NordicTrack makes it seem as if it is required to activate iFit for their treadmills to work. They put labels all over the box and in the manuals and on the device saying you must activate it in order to use it. It says the treadmill is locked until you do so. This is NOT TRUE.
All you have to do is hold down the iFit button on the treadmill for like 15-30 seconds and it will allow you to move on. Your treadmill will work with all buttons on the machine, no matter if you turn it off or unplug it.
iFit appears to be some special feature that allows you to have custom workout routines, stored information but I think it only works on tablets and smartphones. Meaning there are no buttons on the device itself that require it. iFit also requires a subscription fee $15 a month. Basically they want to be able to track how you use the device, but also charge you for the extra App software features, that aren’t necessary. I think one of them uses Google street view and displays it on your tablet or smartphone so you can virtually jog that area.
Although part of me wonders if they will use this to see how many people actually use their devices and for how long. As in they can make machines that break within 2 years or possibly after 200 uses or something. As they might see many customers don’t use them anymore after that or something.
These machines are expensive enough and honestly I don’t think you really gain much by losing access to the apps and tracking. The tracking would be nice, but not in the fact it is sending it to NordicTrack. Many of their treadmills are considered “Smart Treadmills” which means, they are keeping personal information on people and how people use devices.
Also trying to break out of the “subscription” fee, will be hard. That’s on purpose, they don’t want you to cancel easily. Expect long phone calls, slow customer response and so forth as they hope you give up and just keep paying. Another option might be to use a prepaid credit card or use a credit card you plan to cancel briefly afterwards, but then they still can track your usage.