Two weeks after the one-year warranty ended, the device failed completely. It's never done a very good job keeping track of my steps... usually off at least 30%. There are annoying software glitches that Fitbit has shown no interest in fixing. Taken together, these problems make this a tracker that is not for anyone who is serious about recording their stats. I suggest you check out the fitbit site for customer comments, and you'll see hundreds have posted accuracy problems. I do want to add that I contacted customer service, and I followed their suggestions for resetting it, tightening the band, etc. and nothing worked. Nothing seems to work for anyone else who's having an accuracy problem, either. I need to try another brand, because Fitbit knows they should recall these and they won't.

OMG, a huge mistake was made by me picking this up for my wife! She was in some kind of work related challenge and wanted a better way to record her steps without having to have her phone on her, so being the swell and thoughtful husband that I am, I decided to get one for her.

Gentlemen, it did not turn out so well for me.

The moment she strapped this little thing in her wrist, she turned into Richard Simmons on steroids. Now she insists that I walk with her everywhere and that I get one as well so we could record our steps as a couple. Long gone are my evenings of relaxing on the couch, my restful days of nothingness have turned to making sure I add enough steps to pacify my fitness guru from the third plane of hell. Did you know it's 15 steps to my bathroom? Unfortunately, I do.

On a more serious note, I've found that going on a motorcycle ride while wearing one will add a load of steps. So don't (or in my case do) wear this while on the Harley.

Well I love this damn thing even if it did make me aware of the fact that, according to the average number of steps I get each day, I'm basically a houseplant. Only very slightly more active than a ficus.

I was excited about so many things regarding the Alta. I misplaced my Charge, and when I went to replace it, I discovered the Alta. I love the sleeker design, but I was most thrilled by the ability to change bands to match my clothes and jewelry. It wasn't until after I used it for a few days that I realized there is no altimeter and therefore, it does not count stairs. I really rely on the fitbit to motivate me to make better choices, and I have the option about 15 times a day to climb 3 flights of stairs or take the elevator. My Charge would totally motivate me to climb stairs. If I had truly paid attention, I would have realized they had removed this option on this model, so I'm hoping to alert others to this change.

I've noticed some people are hoping for a fix to this in a software update, but this is a hardware change. If counting stairs is important, pick a different model.

I've been using the Fitbit Zip (small clip-on) for the past two years. It's a nice small and simple fitness tracker, but I disliked replacing the battery every 4 months or so. When Fitbit announced the Alta earlier this year, I knew this was the one to watch out for.

I purchased and received this a little over a week ago. At first, I had some issues with getting it to sync with my laptop Fitbit app as well as with my iPhone Fitbit app. I realized the Alta was probably confused between the two devices, so I set it up through my iPhone. While the Alta was attached to the charging cable (recharging), I did press the button on the charger twice to get my Alta to restart. I removed my Alta from the charging cable. I then turned off my iPhone and turned it back on. I went into the Fitbit app and was able to set up my Alta as a new device. I did notice at some point my Alta's firmware got updated and it must have been when I had it connected to my laptop while it was doing the initial charging.

Once I was done with the initial pairing and syncing of my Alta with my iPhone, I could not wait to see what my new fitness tracker could do. Through the iPhone Fitbit app, I made some changes to the settings to personalize the Alta for my use. You can change the following: Handedness (am I right-handed or left-handed), Wrist (wear the Alta on the left or right), Clock Face (how much info you want to see vertically or horizontal), Silent Alarms, Notifications (calls, text messages, calendar events), Reminders to Move, etc.

I noticed that I had to struggle a few times to get the Alta on my wrist. Once I figured out the "snap" to secure the bands together, it's easy to take off and put back on. I also noticed that the band became a bit looser during the first few days of use. Fits more like a bangle now, but does not swivel around my wrist. That's a good thing. My suggestion would be to wear/pull the Alta not too tight for the first few days and let the band stretch/settle around your wrist.

I love my new fitness tracker. It's comfortable to wear. It looks good on my wrist. My Alta vibrates when I receive a call, text messages or when I have a calendar event on my iPhone. I tap my Alta to see who the caller is or who sent me a text message along with a few words. One time, I left my phone in the family room and went upstairs and my Alta buzzed/vibrated to let me know someone was calling me. How cool is that?!

The Alta is lightweight. Sometimes I hardly notice I'm wearing it.

My iPhone Fitbit app acknowledges both my old Fitbit Zip and my new Fitbit Alta.

I've gone five days now without recharging and the battery says "medium" or half full.

** 08/07/16 **
My Alta lasted 10 days before it needed recharging. When the battery drained, my Alta display showed a flashing empty battery. It took about 1-1/2 hours to recharge to full.

I'll be back to post additional findings. :)