Your Fitbit may not be able to work independently from your phone, but Quick Replies does mean Android users can send messages back right from their wrist.
The messaging feature - which still isn't available for iOS Fitbit users - essentially allows you to select from a group of emojis and pre-typed sentences and reply to the likes of texts, Gmail emails, Twitter notifications and Facebook Messenger prompts.
You'll need a Fitbit Charge 3, Fitbit Ionic or Fitbit Versa 2 (or original Versa) device in order to take advantage of Quick Replies, and below are all the details on how to get set up.
- Learn more about your Fitbit: Our ultimate guide to Fitbit devices
Does your phone support Quick Replies?
As we just mentioned, you'll need to connect your Fitbit to an Android phone to use Quick Replies - so, anybody with an iPhone will have to deal with just regular Fitbit notifications.
Specifically, you'll need to have your Fitbit paired to an Android smartphone running Android 7.0 or later. To find out whether your phone does, head to the 'Settings' section of your Android device - it should be hidden away near the 'System' or 'About' areas.
Apps that work with Quick Replies
Quick Replies currently work with a small selection of apps, including Twitter, Gmail and Facebook Messenger. They will also work with text messages received on your smartphone.
If you want to know which apps are supported, you can do this from inside the Fitbit companion smartphone app. To view this list, open up the app and tap on the 'Account' icon before selecting your device.
From there, you'll see the option for 'Notifications' and then you can dive into 'Quick Replies'. Tap this and it'll display a list of compatible apps that are currently installed on your smartphone.
Customizing your Fitbit Quick Reply options
If you follow the steps described above to find the apps that work with Quick Replies, you can also tap on those supported apps to see the default replies you can choose from.
These default replies come in two options – Text and Emojis. You'll have a maximum of five replies to store and choose from.
The good news is that you can override the default options to come up with your own. For text replies, you have a 60 character limit.
For emoji replies, tap the emoji you want to replace and this will bring up your emoji tray to swap to something you use on a more regular basis.
When you've decided on your new replies, tap the back arrow button at the top of the screen to save the changes.
The next time you sync your Fitbit, the new Quick Replies will be synced and should be available.
Using Quick Replies on Fitbit
Once you've decided on your customized responses and synced them to your device, you can start using them.
When a notification appears on your device, you should see the option of 'Reply' or 'Replies'. If you don't see these options, that particular app doesn't support this feature.
However, if they do, simply select the pre-typed text or emoji and send it across.
How we test
Conor moved to Wareable Media Group in 2017, initially covering all the latest developments in smartwatches, fitness trackers, and VR. He made a name for himself writing about trying out translation earbuds on a first date and cycling with a wearable airbag, as well as covering the industry’s latest releases.
Following a stint as Reviews Editor at Pocket-lint, Conor returned to Wareable Media Group in 2022 as Editor-at-Large. Conor has become a wearables expert, and helps people get more from their wearable tech, via Wareable's considerable how-to-based guides.
He has also contributed to British GQ, Wired, Metro, The Independent, and The Mirror.