Early Google Fitbit Air buyers unable to use tracker due to missing Google Health app update

Google may have surprised Fitbit Air buyers with early deliveries, but not all customers are celebrating. While the new screenless fitness tracker was expected to arrive on 26 May, some users on Reddit claimed that they had received the tracker ahead of schedule.

However, one such user isn’t happy with the experience because while they have the tracker with them, they can’t use it because the new Google Health app has not rolled out to them yet.

While replying to a Reddit post, the user wrote, “Got mine today as well, but I’m stuck on ‘app update required’ and can’t actually pair it.”

Meanwhile, a Google employee on the forum also confirmed that the issue was indeed real, writing, “Hey, Andy from Google product team here – looks like your order arrived early! Sorry for the experience, as others have said here, confirming you do need the updated app.”

“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. Anyone on iOS should be able to update via the App Store already. Look for an update soon, as yes, you do need the new Google Health (version 5.0) to pair and use the product,” the Google employee added.

However, the disgruntled user was ultimately forced to sideload the new Google Health app in order to start using the tracker.

“I sideloaded the app and it’s working fine now,” the user later wrote.

What is Google Health app?

Notably, when Google launched the Fitbit Air earlier this month, the company also confirmed that it was retiring the old Fitbit app in favour of the Google Health app (version 5.0).

The new app comes with a redesigned UI, AI-powered insights, workout tracking, sleep analysis and personal recommendations via the new Google Health Coach powered by Gemini.

Google has been slowly rolling out the new Google Health app to all users and we have already received the version 5.0 update on our phone running Android 16. However, it appears that the app is still not available to all users, leading to compatibility issues with Fitbit Air.

Notably, Fitbit Air is Google’s answer to screenless fitness trackers like Whoop Strap that offer continuous health and fitness tracking without the distractions of a smartwatch.

However, Fitbit Air starts at $99.99 upfront and does not require a mandatory monthly or annual subscription. The wearable also comes with features like 24/7 heart-rate monitoring, sleep tracking, SpO2 monitoring, automatic workout detection and AI-powered wellness recommendations.

To access Google Health Coach, deeper fitness insights and guided workouts inside the app, users will still need to pay an additional $9.99 monthly Google Health Premium subscription.