Some customers have received the Google Fitbit Air ahead of the expected May 26 window, but Android users are reporting pairing failures because the required Google Health 5.0 app update hasn’t fully rolled out yet. Google has acknowledged the issue and says t
A welcome surprise has turned into a frustrating stop sign for some early buyers of Google’s screenless fitness tracker. Customers have started receiving the Google Fitbit Air ahead of its expected May 26 delivery window, only to find the device can’t pair with their phones.
On a Reddit thread over the weekend, one user said they had received their order early—then immediately hit a wall when the phone refused to connect. “Got mine today as well, but I’m stuck on — app update required — and can’t actually pair it,” they wrote.
A member of Google’s product team stepped into the discussion and confirmed the problem is real. tied to the app version needed for setup. “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 product team member said.
Google began rolling out version 5.0 of the Google Health app a few days earlier. One detail stood out to early adopters: some Pixel owners report the update already arrived. while others say it hasn’t reached their devices yet. That uneven rollout is what’s leaving certain Android customers stuck at “app update required. ” unable to pair the Fitbit Air despite receiving the hardware.
The same exchange also touched on a question many fitness users ask the moment a new wearable ecosystem lands: can Google Health feed Apple’s system?. When another user asked whether Google Health can write data to Apple Health and Apple Fitness. the product team member replied that support for writing to Apple Health is “coming soon. ” describing future sync possibilities between Google Health-tracked data and Apple’s ecosystem.
Between the early shipments and the missing app update. the experience so far has been less “out of the box” and more “out of sync.” Google’s response makes the path clear—get Google Health 5.0 on Android—but for anyone whose delivery arrived before their update did. the tracker is effectively waiting in the background until Play catches up.
Google Fitbit Air Google Health 5.0 Android pairing issue Play Store rollout iOS App Store update Apple Health sync screenless fitness tracker Fitbit Air deliveries
So it’s just broken until they push an app update? Cool cool.
I swear these early tech deliveries always turn into some kind of nonsense. If it can’t pair then what am I supposed to do, stare at it?
If the Pixel people got the update already then it’s basically a Pixel tax lol. I bet they’ll blame Android being “slow” but my iPhone updates fine so why not make it universal.
They should’ve shipped the Air with the app already. Also the part about Apple Health “coming soon” sounds like it’ll never happen, like always. I bought mine thinking it would just work, not sit there while Play Store decides when I’m worthy or whatever.