Charge 2 GPS Inaccuracies on v2.71

[SunsetRunner]

Hey everyone,

A few months ago, many of us hit an issue with zig-zagging lines produced by outdoor runs/walks with our Charge 2 trackers and the v2.66 version of the Fitbit app. At the time, Fitbit moderators closed the topic after they felt it was resolved with v2.67.1.

As of v2.71, I'm here to report that the issue has returned. Please see the attached screenshots. On two previous days this week, my run distance and pace have been terribly inaccurate, thanks to the inaccurate GPS path being plotted by the app as I run.

To be clear, I'm running using a Charge 2 with firmware 22.22.55.2 on the Android Fitbit app, version 2.71. I have a Google Pixel (1st gen, from 2016) running Android 8.1 (Oreo).

Tagging @AlessFitbit here since she handled the topic previously.

Please weigh in if you've also seen similar behavior on v2.71. Thanks to anyone who can contribute to this topic.

[Gronis6]

I have the same problem since yesterday. Wrong distance and all my mapping of runs does not work any more. The problem came after an automatic update of my fitbit software.

[SunsetRunner]

Tagging a few more people since I know they had this issue back on 2.66. (Thanks to you all in advance for your input.)

@Palmes99 @Marc_PL @Thejay @JimP1097 @DNotice @hevs @hscott72 @Zarkrax @Summertime_jen @kcronin

[kcronin]

I'm using a Versa now and have had this problem with v2.7 and v2.71. I don't believe that the Root Cause of this problem has clearly been identified by Fitbit programmers and thus it continues to plague people as other features are added, tweaked and bug "fixes" are put in place. It's not a GPS connection issue as the Moderators and Support like to choose as a root cause. We all know that. It's something in the Bluetooth connection between the tracker and the phone. So many phones out there make this hard to address but it is a major selling feature for these "connected GPS" trackers. Needs to work correctly.

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks for your input, Kathy. Agreed that this is not a GPS issue. If I track a run using my phone's GPS in Strava, alongside tracking with Fitbit, the Fitbit-reported path always suffers from zig-zags and inaccurate plotted points on the map. I agree also that this is most likely a connected GPS issue -- which is the only option when you have a device that lacks a true GPS chip (such as a Garmin Forerunner or something similar).

I'm not suggesting that there is an easy fix ... certainly, if this has plagued us for this long, it may be a problem endemic to the very idea of connected GPS. That is, if we want this issue to go away, then the only option is to choose a tracker with a native GPS chip.

Thanks all the same for your input. I greatly appreciate it.

[BamIAm]

If they would just make MobileRun reliable (fix the pause / delete data bug) it would circumvent the need for connected GPS entirely. 

Using MobileRun on a phone along with a tracker still gives heartrate and step info, plus an accurate map (as long as you don't use "pause").   I think they're doing it the hard way now.

[JimP1097]

I tend to use Strava, and the distance is still out - I went for a walk on Sunday, and started recording with the Charge 2, then started the Strava app on my phone, and finished the Strava app just before finishing the Fitbit recording.  

The Strava app was recording for less time than the Fitbit, and the map looks the same, but the Fitbit says that the distance is about 1km shorter than Strava on a 20 km walk.  

That was better than my Friday's commute home, which recorded 12km instead of about 17km.  

I can't remember when I updated the app, but it was as soon as I was notified.  

[DNotice]

I no longer use my Charge 2 to track my runs. I only have it running so that it will pay attention to my heart rate. Using Strava to try and troubleshoot the problems last time showed me that it is a far superior service and I actually use that to train with now. But in looking at my history in the two apps it seems that Fitbit has been tracking fine as of late. It's consistently behind Strava on distance covered, but it's well within norms. I'll be moving to Garmin for my next wearable as I feel that Fitbit doesn't do any one thing well. It's set solidly in the middle. It's not a smartwatch nor is it a full feature fitness tracker. That coupled with the last screw up has soured me on Fitbit altogether. 

[jordan.van.dyk]

I've been posting and following these for awhile. Since I've gotten my fitbit charge 2 connected gps worked for only a couple months on my older phone before 2.66 came around. Even after 2.67.1 it was still not accurate and consistently missing 50-60m per km.

My new phone has the same issues as I was seeing under 2.66 on the old phone where the bluetooth connection doesn't stay connected and it just drops out.

I'm still not convinced the design makes any sense. Their mobile run works well-ish (minus the pausing issues) I've suggested it before and I'll suggest it again the fitbit itself need not do any of these calculations or aggressive handing off to stride length.

The feature should be redesigned as follows:
When you start a run on the fitbit it signals to the phone to start mobile run . The phone signals back when it starts and then periodically sends information to the fitbit.

if you pause on the fitbit it sends a signal with a timestamp to pause and unpausing does the same
When you finish the fitbit sends a signal to stop. The mobile run then stops and they can attempt to sync time. From there IF and ONLY IF the gps dropped out during the run are the stride lengths for that section of time used. Otherwise you rely on the phones gps...

This would eliminate most to all of the bluetooth issues and make the final run/bike distance and pace much more accurate. If for any reason your fitbit couldn't temporarily get new info from the phone your pacing and distance might be off during your run/bike but it would become accurate again as soon as it received the next packet. I can't think of any major downside to this approach  as you already have to have your phone with you and mobile run already has all the other stats as well. But perhaps there is some technical debt, or other reason related to the fitbit itself that stops this.

[BamIAm]

I'm going to log my walk tonight in Strava.  It works fine with my phone's GPS, and I have it currently "linked" to my Fitbit account. 

We'll see how that goes as far as the Strava data coming in to Fitbit.  Hope it works.

[kcronin]

Having Strava come in to Fitbit has worked fine for me. The details get stripped away and all you see is pace, heartrate and distance but the details are in Strava. And, if you have the Strava app on your Versa, you can see it all in that app. Just can't check stats in real time unless you have your phone in your hand and the app open.

⁣Sent from BlueMail ​

[SunsetRunner]

Hi @jordan.van.dyk, that's a really fantastic idea. Yes, using the "track activity" option in the Fitbit app doesn't appear to have the same trouble. The thing is, I prefer to have the stats on my wrist instead of trying to unlock my phone, crane my neck around to see the screen, and then go from there. It would really otherwise be fine ... except that I, like anyone else here, paid for a feature that does not work as advertised. Hence, why I bring it up here. But thanks for your input -- I hadn't thought of such a detailed workaround in terms of an alternate implementation. There's probably a reason Fitbit developers haven't done it this way, but who knows... the mystery continues 

[jordan.van.dyk]

@SunsetRunner

Ya i'm curious because I too would prefer to have it all on the wrist. But I also would like it to be accurate, I think if implemented properly my design would accomplish both. I'm not sure of their code base though so perhaps there is some technical reason I'm not aware of.

I'm hoping they do fix it sometime soon / generalize it so it works more consistently across androids.

[SunsetRunner]

@jordan.van.dyk So an interesting development this morning. I used my phone to track my run. I didn't start anything on my Charge 2 at all; just wore it the whole time and reasoned that it would at least track my steps, heart rate, and floors climbed. I also tracked my run using Strava for comparison.

Well, imagine my surprise when I saw the exact same behavior on the map as before, this time with very exaggerated "stair-stepping". (I assure you that I did not run through people's houses and yards.)

So this would imply no longer a connected GPS issue. I suppose it's possible that my phone is providing invalid data, but if I compare it to what Strava saw during the same run, the differences are striking:

All frustration aside, this tells me that either the Fitbit app is at least marginally unreliable for GPS tracking right now, or there is something going on between the Fitbit app and the GPS data being given it by my phone.

(Again, in case anyone from Fitbit or someone with a similar issue is reading this, I'm using a Pixel 1st-gen on Android 8.1 with a Charge 2.)

[SunsetRunner]

(Removing duplicate post.)

[jordan.van.dyk]

@SunsetRunnerthat first picture is from mapping from the fitbit app? interesting I've not had it be that off from strava in the app. Hmm perhaps there is more to this even. For now I will continue with just using strava.

Strava seems to push back to fitbit reasonably well too my last run showed up like so

on the web app it looks like so

 whereas  in strava it looks like so

Also the web app for strava has a correct distance function. Which can sometimes help smooth out the distance

[BamIAm]

Rolled my app back to 2.42 so I can use MobileRun on my phone instead of connected GPS.

Looks like the older version of the app works fine with my Versa.  Clock faces and apps aren't available in it, but I can set the newer app up on my PC or iPad for that kind of stuff.  Syncs and notifications are working OK too.

I think the whole "connected GPS" setup really needs some work.  If my phone can push high quality audio output over Bluetooth (without a hitch) you'd think Fitbit's data stream would be relatively easy.

[SunsetRunner]

This thread may be dead at this point, but in case anyone decides to resurrect or take this further, please note that I've since switched to a Garmin vivosmart HR+ and am abandoning Fitbit's platform. I don't suppose this matters much to Fitbit based on the sheer number of users they have, but in case anyone from Fitbit reads this, please note that you've lost a user to a competing platform because of a persistent, unresolved, poorly communicated issue that significantly impacted my ability to use my Charge 2 in the way it was advertised. I wish that Fitbit would have been more responsive to this issue. Maybe it will still get resolved in the future with some fix, but I, unfortunately, won't be around to experience that.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this discussion. Wishing you all the best in your fitness and wellness adventures!