‘Unfit’: Class Action Claims iFIT At-Home Fitness Equipment Plagued by Connectivity Problems [UPDATE]

A proposed class action filed this week claims home fitness equipment made by iFIT Health and Fitness, Inc. is defective in that the machines’ workout-streaming capabilities are hampered by severe connectivity problems.

The 54-page case says that although iFIT has advertised its NordicTrack-, ProForm-, Freemotion- and Matrix-brand equipment as able to “function seamlessly” with the company’s on-demand workout streaming service, which purportedly allows users to stream “a wide variety” of fitness classes directly to their video-equipped machines, the products frequently experience connectivity and performance problems, including audio and video lag, buffering, freezing, poor picture quality, and even total failure.

The connectivity issues apparently occur so frequently that some users have found that they’re unable to complete most workouts without experiencing a problem, the filing relays.

Be sure to scroll down to see which iFit NordicTrack, ProForm, Freemotion and Matrix products are covered by the lawsuit.

As the lawsuit tells it, it’s only after paying a “substantial premium,” sometimes thousands of dollars, for iFIT’s treadmills, stationary bikes, elliptical machines, rowers and other streaming-capable home training equipment that consumers come to learn of the pervasive connectivity and streaming issues, which the case says render the products essentially useless.

The suit contends that the various “fixes” iFIT has recommended to users—such as restarting their equipment, placing a wireless router next to their machine, asking other household members to stop using the internet during a workout, purchasing a dual band router or mesh network, or using a cell phone as a hotspot—have failed to consistently solve the connectivity problems at issue. As a result, the case says, consumers have paid a premium price for fitness equipment that fails to stream video as expected and intended.

“Absent these performance properties, iFIT equipment is nothing more than outdated fitness equipment sold at inflated prices,” the complaint reads.

iFIT equipment far from “connected,” suit says

The lawsuit charges that although iFIT describes itself as a “health and fitness subscription technology company” that provides “connected fitness products” in a market dominated by giants such as Peloton, these representations are a far cry from customers’ experiences with the company’s at-home machines and streaming service. According to the suit, online forums are filled with consumer complaints about connectivity problems with their iFIT devices, including buffering, freezing, poor audio/video quality, and complete video failure.

One plaintiff, for example, says he experiences total video failure during 75 to 80 percent of the workouts he performs on his $850 NordicTrack s22i Studio Bike. When a video doesn’t completely fail, the man otherwise experiences audio and video lag, buffering, and poor picture quality about 20 to 25 percent of the time, according to the complaint.

The other plaintiff in case reports having experienced similar issues with his $1,999 s22i Studio Bike, claiming that “a substantial percentage of his workouts have resulted in the workout dropping and the bike having to reboot and/or total video failure.”

Consumers report that iFIT-enabled fitness equipment will spontaneously cease streaming (or repeatedly freeze) while the equipment is in use, often notifying users that the video should resume in 5 seconds, only to fail to do so.”

Although consumers have attempted to address the streaming connectivity problems—including by moving their router, adding a WiFi extender or mesh networking device (such as Google mesh), stopping other streaming activities while someone is exercising, purchasing a dual band router, and using their cell phone’s hot spot instead of their home internet network—these efforts have all failed to fix the underlying defect, the lawsuit alleges.

According to the suit, iFIT “knew or should have known” that its fitness equipment and streaming service are defective yet “made no effort” to resolve the problem before selling the devices to the public.

Per the suit, iFIT has attempted to avoid performing warranty repairs by placing the onus on consumers to attempt to fix the connectivity problems, commonly by blaming their WiFi networks. Even when the company determines that a warranty repair is needed, customers are often required to pay a handling charge for replacement parts, or a trip charge for in-home service, according to the case.

Meanwhile, iFIT has failed to disclose the apparent defect to consumers or come up with a permanent fix “despite knowing the Defect persists today,” the lawsuit contends.

Which iFIT devices are covered by the lawsuit?

The lawsuit looks to cover all iFIT-enabled fitness equipment, but specifically identifies the following machines:

NordicTrack

Treadmills	Bikes	Ellipticals	Strength	Rowers
Commercial 1750	S27i Studio Bike	FS14i	Fusion CST Studio	RW900
Commercial 2450	S22i Studio Bike	FS10i	Fusion CST	RW700
Elite Treadmill	FREE S15i Bike	Commercial 14.9	Vault: Complete	RW600
Commercial X22i	Commercial R35	FREE Commercial 9.9	Vault: Standalone
Commercial X32i	Commercial VR25	Studio Elliptical	iSelect Voice-Controlled Dumbbells
EXP 14i	Commercial VU 29	SpaceSaver SE9i
EXP 10i	Commercial VU 19	SpaceSaver SE7i
EXP 7i
Elite 1000
FREE C 1100i
Elite 900

ProForm

Treadmills	Bikes	Ellipticals	Rowers	Strength
Pro 9000	Studio Bike Pro 22	Pro HIIT H14	Pro 750R Rower	Vue
Pro 2000	Carbon CX	Pro HIIT H14 (Prev. Model)	Pro R10 Rower
Carbon T14	Studio Bike Pro	Carbon HIIT H7	440R Rower
Carbon T10	Pro C10R	Carbon EL
Carbon T7	Pro C10U	Carbon E10
City L6	Hybrid Trainer XT	Hybrid Trainer XT
Trainer 9.0	Studio Bike Limited	Carbon HIIT H10
Trainer 8.0	TDF CSC
	500 SPX

Freemotion

Treadmills	Bikes	Ellipticals
i22.9 Incline Trainer	CoachBike	e10.9b Total Body Elliptical
i10.9b Incline Trainer	u22.9 Upright Bike	e8.9b Total Body Elliptical
t22.9 Reflex	r22.9 Recumbent Bike
t10.9 Internal Reflex	r10.9b Recumbent Bike
t10.9b Reflex	u10.9b Upright Bike
t8.9b	u8.9b Upright Bike
	r8.9b Recumbent Bike

Matrix

Treadmills	Bikes	Ellipticals
TF30	R30	E30
TF50	R50	E50
T30	U30	A30
T50	U50	A50
T75	ICR50
Climbmill C50

Who does the lawsuit look to cover?

The lawsuit aims to cover any person or entity in the United States who purchased an iFIT-enabled fitness device, including those mentioned above.

How do I join the lawsuit?

There’s usually nothing you need to do to join or be considered part of a class action lawsuit when it’s first filed. The time to take action is typically if and when a lawsuit settles, which could take months or years. If the case settles, those who are covered, called “class members,” should receive notice of the settlement (often by mail or email) with instructions on how to file a claim for their share.

In the meantime, one of the best things you can do is stay informed. We’ll update this page with any notable news.

If you own a NordicTrack, ProForm, Freemotion or Matrix fitness machine, or just want to stay in the loop on class action lawsuit and settlement news, sign up for ClassAction.org’s free weekly newsletter.