Starting November 28, 2026, Fitbit smartwatches can no longer install or update third-party apps and clock faces. Installed ones keep working until you delete them or factory reset the watch. The change covers the Sense, Sense 2, Versa, Versa Lite, Versa 2, Versa 3, Versa 4 and Ionic.
If you wear a Fitbit Sense or Versa, install any third-party clock face or app you want to keep before November 28, 2026. From that date, Google says in its Google Health help page, “you can no longer install or update third-party apps and clocks on Fitbit smartwatches.” What is already on your watch keeps working.
What changes on November 28
According to Google’s help page:
- New installs and updates of third-party apps and clock faces stop.
- Third-party apps and clocks already on the watch “will continue to work.”
- If you delete one or factory reset the watch, you can’t reinstall it.
- Apps and clocks made by Fitbit and Google stay available in the gallery.
- Google asks owners to update the Google Health app to version 5.12 so those apps keep working.
Google posted the notice in its Google Health community on November 9, according to 9to5Google. Developers can download their projects or ask for removal before the cutoff. After it, the gallery’s admin tools are retired, so no third-party developer can ship a fix.
Which watches are affected
Google lists the Fitbit Sense 2, Sense, Versa 4, Versa 3, Versa 2, Versa Lite, Versa and Ionic. The Ionic was recalled for burn risk, and Google’s notice points remaining owners to the voluntary recall. Google’s notice names no region, so it applies to US and Canadian owners alike. Europe already lost third-party apps and clocks in 2024, Notebookcheck notes. Per Notebookcheck, the Sense 2 and Versa 4 never ran third-party apps, so their owners lose outside clock faces only. Google has not given a reason for the change.
The notice covers Fitbit’s own smartwatches. It does not mention the Pixel Watch, which runs Wear OS and its own Play Store apps, or the Fitbit Edge and Fitbit Air trackers.
A factory reset now costs you your watch face
The practical risk is the reset. If you ever factory reset the watch after November 28, to fix a sync problem or before passing it on, any third-party face or app is gone for good. Before you reset, check whether your face comes from Fitbit or an outside developer, and keep it if you can fix the problem another way. Sense and Versa watches also stop updating clock faces once more than 38 apps are installed, Google says, so clear space before the deadline if you plan a last install.
If your watch’s value to you rests on a third-party app, such as a medical ID or a specific workout tracker, plan the replacement now. Version 5.12 is the same Google Health update that added blood pressure logging. For sleep tracking alone, a cheaper device can replace an aging Versa, and our sleep tracker guide compares the current options with US prices.