Factory Reset for Alta?

[madamlestrange]

How can I factory reset my alta?

[SunsetRunner]

The Charge HR & Charge are the only trackers with being able to factory reset. For all other trackers there's no known way for doing so (there's no Fitbit Help Articles to describe how to do this).

It's possible to restart the tracker,

Restart the tracker

URL: Click / Tap to open the Fitbit Help Article 'How do I restart the tracker?'

---

[jeszika]

You can reset the Alta buy plugging it in with the charger and pressing and holding the button on the left side (top for non-Mac desktops) of the USB end of the charger. I had to do this in order to sync my Alta.

[SunsetRunner]

Uhhhh...am I missing something? I don't see a button on my Alta or the charger.

[jeszika]

Refer to this picture; it's a small round button on the side of the USB end of the charger:

[SunsetRunner]

THANKS! Totally didn't see nor feel it!

[Julia_G]

@jeszika , just to clarify, what you have described is a restart of your Alta, not a factory reset.  A restart will not affect any of your data or your settings, but is a very good first step when troubleshooting, because it turns off any background activities that may be causing problems.

[Karatekelle]

When I googled it said that the Logo should appear if done correctly. I have tried 5 times and no Logo. My Alta won't sync with my Note 4. HELP! TIA

[kellykenney]

1. Plug your charging cable into a USB port on your computer or any USB power adapter.
2. Insert the other end of the cable into the port on the back of your Fitbit Alta™. Your Alta will begin charging.
3. Press the button on your charging cable three times within eight seconds, briefly pausing between presses. The button is on the end of the charging cable that is plugged into your computer. 
4. Eight seconds after the first button press, you'll see the Fitbit logo on the screen. This means Alta is restarting.
5. After you see the logo you can unplug your tracker from the charging cable.

[hartattack]

I'm having  the same problem - can't get my alta to restart.  Have pressed the button 3 times, and no logo - it just reverts to the clock face.  Very frustrated with this product!

[ADXGlock]

I had the same problem with setting the Alta up as well as doing the restart. 

In order to get the restart to work (see Fitbit logo) I had to do slower button pushes, meaning the press and release being slower.

That still did not resolve the setup issue with the phone being able to see it to get it set up, so what I did to get it to work was to use a PC and the USB dongle and set it up through the fitbit app there.  Once I did that, it performed a firmware update and then I was able to complete the setup with the phone app.

Hope this helps folks out there with the same issue.

[ksuraegan]

Using the dongle and going through the Windows 10 app worked for the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.  Just like they said.  Used the dongle, the Fitbit app found the tracker, then it did a firmware upgrade on the tracker and after I was able to set up the tracker on my phone.  Thanks!

[Teknikal]

This solution worked for me
1) plugged Alta in with USB cable to a power outlet

2) hit the button on the end of he USB cable 3 times in 2 second intervals

3) when the Fitbit logo comes up on the Alta. Tap the logo

4) have the app searching for an Alta while you do this

5) tracker was found and it installed on the app

[Bruce123]

I just got a fitbit alta but the data from yesterday did not reset to zero today.  Does anyone know how to do that?  Please be specific on the steps if you know how to reset the data

[Julia_G]

Hi, @Bruce123, there is no manual reset for data. The Alta should reset at midnight each night. Things that might prevent it from resetting are

1. incorrect timezone -- if the clock on your Alta is not set to the correct timezone it will not reset correctly.  You need to make sure your profile settings, including timezone , are correct.  More info here
2. changing timezone. Your Fitbit needs to "see" midnight. If a change in your timezone means you "jump over" midnight, it won't reset.
3. Updating around midnight. While doing sn update the Fitbit does not keep track of time, so if you update around midnight, it is likely that your Fitbit won't reset.
4. An unknown internal error.

If none of the first three apply, it is possible that it is number 4. The solution to problem number 4 is always to restart the tracker.  This will not reset the day's data (there is no way to do that, as I said), but it should mean that it won't repeat the next day.

[AndreaFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hey hey hey, thanks for stopping by! Currently there's no a Factory Reset for Fitbit Alta, as our friend @SunsetRunner mentioned before, you can only restart your device.  You can also follow @Julia_G's advise.

If you're still experiencing issues with your Alta and the advise didn't help, please come back with more details and we'll be glad to help. 

[TeddySis]

I just got my FitBit Alta today. Synced it as per directions to my iPhone 6. This was the sequence of events for me: received FitBit. Synced it and set it up to my iPhone. Let it charge. An hour and a half later, I put it on and walked 75 feet from my door to my car. Drove to a restaurant. Near the end of the meal, I see my FitBit shows I've "walked" 1.5k and about 700 steps. Walked 20 feet from restaurant to my car and drove home. Looked on the community to see what I could do as I have NOT walked that amount of steps. So I reset the FitBit. Now, my steps are no longer shown in the display on my FitBit. What gives? Did I get a lemon FitBit? Really frustrated right now. Thinking about returning and getting the Garmin but I don't want to. My personal trainer uses a FitBit and our plan was to share and "compete" using our FitBits.

[MarkInMonument]

Had the exact same problem and was nearly ready to send my Alta back because it didn't have support for the S7 Edge. You quick 2 line post did the trick. Good work Nancy Drew!

[AndreaFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @TeddySis and @MarkInMonument!  @TeddySis, sometimes your Fitbit will track steps while you're driving and it can be resolved by adding an activity "driving" Start to type it in the box and when the word Driving appears select it. Then put in the times you were in the car driving and it will remove the Steps and Stairs for that period.

I'm glad to hear you'll give your Alta a try @MarkInMonument, since your phone was recently released, it should be a compatible device soon. 

Thanks for stopping by, see you around!

[TeddySis]

Sent from my iPad