Android Fitbit app feedback

[Timppe]

Being a Fitbit user for over two years now I would like to share some observations with the Community.

We have 4 Fitbit devices in our family: 3 x Charge 2 and one Versa. I have the Versa and Charge 2 both connected to my Android phone and my wife and son have their Charge 2's.

The Good:

• As the syncing has been a real issue for a long time it finally seems to work better on 3.xx versions. No more tens of daily Bluetooth restarts ("Bluetooth issues" message boxes) nor app killings. My Oneplus 5 syncs now quite well with both devices. My wife's Huawei play doesn't need daily reboots to get the sync working only occasional BT restarts.
• Connected GPS doesn't drop connections anymore.
• Real time heart rate and step tracking now work even with Connected GPS running.

The Bad:

• Although Connected GPS doesn't drop connection anymore the app now calculates distances over 10% too long rendering the whole exercise feature useless. Displayed pace if too fast, too. This used to work on earlier versions before some of the many "Bug fixes and improvements". I have verified this using Runkeeper and Sports Tracker among other apps. I have literally hundreds of walks from home to work and back and the distance is about 4.8km in one direction. Todays result: Runkeeper: 4.79km, Sports Tracker 4.82km and Fitbit  That's (which of the two?) not correct while it's off by over 10%. And now comes the most interesting thing: I exported the exercise in question as a .tcx file and processed the file using a Python program. The program uses two different library algorithms to compute the distance between two positions (lat + lon): Great Circle and Geodesic Distance. Thus, by using the GPS coordinates in the Fitbit-supplied file the results were: Great Circle: 4.83 km and Geodesic: 4.84 km. The values are OK! This means that the recorded GPS coordinates are OK but the app is faulty.
• Real time heart rate and step tracking doesn't work on Charge 2 (the second device) if Versa is connected (the first device). It doesn't work even when wearing Charge 2 and Versa cannot be found as I left it home. This used to work on earlier versions before some of the many "Bug fixes and improvements". The "inactive" device should be ignored.

The Ugly:

• The main goal is still repainted on every change on the page like heart rate change causing a "pumping effect" when the outer circle gets redrawn. That used to be worse (all circles repainted) before this apparently quick-and-dirty fix. However this only applies if the goal has been reached (circle is full).

I really suggest that Fitbit concentrates on fixing the sync, distance and other big issues rather that changing the colors or other cosmetic things. It that's not possible for some reason, let's hope that Google brings the necessary resources to fix these long lasting issues for good.

Cheers,

Tim

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @Timppe. Welcome on board!

It's great to know that your family is part of Fitbit and thanks for taking the time to share detailed feedback about the Fitbit app on Android. Our team constantly works on every product based on the comments posted in the Forums to deliver what our users want and need, and I'm sure this post won't go unnoticed.

In regards to the issue with the map details not matching the exercise summary, this has been reported to our team and they're currently working to bring a solution to all our members as soon as possible. At this moment we don't have a time frame, but I'd recommend to keep the Fitbit app up-to-date to ensure that you'll get the latest improvements.

With the heart rate icon, it'll have pumping effect when you have your phone and Fitbit nearby, syncing and with the live data function enabled. This will not happen with the activity stats (steps, floors, calories, etc), instead the circle will be filling out during the day to let you know how close you're from reaching the goal.

If you have any other question, feel free to let me know.