Can you text on the Fitbit Alta HR?

Best Answer: While the Fitbit Alta HR is capable of receiving smartphone notifications for calls, texts, and even calendar alerts, you are not able to text from the Alta HR itself, unfortunately. The Alta HR is merely an activity tracker with an OLED tap display and continuous heart rate monitoring, not a smartwatch, so you cannot write and send texts through it like with an Apple Watch. Also, the Alta HR display is limited to 40 characters, so longer notifications will be truncated.

• We found the following on Amazon:
• Fitbit Alta HR (Large) ($99)
• Fitbit Charge 3 ($129)
• Fitbit Versa ($149)
• Fitbit Ionic ($229)

How do I get notifications on my Alta HR for calls, texts, and calendar alerts?

When you've paired your Alta HR with your iPhone, it's entirely possible to get alerts on your Alta HR's OLED tap display for calls, texts, and calendar alerts. There are a few steps required to ensure that you receive these notifications though.

1. Go to your iPhone Settings, then find Bluetooth, and ensure that you're connected with the Alta HR.
2. Go to Settings and click Do Not Disturb, or use the Control Center. When Do Not Disturb is on, it prevents your phone from sending notifications to any connected device, including Fitbit Alta HR.
3. Make sure Notifications are on for each application you want alerts for. For Phone, Calendar, and Messages, make sure that they're set to Allow Notifications and Show in History are on. Messages will also want Show on Lock Screen and Show as Banners on as well. Turning on app notifications for the Fitbit app itself is also necessary.

To set up notifications in the Fitbit app, you'll first want to go to your account dashboard, then find the device (Alta HR), and then select Notifications. Just toggle what categories you want to receive notifications for. Once that's done, you should receive notifications on your Alta HR's display for texts, calls, and calendar events, depending on what you selected.

So I can receive text alerts, but not send them from my Alta HR?

That's right. The Alta HR is only capable of receiving notifications when you get new messages, and it's limited to displaying 40 characters at a time. While the Fitbit Alta HR is a pretty advanced activity tracker with continuous heart rate monitoring, it's not a smartwatch, so you can receive, but not send.

What are my options if I want to send texts from my Fitbit device?

Fitbit does make a few wearables that allow you to send Quick Replies in response to texts. These devices include the Charge 3, Ionic, and Versa.

The Charge 3 is an advanced fitness tracker that has a backlit, touchscreen display, continuous heart rate monitoring, and everything else you love about Fitbit. It retails for $150.

The Versa is a lightweight smartwatch that lets you track your steps, heart rate, calories, sleep, has GPS through your phone, music playing capability, and more. It retails for $200.

The Ionic is the advanced smartwatch from Fitbit. It features everything that the Versa has, except it has its own built-in GPS, and more. It goes for $270.

Our pick

Fitbit Alta HR

$99 at Amazon

Stylish and sleek activity tracker

The Fitbit Alta HR is a good option for those who want to track all of their activity and fitness, but also want to look stylish doing so. Alta HR logs your steps, calories, sleep, heart rate, and more. It can also get notifications for calls, texts, and calendar events.

Advanced activity tracker

Fitbit Charge 3

$129 at Amazon

Track it all

The Charge 3 is one of the more advanced offerings from Fitbit. It tracks calories, steps, sleep, 24/7 heart rate, and more. It also lets you reply to text messages with Quick Replies.

Basic smartwatch

Fitbit Versa

$149 at Amazon

Fitbit's basic smartwatch

The Fitbit Versa is great for those who want more than an activity tracker but don't want to get something like Apple Watch due to price. The Versa tracks your steps, calories, sleep, and 24/7 heart rate. It also has GPS through your phone, music playing capabilities, and you can use Quick Replies to respond to message alerts.

Advanced smartwatch

Fitbit Ionic

$229 at Amazon

Fitbit's most advanced offering

The Fitbit Ionic does everything the Versa does, and a whole lot more. It has its own built-in GPS, so you don't need to have your phone nearby to track your location.