My Fitbit app keeps telling me to enter valid activity

[Helenlouise1]

My fitbit app keeps telling me to enter valid activity, for example walking ect it won't recognise the built in ones in data base, even cleaning. I've reset app and phone and forced stop ect but still not allowing me

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject.

[sjrily]

Today I tried to enter an activity (through both the app home screen  + button  and through "add activity" in the exercise tab) and discovered a new problem.

After selecting an activity from the ever-shrinking, uneditable, pre-determined drop down list generated by the search box,  I enter my activity details with no problem. 

When trying to save, however, the activity name box border turns red and below it there's a message in red text "Enter a valid activity name." 

I didn't type a name into the box, I typed different letters to generate the ever-shrinking (ect) activity choice Fitbit allows, and selected that, so Fitbit is not allowing even its own (ect, ect) activities. 

I restarted phone/app, cleared app cache, checked for spacing, tried other activity names (VERY difficult to do, but that's another problem), different times/days, with no luck.

The add activity feature was one of the more important ones for me, but it's become less and less useful  over time.

Perhaps Fitbit plans on axing it (and the ability to edit logged activities - we know they've already axed the ability to add custom activies), in favor of auto-recognized activies only,  so maintaining feature software isn't a concern. Seems counter productive, and would certainly dismiss a lot of users, but I don't know how else to interpret the feature's continued deterioration. 

(Sorry, venting)

[LZeeW]

@sjrily   I moved your post to the Android app forum, a better fit for this issue.  Your recent posts show that you use an Android phone.

[optic747]

I use this functionality multiple times a week and only started having an issue and receiving the error yesterday, Tuesday, April 8. Is it an issue with the latest Android app release?

[Pat99999]

I have the same problem 😞 

[Linda2607]

I had the same issue yesterday.  Was advised to update to latest Firmware by Support - now I cannot log any manual activities - they simply do not save

[Pat99999]

Does this problem not occur with Apple then?

[sjrily]

Thank you!

[kellymg02]

I'm having the same issue as well with my Android. 🤨

[LZeeW]

@Pat99999   Most app bugs are in one platform, not both.  No problem on iOS.

[FBMum]

Me too, the identical issue - it won't let me log Martial Arts, yet finds it when I search.  Same Red box and 'Enter valid activity name' when I try to add an activity manually in Fitbit on an S24 android phone.  Surely it must be a valid activity if it's finding it when I search for an acitvity after a couple of letters entered.

[AndreaFitbit]

Hi team! Thank you for reporting this error message you're getting on the Android app and for your feedback. 

Our team is aware and working on a fix. 

I'll let you know if I get any updates.

[Tchristopher]

Add me to the list.  It started about April 8.  Can't log yoga, weights, or weightlifting.

[AndreaFitbit]

Thanks for getting back to us.

Please try these steps:

When manually entering a manual exercise, manually type the name exactly as it appears on the screen (i.e. "Weights", "Pilates") and instead of selecting a drop-down selection.

Let me know if it works.

[kellymg02]

It's working now!!  Thank you!!

[Pat99999]

It seems quite random as to how to enter the activity. Sometimes choosing
drop down works. Other times not - typing with upper and lower case as in
drop-down then may work. I have managed to record some activities but does
not feel stable.

[kellymg02]

It's back to not letting me enter the activity. I can't manually type it in either.

[sjrily]

It SOMETIMES works. I tried Yoga and Gardening  and in both cases I had to type the entire word, THEN select the dropdown choice, then it worked. 

If it's a two-word activity, it may or may not work, depending on whether the search results remains visible after typing all words (see below). Horseback riding worked, but I had to fully type both words (casing as indicated). Typing Horseback Riding fails (though search results remains visible and can be selected), so its like the entry is trying to use what's typed in search box field to log the (case sensitive, valid) activity, instead of the populated activity box field. 

Treadmill Manual Log fails, but for a different reason. As I noted in another thread, the search only offers results after two-three letters are typed (pretty much requiring you to already know what's available to select, which changes from month to month), but then the search result sometimes DISAPPEARS after you type several more letters. Treadmill Manual Log used to disappear around the m in mill; currently it's disappearing when you type a space after Treadmill.

SO, because you can't fully type Treadmill Manual Log without the search results disappearing, you can't select it, so that's always a fail. (The single word activity Treadmill existed a couple months ago, but vanished with other practical things like household chores, yardwork and bowling, but that's another thread).

Definitely not stable, and hasn't been for a while. But, I'm actually hopeful now that the practical activities I used to add before they were removed may actually still be there -  we just can't see them because their casing doesn't match coding or I'm not holding my tongue right when I type 🤪

[Tchristopher]

Sjrily,
Thank you so much for that advice. Using a capital Y, I was able to enter
three yoga practices for this week, and then one weights workout. I really
appreciate the guidance.

While I'm glad there is a work-around, Fitbit really needs to correct this
glitch. It is very inconvenient to have to type the entire word-case
sensitive. It defeats the whole point of auto-fill.

Again, thanks for the solution.

[B7719]

I am having the same issues 😞