App crashes when trying to view exercise

[Maxe83]

I start tracking a walk from the app. Right after I finish I can see the distance etc and also the map of the route.

If I then try to see it again later on, the app only shows the duration and shortly after crashes. 

I have restarted the phone and the app several times but it keeps happening.

Also unistalled and reinstalled the app with no improvement.

This started to happen like a month ago and I have not changed the Fitbit (Charge 6) or the phone (Google Pixel 7).

I have never had this issue before and I've used the app since 2018 on different phones and with different Fitbit products.

Any tips or anyone else with this issue?

[scot53]

I bought a Sense a couple of months ago and until 2 days ago it worked fine. Now when I try to open the screen with the complete data and map after a walk, it freezes for a long time (apparently attempting to load GPS data), before it ultimately crashes back out to the 'Today' screen. The data shows up in the online dashboard.

I have tried the following:
Rebooted both watch and phone multiple times.
Stopped and started GPS on phone multiple times
Reinstalled the Android app
And yes, all permissions are set correctly

This is all the more worrisome since I have read that Google will soon discontinue the online dashboard.

[MH42]

Also crashes with Charge 6 on Samsung Galaxy s10e/Android 12. Data was always visible on fitbit.com so GPS data was collected. This is an App issue.

[scot53]

Yes, clearly an app bug, which was why I posted it here. Suddenly started working again a couple of days ago. I suspect low memory issues - regardless, it shouldn't crash and with the web dashboard going away, there will be no other way to view the data.

[MH42]

Mine is still crashing. Could be memory my GPS walks are 5 to 9 miles. Always worked until the word Google appeared on the bottom of the map.  Of course when it freezes/crashes you can't see the activity statistics 

[scot53]

'Always worked until the word Google appeared...' lol let's hope Fitbit isn't joining the long list of 'things killed by Google'

You might want to try freeing up memory - run a cleaner and stop bg apps before opening fitbit?

[MH42]

Ran Android cleaner, indicating 2.5GB Ram available, no change. Sometimes crash, other times it reverts back to the main screen. Speculating in lieu of facts, it seems like it's waiting for data and then times out

[LZeeW]

@Maxe83   I moved your post to the Android app forum, a better fit for your issue.  When you start your walk on the phone app, all of the data comes from your phone.  It doesn't matter what model Fitbit you use.  I hope your issue gets the attention it deserves here.

[SunsetRunner]

I have the same issue with my Fitbit Sense. The software on my android phone is up to date. My app is up to date. When I try to view a GPS tracked activity (via my Fitbit Sense) I initially see some metrics and a blank screen where the map should be. Sometimes it will load after a long wait but other times it just gives up and throws me out. When it does load it is not worth the wait as the resolution and detail on the maps are so poor it is like a child drew them with a crayon. Also, the lines on the map jump about all over the place. 

I find it easier to view my GPS tracked activities through a free account with Strava (no need for the subscription version unless you are very keen on more analysis). Even though the data has come from the same source (my Fitbit Sense), the user experience and quality of information is far better through Strava. I reported the app issue via Fitbit Live Chat. All the advocate wanted me to do was reset my device back to factory settings. They all seem to be told to tell customers to do this without any warning that it could damage your device irreparably and if it is out of warranty they will not take responsibility for breaking your device.

[Dcarruth]

I'm having the same problem. It just started happening in the last two days.

Try to view the exercise, blank map, overall duration and stalls there. Eventually it stops trying and goes back to the Today screen. 

[Triletics]

The issue seems to be occurring only for longer activities (although I can't define the threshold for length but I believe it's when the GPS data has too many waypoints). For example, this is how it crashes when I open details of one of my runs which used to work before (also, it's painfully slow to load the metrics screen but the Android app was always sluggish):

 So far Fitbit is quiet not even acknowledging the issue.

[Dcarruth]

I think you're on the right track. I had a short (approx 1 mile) exercise and it's fine. The 3+ mile ones are not loading.

[SunsetRunner]

That is exactly my experience. Walks of short duration load, longer ones do not. When they do load the maps are garbage. The image below was supposed to be a circular walk but this is how it looks on the Fitbit app. It looks like a child drew it with a crayon and then tried to scribble it out.

I know the issue is an app issue as now I have installed Strava. I can see the exact same walks I do using the exact same device (my Fitbit Sense) and they look fine in the Strava app but like the image above in the Fitbit app. This makes the advocates instruction to do a full factory reset, which would have probably damaged my device irreparably as it did when they said the same thing to my wife, all the more annoying. These advocates are representing Fitbit and have a duty of care to give out responsible advice. They are supposed to be the experts, or have access to experts, and customers rely on their instructions.

DO NOT CARRY OUT A FACTORY RESET IF INSTRUCTED TO BY AN ADVOCATE UNLESS YOUR DEVICE IS STILL IN WARRANTY.

[Triletics]

I was apparently wrong. Swimming with no GPS at all shows the same behaviour. Can't open my today's pool swim details. First it backs out to the main screen, crashes app on second attempt. Well, not a big surprise that Fitbit doesn't test releases 🤷

[Franko1]

Same problem here. Pixel Watch 2 + Pixel 6a. Similarly buggy when logging in on my Samsung phone.
Screen loads and then freezes on page 1 or first viewable page. After 20 secs Fitbit aborts and goes back to the main home page.
Can be ok when viewing a short walk - displays all data inc tracked GPS.
When web portal was available I could view all the data on portal but NOT in the app.
The data appears to load ok into Google Fit although the tracked GPS does not show.  
Loading GPS data appears to be the problem in the Fitbit app

[SunsetRunner]

The issue with the GPS tracked activities with my Fitbit Sense and the maps looking a mess was supposed to have been escalated and I was supposed to receive an email with an update. In keeping with the truly awful levels of customer services and the outright lies we now receive, needless to say I have never been contacted. To be honest, I don't believe the advocate I dealt with (Alejandro) even bothered to escalate it. All he wanted to do was ruin my device by repeatedly trying to get me to carry out a factory reset when I was a 100% sure there was nothing wrong with my device. Given my wife's experience of doing this, in all probability such a reset would have killed a perfectly good device completely as it did hers.

Anyway, I have managed to diagnose the issue myself and it was an app issue, not a device issue (I guess Alejandro will need to update the scripts he follows and the templates he pastes into Live Chats). On your smartphone, if you go into its settings (not the Fitbit settings but your phone settings), locate apps and then click on the Fitbit one, open up permissions. One of the permissions is location. I had it set to "allow only while using the app" as it was none of Fitbit's business where I was when I was not using the app. However, this was what was causing the map issues. When I changed it to "allow all the time" the maps displayed correctly.

I naively thought that because my Fitbit Sense has an inbuilt GPS, it was that that recorded all my activity and location. It certainly used to so something has changed in the background. However, it seems that whilst Strava can still use this data to accurately produce a map of my activities, Fitbit's app cannot anymore unless the location permission is set to "allow all the time".

Now all I do is leave the permission set to "allow only while using the app" until just before I go for a walk, when I change it to "allow all the time". As soon as I complete my walk I just switch it back. It is a pain to have to keep doing this but if that's what it takes to get accurate maps and Fitbit not being able to monitor my every move then so be it.

[Maxe83]

Thank you all for your help.

After checking I already had allowed the app to track location always so unfortunately that didn't help.

So apparently what is left is to download another app for seeing the map and live with this issue until Fitbit realises that it is an app issue and not a device issue.

[MH42]

Updated Fitbit to 4.21 (110085519) - Samsung S10e/Android 12. Old GPS walks (5+ miles) still crash, and this mornings (post update, 6+ miles) GPS walk crashes.

Of course when the screen freezes, you can't even scroll down to see the walk statistics.

It has become completely useless, at least for this.

Sadly though, it's utter failure here brings into question its reliability in other aspects of its operation

[JennaFuzz]

This is exactly what I am experiencing, too! Very frustrating and I've done all the troubleshooting options: clear cache, ensure everything is up to date app-wise, restart phone, etc... still cannot open to view yesterday's 10+ mile mountain bike ride up a mountain... I'm a bit frustrated at this point. 

[JennaFuzz]

Thanks for the tip on Strava, will look into it... I'm having the same issue with my Sense and Galaxy S21... This watch is less than a year old, shouldn't need a factory reset and frankly that's a bit dumb to have to constantly lose all data to reset...whole point of paying big bucks for this watch was to log my data... and keep it... 🙄

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Yes, noticing the same thing it's my 10+ mile, 2.5 hour long ride that keeps crashing my app... VERY frustrating busted butt to bike up a mountain and no idea on my elevation gain or anything else I pay premium for.... 😑