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Sarah Tew/CNET
Pivotal Living’s low-cost activity tracker has generated a lot of buzz. The company took a unique approach when it entered the wearable market, offering its Pivotal Tracker 1 for $12 in the US. That cost gets you the tracker and one year of access to the company’s mobile app. You can then pay another $12 the following year for another year of access to the app and (if you would like) a replacement tracker.
Things haven’t gone as planned, though. Users have complained of syncing problems, data loss and random reboots, among other problems. We can verify that these issues are prominent. Our experience with the Tracker 1 was initially very positive, which is one of the reasons why we rated the product positively . The device was tested with an iPhone 6 Plus a few weeks prior to widespread availability. As more devices began to reach customers, however, we too experienced problems with syncing and data loss. The Android app has also been troublesome since its release.
Pivotal Living co-founder and CEO David Donovick noted in an email to customers that the launch of the Tracker 1 “definitely didn’t go as smoothly as we anticipated.” He explained that “due to the overwhelming number of new user registrations, architectural issues were discovered within the app that caused complications with both communication (syncing) and scalability (registration)”
Donovick acknowledged that these problems caused frustration among customers and has promised improvements. The Pivotal Living mobile app and the company’s database has since been updated to address these service outages, which should result in improved performance for Android and iOS users. Additional Android fixes are required, however, and it could take another 2 to 4 weeks for them to be fully implemented.
A small number of users (less than 5 percent) experienced reset issues caused by static electricity. The company implemented what it calls “additional plastic welding changes” and is now offering those customers who experienced these issues the option to exchange their trackers for a new one or receive a full refund. Warranty claims can be placed by filling out this form on the company’s website.
Pivotal Living will also be extending membership by 12 months for free to all members who are registered on or before January 15.
