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Charge 2 loses GPS when phone screen is locked

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‎07-06-2017 14:42

‎07-06-2017 14:42

Hi. When I go out for a bike ride. I turn the ride activity on on my charge 2 but as soon as I lock my phone nd put it in my pocket the fitbit loses its GPS and doesn't record speed or distance. Is there a way to change this as the main reason for buying the fitbit was to use with mountain biking. Thanks

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17 REPLIES 17

‎07-09-2017 08:48

‎07-09-2017 08:48

Hello @SunsetRunner! Welcome to the Forums. 

 

I found a post which talks about a similar situation with Huawei phones. If your phone is a Huawei one, perhaps you could look into it. Even if your mobile is not Huawei, I'd give the instructions in there a shot. 

 

Please let me know how it goes. 

Lanuza | Community Moderator

Remember to vote for posts that helped you out! Tired of the same workout music? Try a Podcast! 🙂
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‎09-28-2017 18:10

In response to LanuzaFitbit

‎09-28-2017 18:10

Thanks for your reply but I managed to sort it. My phone is a galaxy s8.

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‎09-29-2017 09:02

In response to SunsetRunner

‎09-29-2017 09:02

Hey @SunsetRunner.

 

Thanks for letting me know. If you do not mind me asking, how did you sort the situation out? I think it'd be nice to read about it in here so that I can help other users having a similar issue.

 

Look forward to your reply. 

Lanuza | Community Moderator

Remember to vote for posts that helped you out! Tired of the same workout music? Try a Podcast! 🙂
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‎09-29-2017 09:23

In response to LanuzaFitbit

‎09-29-2017 09:23

Hi.

The phone was set to screen always off but in order for the charge 2 to get a GPS signal the screen has to be set to always on but this only means that when the screen is locked the clock is on display. This aowed the charge 2 to access GPS through the phone.

David

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‎02-16-2019 10:19

‎02-16-2019 10:19

I had the same issue with a Charge 3 and Android S9. The problem was that my phone was in "power saving" mode so it stopped background data collections etc to save battery. So you just gotta stop the power saving mode.

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‎05-23-2019 12:34

‎05-23-2019 12:34

so I just got the LG G8 and I am having the same problem. 

 

I tried the following:

 -  restarting the Fitbit.

 -  putting  app background mode always on. 

 - putting app in exclude from power saving 

 - screen always on (but it always locked) and stopped GPS

 - Google services in exclude from power saving. 

 - turning super power saving off

nothing seems to work. 

 

one thing I noticed was Fitbit being in the suppressed list and the icon switch being on but grayed out. it was in the exclude list so it should not be on. but that's why it is greyed out. it is in the exclude. it should never have been put in the background restrictions list. 

 

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‎05-24-2019 09:49

In response to emrec

‎05-24-2019 09:49

Welcome to the Forums @emrec.

 

Thanks for listing all of the steps that you have tried to get the GPS working correctly. 

 

I'd like to ask you for a clarification on the issue you are experiencing. Is it that the GPS stops working as soon as the screen is locked, correct? Also, could you share what Android version is your G8 running and what phone is it that you have.

 

Let me know if there are any other questions.

Lanuza | Community Moderator

Remember to vote for posts that helped you out! Tired of the same workout music? Try a Podcast! 🙂
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‎05-24-2019 10:23

In response to LanuzaFitbit

‎05-24-2019 10:23

LG-G8 comes preloaded with Android 9.

BUT READ ON:

 

I have figured out a workaround. If my suspicions are correct, it's a really sleezy thing at hand here for google to do to fitbit - that's all I'll say.

1) I have a Fossil Watch with the Fit App installed

2) I wear the fossil watch and fit bit at the same time.

3) open both apps, Fit app first, then the Fitbit app on the phone.

4) I lock the screen (by pressing the power button on the phone).

5) I go to my watch, and start the Fit app, to track my bike ride.

6) I go to the fitbit (Charge 2) to start tracking my bike ride.

Result:

No disconnection from GPS. Both apps, on the watch, and Charge 2 track everything without interruption.

 

Using the Charge 2 alone, and I get disconnected from my phone (the icon with phone cross through it) after 5 minutes (or less if I immediately lock the phone).

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‎05-26-2019 08:52

In response to emrec

‎05-26-2019 08:52

Hello @emrec.

 

Thanks for sharing your findings and listing the steps that worked for you.

 

I'm sure that other users will find this workaround to be useful. I'll be sure to bring it up to other users that experience a similar situation. 

 

As soon as our team has any updates on the matter we will be sure to let everyone know. 

 

Feel free to reach out if there are any other questions I can help you out with.

Lanuza | Community Moderator

Remember to vote for posts that helped you out! Tired of the same workout music? Try a Podcast! 🙂
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‎06-29-2019 21:52

In response to LanuzaFitbit

‎06-29-2019 21:52

Hello @LanuzaFitbit , is there a patch being prepared for those who do you have another watch besides their Fitbits? This issue is really a major inconvenience for many of us.

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‎06-29-2019 22:30

In response to maciek_b

‎06-29-2019 22:30

I haven't run into this issue recently, but I haven't run a measured test. I have had no updates to the OS itself, so an app update might have changed the results. I will run a measured test, without the fossil watch at all and get back to you with something more than an anecdotal account.

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‎07-01-2019 06:19

In response to emrec

‎07-01-2019 06:19

Welcome to the Forums @maciek_b. Hello @emrec.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts on the matter.

 

@maciek_b are you referring to being able to sync a non-Fitbit band to a Fitbit device? At this moment we do not have any details on. As for the general Android 9 situation, we will be sharing any updates on it as soon as we do.

 

@emrec Thanks for your reply and for your commitment to running some tests. I am sure that other users have found your contribution very useful.

 

Let me know if there are any other questions on the matter.

Lanuza | Community Moderator

Remember to vote for posts that helped you out! Tired of the same workout music? Try a Podcast! 🙂
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‎07-01-2019 16:53

In response to maciek_b

‎07-01-2019 16:53

I have confirmed that I was able to operate my Charge 2 and have it track perfectly (GPS and all for 15min), without launching Google Fit, nor the Fossil watch's Google Fit tracking app.

 

I know this sounds dumb, but I had to do a restart of the watch manually (for the last time) after an update of the app on my phone about a month ago or so. Even with the app updated, it didn't take until I plugged it in, and held down the button for about twenty seconds for a full restart.

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‎07-12-2019 10:07

In response to emrec

‎07-12-2019 10:07

Thanks for sharing your findings. I did some experiments and was not able to make it work on my Pixel, but it worked on anther device. So in my case it must be the issue related to Android 9 power management. I'm looking forward to a proper solution.

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‎07-12-2019 10:10

In response to LanuzaFitbit

‎07-12-2019 10:10

To clarify further: my issue is related to syncing Fitbit Charge 2 with an Android Fitbit app.

 

@LanuzaFitbit wrote:

Welcome to the Forums @maciek_b. Hello @emrec.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts on the matter.

 

@maciek_b are you referring to being able to sync a non-Fitbit band to a Fitbit device? At this moment we do not have any details on. As for the general Android 9 situation, we will be sharing any updates on it as soon as we do.

 

@emrec Thanks for your reply and for your commitment to running some tests. I am sure that other users have found your contribution very useful.

 

Let me know if there are any other questions on the matter.


.

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‎10-30-2019 12:59

In response to maciek_b

‎10-30-2019 12:59

Hello again, I just wanted to confirm that issue is gone since upgrading to Android 10. Connection with tracker does not drop anymore, everything works perfectly.

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‎10-03-2020 08:05

In response to maciek_b

‎10-03-2020 08:05

I have a Google Pixel 4. Ever since I added a screen lock (password) to my phone but Fitbit Charge 2 only records my activity while the screen is on.  As soon my phone locks, it loses connection with my Charge 2, and doesn't start again until I put in the code to unlock my phone and go back into the app.  This means when we go on a bike ride for several hours, it only tracks it when I unlock my phone.

 

Are there settings that I can adjust to fix this?

 

I tried seeing if there was a way to change settings in the fitbit app on my phone to allow it to run while my screen was locked, but couldn't find it.  Appreciate any help you can provide on this!

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