Some early Fitbit Air shipments left Android users stuck at setup

Source Domain: phandroid.com

A few days early isn’t usually a problem. Fitbit Air pairing issues turned it into one for some Android users this weekend.

Pre-orders started arriving three to four days before the official May 26 ship date. That’s a nice surprise in most cases. But Android users who tried to set up their trackers hit a wall right away. An “app update required” error blocked setup entirely with no way to get past it.

The hardware is fine. The problem is an app. The Fitbit Air requires Google Health 5.0 to pair and function. That’s the same update that replaced the old Fitbit app entirely. Google rolled it out gradually to Android users between May 19 and May 26, part of a broader platform migration. A lot of early recipients just hadn’t received it yet when their trackers showed up. iPhone owners had no trouble since the iOS version landed in the App Store several days earlier.

What caused the Fitbit Air pairing issues

A Google product team member jumped into a Reddit thread of affected users to explain what was happening. “We are doing our best today to accelerate the rollout of the updated app on Android via Play to accommodate early deliveries and it should be available shortly,” they wrote, adding that iOS users could already update and pair without issue.

As of May 25, Google confirmed the Android rollout is complete. The Fitbit Air pairing issues should now be behind you. If you’re still seeing the error, open the Play Store and check for a pending Google Health update. Forcing a manual check should bring it through.

The Fitbit Air starts at $99.99 and officially ships today. For anyone receiving theirs right now, setup should go smoothly from here.

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