various activities like swimming, running, and many more. Hence it is bound to come in contact with water and sweat. It is therefore desirable for a fitness band to have a proper waterproof rating to ensure its safe working. Waterproof ratings are given to a device that tells about the type of water resistance it can provide.
The Ingress Protection (IP) rating is a measure of the protection level of a device against liquids or solid materials. Many brands offer this IP rating for their fitness bands. Fitbit however does not have any IP rating label on its products. It does claim that the bands are splash-proof. A device has to undergo testing to qualify for IP ratings. Factors like design changes, IP test cost, etc also keep it away from official IP testing.
Fitbit has a series of fitness bands in its product lineup. Hence, we have provided details on various band series from Fitbit and their water-resistant ability. It will help you understand these bands more closely.
1. The Fitbit Sense Band
The Fitbit Sense is one of the popular fitness tracking devices. The device can track the user’s various details related to mental and physical health. It has features like a heartbeat tracker and many more. The band also comes with a dedicated swimming mode to keep monitoring the body activity in the pool.
Due to the swimming mode, a waterproof rating is expected. But the Fitbit Sense band does not come with any official IP rating tag. The brand has conducted an in-house test on Fitbit Sense. Therefore, It assures that the band shows water resistance up to 50 meters deep in water. The band can be reused after drying it completely. This helps against accidental splashing on the band, for swimming activities, and even in sweaty conditions.
2. The Fitbit Inspire 2 Band
Fitbit Inspire 2 is one of the latest bands from Fitbit. This band also offers a seamless data collection of your body activity. With features like heartbeat monitoring, it can keep track of your body activity and calorie count. Connected with an inbuilt app, all the necessary information is displayed over the band screen.
Speaking about the waterproofing feature of this band, it too does not have an official IP rating. It does offer good water resistance up to 50 meters of depth in water. This property helps in using the Inspire 2 band in water-related activities. The Fitbit Inspire 2 band is one of the few models that are provided with a water lock feature. The water lock feature helps in disabling the touchscreen of the band to avoid any accidental tap on the screen.
3. The Fitbit Charge 4 Band
The Fitbit Charge 4 series was developed as a replacement for its predecessors. It offers many updates over its old generation models. Having an inbuilt GPS tracking feature, it offers distance-covered details for walking, cycling, etc activities. With features like Spotify and NFC-enabled payment support, this fitness band offers a smart-watch-type experience.
The charge 4 series has a revised body design with less complex edges and curves. This design assists the water-resisting property of the band and keeps water away from the small gaps. The band came with no IP rating for waterproofing. Bu Fitbit promises that the band can sustain water up to 50-meter depth without getting damaged.
4. The Fitbit Versa Series
Fitbit introduced the Versa series which offers more functionality than other series models. The Versa series is a smartwatch series. These bands went on head to head battle with other brands and their offerings.
The Versa 1 was a 2-generation upgraded smartwatch from Fitbit. With a lap timer and other features, it instantly became a hit. The Versa 2 has a futuristic design language and instantly captures the user’s attention. It came with wireless payment, sleep tracking, heartbeat monitoring, and many other features. The Fitbit Versa 3 went ahead and introduced workout tracking and menstruation cycle monitoring.
Speaking about the waterproofing ability of the Versa series, Fitbit made sure to design them properly. It was important for the Versa bands to offer water resistance since it offers water-related activity monitoring. All the Versa bands can resist water splashes. Being a Fitbit device, all of them resists water pressure up to a depth of 50 meters.
5. The Fitbit Ace Series
The Ace series was designed for the younger age groups (above 8 years). Since there were no fitness tracking device options for this age range, Fitbit quickly grasped the opportunity. It has activity tracking features and a special feature for sleep monitoring. With 7+ days of battery backup, the Ace series was an instant hit.
The Ace series came with no IP rating as it was the initial series from Fitbit. Ace 1 can handle smaller splashes of water but long exposures are not recommended. The Ace series added more water resistance ability in the 2nd and 3rd generation devices. Ace 2 and Ace 3 can withstand water pressure below 50 meters depth mark
Steps To Take Care of a Fitbit Device
As discussed above, The Fitbit devices are not IP rated against water. Even though they can withstand water pressure to 50 meters depth, long exposure can make them vulnerable to a water attack. You don’t have to worry since certain remedial steps can help you save your fitness band. The following steps are provided to take care of a Fitbit device.
- In case the band goes beyond the depth limit, make sure to get the band out of the water as soon as possible
- Drying is the most important step for a wet device. The fitness band can be dried normally. Using the rice method, the band can be kept surrounded by rice which helps in faster water absorption.
- Do not use wet devices as they may malfunction. Water also affects the sensors and displays wrong data.
- Any contact with chemicals must be avoided since it may react with the band’s body
- Shower-proof bands are okay to use in showers but mind the temperature of the water as hot temperature water is not suitable for the band
- In case of serious damage, the fitness band must be checked by a professional to reduce further damage
Conclusion
Fitbit has helped in monitoring the health-related activities of its users. With the help of various features, the band makes activity tracking more fun. The latest generations of fitness bands offer more detailed information about an individual. The article was discussed to help you understand the Fitbit fitness bands, their various models, and their water resistance capability. Considering this information, you can choose a fitness band as per your needs.
