Pebble is a goner. The Fitbit buyout is official. And a Pebble post on Kickstarter (where else) reveals a host of bad news for owners and backers of the companies smartwatches, old and new.
We've always had a soft spot for Pebble's software, hardware and company ethos as we outlined here in our plea to Fitbit to take it seriously.
But, for now, there are more pressing matters at hand. Like, how much you should be losing your shit if you own a Pebble or have Kickstarted a Pebble. Because there are some not great things in that Kickstarter post – whether Pebble or Fitbit are to blame, it doesn't really matter.
Here's how pissed you should be, from 'most' to 'still quite a lot' to 'maybe count your blessings'.
Pebble 2
This one probably takes the biscuit. If you just received a Pebble 2, after waiting for months for it, you can't get a refund. And with support for your smartwatch being killed (more on that shortly) that's a big deal.
"Successfully-received Pebble 2 rewards are the only item not eligible for a Kickstarter pledge refund."
Plus, if you didn't submit your final shipping info, you're now not getting a Pebble 2 at all. (If you still want one, I'm sure you can get one on eBay pretty soon).
"The small number of Pebble 2 backers who did not submit the information required to finalize their reward shipments will also be refunded."
Pebble Time 2 & Pebble Core
So the Pebble Time 2, the Pebble Core GPS wearable and the Pebble Time Round Kickstarter Edition are all dead. Not in production, not happening.
"Eligible backers will automatically be refunded their pledges for any unfulfilled Pebble rewards (Time 2, Core, Time Round), plus any shipping, taxes, or duties paid."
Thousands of people have been waiting months for these wearables. The Time 2 should have shipped and the Core was due in January. Plus, with the current deal it's very unlikely we will see these products in any similar form from Fitbit – it's interested in software not hardware.
Oh, and the kick in the teeth – you might have to wait until March 2017 for the refund. Ugh.
"Kickstarter will refund eligible pledges by March 2017."
Still, considering all the points below, some Time 2 and Core backers might be pretty pleased to get a refund and move on.
Any Pebble you just bought
This one is a bit confusing but to clarify, Pebble isn't even guaranteeing refunds or exchanges on Pebble smartwatches bought directly from its online store. If you bought in store, it says to refer to that retailer's refund policy.
The only people getting refunds are people who returned before 7 December. Oh and if you bought a watch and it hasn't shipped, you're not getting it. It's really lower than the least they could do.
"Those who ordered and received a Pebble from pebble.com are no longer eligible for return or exchange.
"That said, we are processing and refunding any pebble.com returns that were successfully completed with our Support team before December 7, 2016, in addition to refunding any items purchased from pebble.com which did not ship by this date."
All existing Pebble watches
If you own a Pebble/Pebble 2/Pebble Time/Pebble Time Round, and want to keep using it, there's a couple of things you need to know.
Fitbit isn't going to support existing Pebbles, and given that so many of the features exist in the cloud, there's no guarantee your smartwatch will continue to work in the long term. Here's the word from Pebble, and take note of the words "for now".
"Active Pebble watches will work normally for now. Functionality or service quality may be reduced down the road. We don't expect to release regular software updates or new Pebble features."
Oh and there's no warranty or product support for ANY PEBBLE anymore. Oh dear. The post points people to support forums.
"One-to-one Pebble support is no longer available. Any Pebble currently out in the wild is no longer covered by or eligible for warranty exchange."
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