Fitbit has quietly added a major feature to the Charge 5’s activity trackers and it’s all about tracking your phone rather than you.
The latest firmware, version 57.20001.171.50, which arrived on Tuesday, adds the ability to ping your paired smartphone and make it make a loud noise to find you. After using the “find phone” button, pressing the “cancel” prompt on the Fitbit Charge 5 will stop the noise.
The feature isn’t new to Fitbit, but was previously exclusive to the company’s smartwatches such as the Versa and Sense lines. Naturally, using the feature requires a phone to be paired via Bluetooth, next to the watch and running the Fitbit app in the background. The phone location feature should work on any phone that supports the Fitbit app.
Adding utility silently
While it’s strange that Fitbit, which is now owned by Google, didn’t make a big deal about the Charge 5’s newfound phone location capability, it’s the only notable feature in this firmware update. Fitbit’s own Versa smartwatch lineup is priced the same when it goes on sale, so it’s possible the company didn’t announce the feature out loud because it doesn’t want to cannibalize Versa sales.
However, the feature adds more utility (nothing like finding that lost iPhone) to the already value-oriented fitness tracker and gives those who don’t want a full-fledged smartwatch another way to find a lost smartphone. Fitbit also has the benefit of not being locked into a specific ecosystem. Samsung and Apple watches have similar features but they are only for Samsung and Apple phones respectively.
If you’re thinking about this or other new smart wearables, check out ‘s latest fitness tracker roundup.