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Fitbit restores Versa connectivity after earlier outage

Apps for the Versa and Ionic smartwatches are working again after a glitch made them unresponsive for several hours.

Scott Stein Editor at Large
I started with CNET reviewing laptops in 2009. Now I explore wearable tech, VR/AR, tablets, gaming and future/emerging trends in our changing world. Other obsessions include magic, immersive theater, puzzles, board games, cooking, improv and the New York Jets. My background includes an MFA in theater which I apply to thinking about immersive experiences of the future.
Expertise VR and AR, gaming, metaverse technologies, wearable tech, tablets Credentials
  • Nearly 20 years writing about tech, and over a decade reviewing wearable tech, VR, and AR products and apps
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Owners of Fitbit Versa and Fitbit Ionic smartwatches should no longer have problems syncing the devices with their smartphones. Fitbit says the company has resolved connectivity issues that had afflicted both devices for several hours on Tuesday.

"We have rolled out a fix and all Versa and Ionic users should now be able to use their devices normally," Fitbit said in a statement. "We will continue to monitor the situation and apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this caused."

CNET's Fitbit-supplied review sample exhibited the same problems Tuesday afternoon, but we've experienced no further problems once the fix was announced.

Prior to the fix, both watches were unable to load apps and watch faces, or even receive firmware updates because of the earlier connectivity problems. Influential gadget blogger Dave Zatz tweeted that he had returned his Versa because of the issue.

CNET has had mostly positive experience with the Versa so far, but the outage points out the potential problems -- and user frustrations -- with any internet-connected device. 

Originally published April 24 at 3 p.m. PT. Updated at 7 p.m. PT and again on April 25 at 9 a.m. PT with confirmation that the issue was resolved.

Fitbit Versa review: Read the CNET review

Fitbit Versa vs. Apple Watch Series 3: We put the new Fitbit Versa head-to-head with the Apple Watch Series 3.