Android Oreo GPS Issue

[jdvp]

On Android Oreo, 8.0.0, I have an issue using GPS tracking for walks and runs with my Charge 2. Syncing seems to work and I can see the connection icon on my fitbit when I start the app. However, when I lock the device, the charge shows the phone not available icon and only recconnects to GPS when I unlock and open the app

[fitz1j]

Mine was working again until last night, after I got the update and then it worked again this morning.

So after the update last night I tried to go for a walk and use the GPS and I could see on the Fitbit app (foreground with my phone unlocked) that as soon I started the walk activity on my Fitbit (Charge 2) the location icon would appear in the taskbar but the Charge 2 would try for ~10s and then said "Check your Fitbit App".  I gave up after a handful of tries and then tracked the walk with the application.

Here is my usage pattern if this helps, this morning I did the usual pattern,

• Wake up
• Open FitBit app on Phone (Nexus 5x) to sync (sleep, steps, etc I have "all-day sync off)
• Dress for run, etc...
• Connect bluetooth headphones
• Start Audible Application
• Start Audible Playback
• Open Fitbit App, leave it in foreground
• Lock Phone
• Start run on Charge 2

At this point the Charge 2 connected to phone and GPS and everything worked.

GPS accuracy is not great, but that's a different issue.

I don't know what changed between last night and this morning.  I didn't reboot the phone, I tried that last night when it wasn't connecting, AFTER I received the app update, but before I went for a walk. I think maybe doing an activity on the phone app might have done the trick. I think I did that after the last time it wasn't working when I reported after the Marshmallow update.  I wasn't paying as close attention then to what changed when it started working again.

[Goosse1962]

My activity today was similar to @fitz1j. Nexus 5X with 'All-Day Sync' off. My differences are that I have use a Blaze and Amazon Music.

Today I took a short run and stopped twice to take photos of pretty trees against the first snow. Connection occurred right away and stayed the whole time. Even though the sky was overcast enough to interfere with GPS, I still had an accurate looking map at the end. I have location set to High Accuracy, which is why it likely worked.

When I activated the camera, the phone seemed sluggish. After I took the first photo and put the phone back in the holster, my music stopped. The phone seemed sluggish and Amazon Music was still running, however the Amazon Music widget was gone. I restarted my music and continued on my run. Other than the phone appearing sluggish, I didn't notice any other issues until after I arrived home and had stopped the run. Screebl (keeps the screen active when phone angle and other conditions are met) was no longer running.

I wonder if my phone is having issues with resource sharing. If it is, then is the issue hardware, Oreo, or and app that I have installed.

I have determined that when the Fitbit app resets (requires me to login again), it stops the Notification Widget, and restarting my phone is the only way to get GPS working the next time I activate an exercise.

I hope Fitbit finds a solution soon. Have a Terrific day!

[SunsetRunner]

Hey everyone, just reporting back after a few more days of use ... I'm on a Nexus 6P with Oreo (8.0.0) with a Charge 2, running the latest version of the Fitbit app (2.61). In walking recently (the past 5-10 days) I've noticed that I can start my workout tracking from my Charge 2 without any "Check Fitbit app" notifications. When I'm finished, the GPS path also shows up properly.

So, as of this latest version, my issues seem to be resolved. I couldn't be happier. Hopefully, others have a similar experience to report, too.

Thanks, Fitbit, in case you fixed anything 

[SunsetRunner]

Annnnnnd I spoke too soon ... went for a walk this morning and started off with tracking it through the Charge 2. Immediately, the phone icon on the display showed a slash/line through it, indicating a lack of connectivity. I shrugged and just began walking anyway, especially since this does happen from time to time, but self-resolves a number of minutes into my walk (or, the icon remains slashed-out but I end up with GPS data for whatever route I walk anyway).

Unfortunately, after walking, the icon was still slashed out, and none of my GPS data was saved from my phone. So, the issue still persists for me.

I'm going to revert to using my phone to track my walks/runs since that seems to work each time. The drawbacks are that I can't look at my wrist and see my stats like average pace, heart rate, distance, and so on ... but it's better than nothing I suppose.

(Just to recap, all of this is occurring with a Nexus 6P on Android 8.0.0 with version 2.61 of the Fitbit app. I'm using a Charge 2 tracker as well.)

[sqkywheel]

---

@SunsetRunner wrote:

(Just to recap, all of this is occurring with a Nexus 6P on Android 8.0.0 with version 2.61 of the Fitbit app. I'm using a Charge 2 tracker as well.)

---

I have exactly the same hardware and SW and am having the same issues. Posting to follow. Hope they fix this issue, very frustrating. I am switching to Strava for now to track my rides.

[SunsetRunner]

@sqkywheel +1

@AlessFitbit Would you please update us on where things stand with tracking and resolving this issue from Fitbit's developer teams?

[Asphodel]

Hey @AlessFitbit, any update on this issue? It's been going on for more than a month for me now, I feel like I bought a wearable paperweight.

A straightforward question: are Fitbit developers able to reproduce the issue?

It occurs to me that I haven't seen a picture or video of what's going on, so I thought I would post one clearly showing the "Check Fitbit app" screen, as well as the phone-with-line-through-it icon when trying to track a run: https://photos.app.goo.gl/DNN9277aNOqIfl8A3

I just got off the phone with Fitbit support and, after 30 minutes of "read the FAQ out loud" I got him to acknowledge that it is a known bug. What can we do to move it up the priority queue?

[AlessFitbit]

@Asphodel Thanks for providing a video! This was super helpful and made me realize this is affecting a majority of Charge 2 users. I will escalate this information to the Android team so they can investigate further.

Thanks everyone for your patience!

[Asphodel]

Thanks for staying in touch; let us know if there's anything we can do to help. I'm happy to be a beta tester or bug reporter (although admittedly with an intermittent issue like this, it can be difficult ;).

Cheers,

-A

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks @AlessFitbit! And thanks @Asphodel for uploading that video ... that's exactly what my experience is like as well. Count me in as a beta or bug tester as well... my setup is Android 8.0.0 on a Nexus 6P with a Charge 2. I'm using firmware version 22.22.55.2 on my Charge 2 and version 2.61 of the Fitbit app.

Thanks again, @AlessFitbit!

[fitz1j]

@AlessFitbit I hate to be the cynic here, but there's nothing in that video that hasn't been reported several times. There's 6 pages here of people complaining about this. I alone have posted at least 3 times on this thread with information about this issue.  I'm dismayed and disappointed to hear that this hasn't been escalated to the Android team already!

[GST49]

One thing I have tried with success, is to stop then restart Bluetooth on my
Google Pixel XL, then I make sure my Blaze is resynced with my phone before
starting my bike rides. The only time in the past three weeks that this did
not work was when my Blaze battery was real low and I did not discover that
until I had started out, and the connection with my phone dropped real
quick.



Fitbit app ver. 2.60.1, Android 8.0.0, Blaze firmware 17.8.402.1. My Fitbit
app is set to All-Day Sync, and Always Connected, and I do not run other
apps during my 15+ mile rides.

[AlessFitbit]

Great news! I have an update for you all. I really appreciate you all being patient while I gather more information. I know troubleshooting for this GPS issue hasn't been easy and I hope this next suggestion will help. 

Please try the following:

1. Search "Optimization" in Settings 
2. Then select "Battery optimization" 
3. Click on the dropdown at the top of the screen that says "Not optimized"
4. Change to "All apps," select Fitbit and set it to "Not optimized" 

If this helps with your connection to GPS, please let me know. I'll be around to see if this works for you all! If you have any questions, please let me know. 

[fitz1j]

No, mine has been set like this since marshmallow came out, and even in
nougat, I had the equivalent setting.

[SunsetRunner]

@AlessFitbit Mine did not have this setting applied, so I configured the Fitbit app to not be optimized. I will test this and let you know how things go. Thanks a ton for the suggestion.

[JasonAnder]

@AlessFitbit I applied the setting yesterday and went for a 20 minute, 4 mile bike ride today. My Fitbit only logged .03 miles. I am starting to get very frustrated with this defective product.

[CKTHONG]

My Oneplus 3 was updated with Android Oreo yesterday and my Charge 2 stop syncing. I tried a bunch of steps troubleshooting including reinstall the app, re-pair the device and finally it work after I "forget" the paired device in Android Bluetooth setting.

Then I found out the syncing still doesn't work when the app is not on screen. I had set fitbit app to "not optimized" yet it still doesn't help.

[timvdalen]

I tried to switch off battery optimization for the FitBit app and went for a walk.

This time, one point on the map was logged with GPS.

I just got my FitBit a few weeks ago, and the GPS function hasn't worked for me yet.

I specifically went with the Charge 2 instead of the Alta HR because of the connected GPS function.

[fadhly]

Anybody still experiencing this issue? i'm on fitbit app version 2.62.1 & still got issue with the gps

[Elliekennard]

Does the phone app track the walk correctly with GPS? Forget the actual Fitbit connecting with the app during the walk, but set the app to track your walk. Does it work?