Fitbit food‑logging outage: search and barcode scanner failing for many users

Many Fitbit users are reporting problems with the app’s food‑logging features: searches for foods return blank results and the barcode scanner shows a maintenance error. The issues started appearing in the last 24 hours and affect both the search interface and barcode scanning, with only manual/custom food entry still working reliably.

Users have tried updating the app and reinstalling it without success, and some say they rely on Fitbit’s calorie counts for dieting or tracking goals — which is obviously disrupted when you can’t log items. Google (Fitbit’s parent company) has not yet published an official statement at the time of writing.

Symptoms reported

• Food search results load but display as blank or empty lists.
• Barcode scanner returns a “maintenance” or error message and fails to scan items.
• Custom/manual food creation still appears to work for many users.
• Reinstalling or updating the app has not fixed the problem for some users.

Workarounds and tips

• Use manual/custom food entries for now to keep your logs reasonably accurate.
• Consider temporarily tracking meals in another app (e.g. MyFitnessPal) and importing or referencing totals later.
• Check Fitbit’s official status pages and social channels for updates and any notices about outages.
• Keep the app updated — a fix may arrive quickly via an app update or server-side patch.

For more reporting on the outage, see the original coverage (opens in a new tab): Engadget: Fitbit appears to be experiencing a partial outage. You can also visit Fitbit support for troubleshooting steps (opens in a new tab): help.fitbit.com.

Discussion: Has your Fitbit food logging broken? What workaround are you using (manual entry, another app, or waiting it out)? Share your experience and any fixes you find.