Whoop is addressing mounting customer dissatisfaction over its controversial upgrade policy surrounding the recently launched Whoop 5.0 fitness tracker. Initially, the company provoked frustration among subscribers by announcing that obtaining the new device would require members either to extend their existing subscriptions by 12 months or pay a one-time upgrade fee of $49, with an enhanced EKG-enabled model priced higher at $79.
This policy diverged notably from Whoop’s established value proposition, which traditionally emphasized premium subscription fees—ranging between $199 and $359 annually—in return for regular, complimentary hardware upgrades. Further adding to the confusion, Whoop previously had stated publicly on its website that customers who maintained subscription plans for at least six months would receive free hardware upgrades.
After significant criticism by the user community, Whoop has partially reversed its original plan. In an explanatory post published on Reddit, the company clarified and broadened its upgrade terms. Under the revised policy, subscribers with more than 12 months remaining on their current subscription contracts can now upgrade to the Whoop 5.0 free of charge or receive refunds if they’d already paid the upgrade fee. Subscribers having fewer than 12 months remaining are being allowed to extend their subscriptions and secure the device at no extra cost.
Whoop’s statement acknowledged the confusion caused by previous communications, admitting that a previously published blog post had incorrectly promised free upgrades after just six months of membership. The company emphasized that this promise was incorrect, stating: “This was never our policy and should never have been posted.”
The company’s reasoning behind its unpopular initial upgrade policy involved its recent shift to longer-term subscription commitments, specifically moving away from monthly or shorter-duration subscriptions towards mandatory 12- and 24-month memberships.
Reaction within the customer community has been mixed. While some Reddit members saw the updated policy as a community-driven victory, others expressed lingering frustration, arguing that reversing the policy after backlash does not erase the perception of a poorly handled situation or the confusion its initial posting caused. Customers just shy of the newly revised 12-month eligibility cutoff also expressed disappointment, as they narrowly missed the opportunity to upgrade under the new terms.
