Fitbit Widget is blinking

[calanan]

Fitbit Primary Goal widget is blinking about every second. This just started happening within the last week.

Video of the issue 

I have tried restarting, and even removing and re-adding the widget but it still happens.

Phone: Google Pixel 4a 5G

Android: 11, Security update Aug. 5, 2021

Fitbit: Version 3.45.1

[Muirdm]

I am having the exact same trouble.  The widget started blinking and then the phone got really how when I used it and the battery life was draining really fast, although nothing showed as unusual use.  I even got a new battery and a replacement phone since I thought there was a problem with the battery.

[Alice4675]

Same here. Blinking Fitbit happened at the same time as overheating battery.
Please share the fix, if anyone knows it.

Get Outlook for Android

[calanan]

Fitbit, are there any updates about a fix for this? My widget is still blinking, my battery is being drained, and the Fitbit app seems to be constantly running in the foreground. See photo.

 

[SilviaFitbit]

Hi everyone, 

Thank you for the screenshot shared and details mentioned. I see where you're coming from. 

At the moment, I don't have any updates to share. We recommend to disable the widget while a resolution is provided. 

Sorry to hear you're experiencing difficulties with your phone's battery draining, it's recommended to uninstall the Fitbit app and get in touch with your phone manufacturer for additional assistance on this matter. 

Hope this helps. 

[DaimonUK]

@SilviaFitbit The battery drain I've experienced has been excessive only when the widget is blinking (along with a very hot battery and being unable to use to any other app due to slowness).  Once the fitbit app has been force closed the battery use, temperature, and phone speeds returns to normal.

Having put up with this issue for a while it almost looks like there's a pattern for when the widgets decide to go what is presumably a restart loop of sorts (and so taking processor priority, and continually active which would explain the increased battery use).

I've never seen the loop happen first thing in the morning while the phone has been on charge, but the first instance each day normally happens within an hour or two from getting up.  It then typically happens around lunch, and then again shortly after work.

I've tried taking a few apps off the fitbit device notification list in case it was a notification push issue but that didn't resolve the problem.  It also doesn't seem to be related to recording exercise or the following Strava synchronisation.

The issue can start with the phone screen turned off, so it doesn't look like it's to do with a live widget update.  I've determined this from being able to work out the fitbit app is in this crash loop from the battery temperature.

Right now I'm sorely tempted to uninstall fitbit completely as the battery temperature issue has the potential to be at best severely damaging to the lifespan of the phone battery if the crash loop isn't caught quickly, and at worst physically damaging to the *lithium* battery & phone if the loop were to happen while the phone is on charge and unattended.

I understand that this issue doesn't seem to be widespread in general, but based on this thread it does seem to be common among the latest three Pixel models.

The app has been updated three times since I first replied in this thread, but none of those updates addressed this issue.

Running a Pixel 5, latest security/android updates, latest fitbit app version.  Have cleared fitbit app storage, uninstalled, rebooted phone, reinstalled (in that order).

My current 'test' is to remove the fitbit widgets from my homescreens, and remove its entry in any JINA folders on the homescreen as well to see if that stops the app from crashing.

[SilviaFitbit]

@DaimonUK Thank you for getting back.

I appreciate the detailed information shared and the time spent troubleshooting this. Please keep us posted about the current "test" you'll be running, as it's recommended to remove the widget as of now, to stop it from blinking. 

See you around. 

[Kelly5102]

The Fitbit widget is flashing on my home screen of my phone instead of remaining solid as it usually does. How do I fix this?

[DaimonUK]

Since removing anything widget, widget like, and shortcut related to the Fitbit app on Friday 8th Oct I haven't noticed any slow-downs when using other applications or unexpectedly hot battery temperatures, so it looks like this temporary fix works for solving the phone-based issues.

I'm hesitant to include any analysis of Android's battery use charts as they didn't highlight Fitbit as an anomaly beforehand, and I did spend the weekend in a low/no signal area which also affects battery life.

[EdsonFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hello everybody.

Thanks for letting us know about this issue with the Fitbit Widget blinking. We've confirmed with our team that this was fixed in a recent app version. Please make sure your Fitbit app for Android is updated to the most recent version. 

For instructions on how to check your current version and update, please visit this article and open the menu "How do I update the Fitbit app?".

Thank you for your patience while dealing with this situation.

Have a nice day. 🙂