Charge 2 GPS distance inaccuracy after 2.66 - RESOLVED w/ 2.67.1

[AlessFitbit]

Fitbit Update: 3/12/18

Hey, there!

I wanted to check-in with everyone as it seems that GPS distance and accuracy has improved with version 2.67. Thanks for letting me know that its better!

Today, we released the Fitbit for Android app version 2.67.1. Please update the app and let me know how it goes with this version. As always, we recommend updating whenever there is a new app version released as this ensures your tracker works as expected.  

If this continues even on the latest version, I'll need to gather some more specific data from some of you to pass this along to our engineers. Thanks for all your help and cooperation! 

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Fitbit Update: 2/21/18

Thanks for all the responses! 

As mentioned, this issue with Connected GPS has been escalated to the appropriate team for investigation. I would really appreciate everyone's patience in the meantime. When a fix is in the works, I'll make sure to update you all here. Stay tuned for any updates! 

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Fitbit Update: 2/16/18

Thanks for all the great information, everyone! I have merged in some additional threads to get one unified conversation. 

I really appreciate you all taking the time to share the details of your current experience with Android app: 2.66. I understand how important accuracy is to all of you. This has been escalated to our team for review! I will provide updates here in this thread when more information becomes available. Thanks for your help. 

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 Hi, everyone!

Thanks for reporting and bringing this to my attention. Sorry to hear that you are all getting inaccurate distance measurements after recording GPS Runs with your Charge 2. 

Please help me narrow down and confirm the following:

-Did this issue begin with the last Fitbit for Android app version: 2.66?

-Is this distance discrepancy also happening with Mobilerun or only when using Connected GPS? 

-Which error message are you seeing on the tracker, if any? 

If you haven't already, please try a restart and take a look through this help article for more troubleshooting suggestions. Let me know if this changes anything or the same issue persist! 

[twade52]

Roberto, I went through the steps you recommended to alleviate this issue. They seem to have worked. I went for a walk yesterday, and the reported distance was back to normal. Before I accept the solution, I'll go on a few more walks just to be sure. I'm still a little uneasy that this was just a fluke, as it started happening with the latest Android update. I've notice numerous other people have noted the same behavior. Over the full year I have had this watch, it never acted in this manor. I have a couple of screen shots, but I do not know how to add/post them to this thread. Before the rest, the path was pretty choppy which lends credence to your theory that it was dropping the connection. After implementing your suggestions, the path was smooth again. Thanks for your suggestions and help, Wade

[Treb]

Like others have reported, my Connected GPS results have been filled with gaps, jagged/jumpy lines, and inaccurate distance information.

No error message shows up on my phone, but for a couple of months now I’ve noticed that the Charge 2’s display will SOMETIMES show the “phone not connected” symbol even though Bluetooth is on.  Sometimes the symbol is on, sometimes it is off, but for whatever reason, regardless of which symbol is displayed, I ALWAYS end up with a GPS map post-workout/Sync.  I’m dismissing this as the culprit, though, because all of my GPS map and distance data prior to February 10  came out as expected, despite the abnormal, unpredictable connection status symbol behaviors described.  For the errors I am reporting, there is no clear “tell” on either my phone or Charge 2's display that indicates what’s causing the errors; only after Syncing and analyzing the generated GPS map do I spot and notice the map and distance errors.

The problems I am experiencing with my GPS map inaccuracies/errors started sometime between February 8 and February 10 (my February 8 workout GPS map was fine, I took a break on February 9, and on February 10 I spotted the first map errors).  This time frame coincides with multiple users who reported that their errors started around February 9 (both in this thread and in the other thread, "Charge 2 not recording distance correctly."), even though Fitbit 2.66 released on February 5, according to the Android App forum.  My Google Play is set to auto-install app updates, so I am not sure when my phone installed Fitbit version 2.66, which is the current version that generates errors.

My Settings:

• Fitbit version 2.66 (Android)
• Phone: Pixel 2
• OS: Android version 8.1.0 (Security patch level: February 5, 2018)
• Fitbit Settings:
• Fitbit App Info > Permissions: Confirmed ON: Location, Phone, Contacts, SMS
• All-Day Sync: ON
• Always Connected: ON
• Keep-Alive Widget: ON

Attempted Solutions:

• Reset Fitbit by holding down the power button for 4 seconds in the charging cradle.
• Full Fitbit app reinstall: Fitbit App Info > Storage: Clear Cache / Clear Data; Uninstall, Re-download/Re-install from Google Play Store.
• Extreme case fix attempt:
• I purchased a brand new Charge 2 (returned when I realized that the error is not hardware related).  The new Charge 2, tested with a fresh app reinstall, generated the same errors as my original.
• I’ve seen a few user comments about adjusting Stride Length Settings.  The errors illustrated below clearly show that Stride Length is not the problem.  Clearly something changed between February 8 and February 10.

Below are some screenshots comparing my Charge 2 Connected GPS maps with another device recording the same fitness activities concurrently...

For starters, here are two examples of Connected GPS working as expected.  I suspect this was before the release of Fitbit 2.66:

Some users reported problems starting on February 9.  I didn’t work out that day, but on February 10 I noticed that something had changed (perhaps with Fitbit 2.66); my Charge 2’s Connected GPS map and distance started to yield missing routes and produce jagged routes and overlapping double-routes:

Oddly enough, I managed to get an accurate-looking map on February 14 without any fiddling.  The distance was off though:

[Treb]

@RobertoME

Like others have reported, my Connected GPS results have been filled with gaps, jagged/jumpy lines, and inaccurate distance information.

The problems I am experiencing with my GPS map inaccuracies/errors started sometime between February 8 and February 10 (my February 8 workout GPS map was fine, I took a break on February 9, and on February 10 I spotted the first map errors).  This time frame coincides with multiple users who reported that their errors started around February 9 (both in this thread and in the other thread, "Charge 2 not recording distance correctly."), even though Fitbit 2.66 released on February 5, according to the Android App forum.  My Google Play is set to auto-install app updates, so I am not sure when my phone installed Fitbit version 2.66, which is the current version that generates errors.

My Settings:

• Fitbit version 2.66 (Android)
• Phone: Pixel 2
• OS: Android version 8.1.0 (Security patch level: February 5, 2018)
• Fitbit Settings:
• Fitbit App Info > Permissions: Confirmed ON: Location, Phone, Contacts, SMS
• All-Day Sync: ON
• Always Connected: ON
• Keep-Alive Widget: ON

Attempted Solutions:

• Reset Fitbit by holding down the power button for 4 seconds in the charging cradle.
• Full Fitbit app reinstall: Fitbit App Info > Storage: Clear Cache / Clear Data; Uninstall, Re-download/Re-install from Google Play Store.
• Tests I conducted with Strava or RunKeeper concurrently tracking on my phone alongside my connected Charge 2 do not show drops in GPS, so the phone's GPS signal strength is not the problem.  I can confirm that the Fitbit app is running in the background and not accidentally Force Quit during all of my tests (including the tests I screenshotted below).
• Extreme case fix attempt:
• I purchased a brand new Charge 2 (returned when I realized that the error is not hardware related).  The new Charge 2, tested with a fresh app reinstall, generated the same errors as my original.
• I’ve seen a few user comments in other threads about adjusting Stride Length Settings.  The errors illustrated below clearly show that Stride Length is not the problem.  Fitbit's behavior changed for me between February 8 and February 10.

Below are some screenshots comparing my Charge 2 Connected GPS maps with another device recording the same fitness activities concurrently...

For starters, here are two examples of Connected GPS working as expected.  I suspect this was before the release of Fitbit 2.66:

Some users reported problems starting on February 9.  I didn’t work out that day, but on February 10 I noticed that something had changed (perhaps with Fitbit 2.66); my Charge 2’s Connected GPS map and distance started to yield missing routes and produce jagged routes and overlapping double-routes:

Oddly enough, I managed to get an accurate-looking map on February 14 without any fiddling.  The distance was off though:

On a side-note, which might be related to the GPS/distance bugs, I have noticed that starting with Fitbit version 2.66, even with All-Day Sync, Always Connected, and Keep-Alive Widget turned ON, my Charge 2 takes much longer to Sync manually and does not automatically Sync as frequently as it did just a week before the errors detailed below started.  Keep-Alive Widget is persistently located in my notifications but seems to do nothing.  I can confirm that my phone has given Fitbit all the proper Permissions (see "My Settings" section above).  Most times, manual Sync fails and I have to turn Bluetooth on/off and reattempt multiple times.  This persists even after clearing the cache and data, and reinstalling the app.  My general inference is that the latest patch impaired the connection between my phone and Charge 2.

[DaftTron]

I'm loving the provided illustrations some of you are posting. Really shows the problem clearly!

[Palmes99]

Exactly the same with me, fitbit map accurate, mileage way out, only started in the last two weeks (I thought I was coming down with something as my pace was showing as woeful!!), had my fitbit also just over a year. Someone mentioned the Ready message coming up and I've noticed that lately, but this has happened before so not sure it is related. I've just tried a firmware update and a re-start and hope that fixes things!

[Palmes99]

Top right of app, little blue box, go down to advanced setting, then bottom of list stride settings.

I've checked mine and my stride length hasn't  changed (it was set to automatic and was pretty accurate up to a couple of weeks ago)  so why all of a sudden the mileage is showing as so badly wrong is beyond me.

[Palmes99]

Total rubbish from Fitbit. My stride length was, and is recorded accurately, and my fitbit was recording mileage fairly accurately up until two weeks ago. Now its suddenly miles out, and my stride length is showing exactly the same as it was before! 

[roxylock]

-Did this issue begin with the last Fitbit for Android app version: 2.66? - first time i noticed it was 10th Feb 11.25 am GMT, (10.7 mile run was recorded as 5.3 miles) my run to work the day before - 9th Feb at 8:18 am GMT - was fine, i have the app on auto update so not sure when it updated. 

-Is this distance discrepancy also happening with Mobilerun or only when using Connected GPS? - it is happening with the connected GPS. 

-Which error message are you seeing on the tracker, if any? - it takes a while to connect then says "Check Fit app" "Ready" then "push button to clear" then shows the connected  icon. 

Further to this I am noticing jagged lines when I run on the app, and as I now have been tracking my runs using Strava independently I am able to compare distances, and the fitbit is not recording them correctly, therefore the pace is out. 

First thing i did was to restart the fitbit and to ensure it had plenty of battery, this has nothing to do with stride length. 

I have also noticed that it takes a long time for the fitbit to sync and also upload the (incorrect) details of my run to both the app and then to Strava. It also seems to be tracking steps when i am cycling - my route or conditions or way i cycle hasn't changed, but the number of steps has. 

On a personal level -  I got this fitbit to help train for the half marathon which is now less than two weeks away, and now due to this update it has been rendered useless. It had been working fine before the update, and i had even been recommending it to friends, is there any way of returning to the last version? its really disappointing from what i thought was a great watch/tracker. 

[Agiie]

My tracker shows the same.

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@wlappinwrote:

I am also having this issue. I wonder if others on here see the same thing when they zoom in on their paths. My shows phantom turns and sometimes double paths. Something happened on Feb. 8th, 2018 between 12:10 PM and 3:20 PM central time. my 12:10 walk was normal and my 3:20 walk had bad GPS readings.  Been bad ever since. Since no one from Fitbit has commented here, we can probably assume they are ware just cant seem to figure out how to fix. Hey guys, are all the servers up?

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[AlessFitbit]

Thanks for all the great information, everyone! I have merged in some additional threads to get one unified conversation. 

I really appreciate you all taking the time to share the details of your current experience with Android app: 2.66. I understand how important accuracy is to all of you. This has been escalated to our team for review! I will provide updates here in this thread when more information becomes available. Thanks for your help. 

[Treb]

@AlessFitbit thanks for merging the threads.  My apologies for now having two almost identical posts back-to-back in this merged thread.  I had originally posted in the Charge 2 forum before discovering this Android forum where I thought my information might be more visible to developers.  Edits and additions were made between my two posts so instead of manually deleting one copy, I'll leave both up and let the Fitbit developers cipher through the differences found between the two posts (l have found that when I edit my posts, they automatically get deleted, so I won't fiddle).  Hope we arrive at a solution and fix soon! 

[CJBrunner]

My GPS has also stopped tracking correctly! Something happened last month and now everytime its not tracking the first 0.3km. It shows my runs as starting 0.3km further away than the start point and I use both map my run and my Fitbit uploads to strava and it’s now always 0.3km our compared to  map my run! It was always accurate before.

my Run on 22nd jan was fine and all prior to that, the next run on 25th jan and all the ones since (every couple of days) have not tracked the first 0.3km so all my stats are out too and the map shows the run as starting 0.3km into the run rather than from starting point!

how do I fix this? Was there an update around that time that I’ve applied that’s messed it up??

[Mikonr1]

Since last update my charge 2 doesn't track my runs accurate. Lose almost 1 k on a 5 K run. Been like this for a week now. Tried resetting but still not working. What to do? 

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity 

[CLindy]

 My fitbit Charge 2 HR is not accurately recording miles. The last 2 weeks it has inaccurately recorded the same walk (showing identical maps) as 4.05, and 2.93. Previous weeks have been recorded as 5.02 miles, which is accurate. The watch is fully charged and was recently rebooted. I have not changed anything on it. What is wrong? Thanks!

[RayeT]

I have recently been having this problem as well.  My charge 2 was accurately reporting my mileage, and then about 2 weeks ago it started dropping of miles.  It's really frustrating because it throws my pace off as well. I would like to know what will fix this problem.

[RayeT]

I too am getting the random ready signal.  Been having problems for about 2 weeks.

[HeydyF]

Hey @Mikonr1, it is cool to see new members around!  I'd like you to answer the following questions, so I can better assist you: 

-Did this issue begin with the last Fitbit for Android app version: 2.66?

-Is this distance discrepancy also happening with Mobilerun or only when using Connected GPS? 

-Which error message are you seeing on the tracker, if any? 

If you haven't already, please try to restart your Charge 2 and take a look through this help article for more troubleshooting suggestions. 

Let me know how it goes! 

[Mikonr1]

Tried all but not working. Connected, mobile, reseting.... Started with the
latest update.
Having issues with synk too.

Malin

[JoeSammamish]

I've had my Charge 2 for seven months.  Up until about a week ago, it's always given me accurate distances when running.  On my past four runs, my five-mile loop has been reported as about two miles.  The step count looks fine, the app correctly displays the route that I ran, and the heart rate monitoring seems fine.

I have tried resetting my Fitbit, restarting my phone, and turning off WiFi.  My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S7.  It's the same phone that I've had the entire time that I've owned my Charge 2.

Firmware is 22.22.55.2

App version is 2.66 (2193248)

Very frustrating.  If anyone has any suggestions, they'd be appreciated.

[TravisH]

I'm having the same issue. The map was correct, but it knocked about 1.5 miles off of the distance ran.