Fitbit app not capturing heart rate on Pixel watch

[MikeD555]

On Sat 22-Oct ~ 6pm PT the Fitbit app on my Pixel watch stopped capturing my heart rate.

I noticed it on Sun AM when no data was captured for sleep on Sat night. The watch and Fitbit apps on watch and phone were working from mid-July until 22-Oct - about 3 months.

I have spent hours on the phone getting bounced btw Fitbit and Google support. Everyone has been very friendly and tried really hard to resolve problem. but it still persists.

I have

- cleaned the watch according to the website

- restarted the watch

- reset the watch (3x)

- upgraded the Fitbit apps on watch and phone

For about an hour on Tue 24 Oct, after one of the resets, the Fitbit app on the phone did collect heart rate info but then stopped working.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Mike

[MikeD555]

Additional info.

The instantaneous heart rate is displayed on the watch - I can see it vary from moment to moment (63, 65, 68, 63, etc.)... so that indicates that the Pixel watch is physically capable of capturing / monitoring my heart rate.  But when I touch the app the heart rate shows two horizontal dashes. The app on the phone does sync. but shows No Data for the Heart rate.  

Leading me to think the problem is with the Fitbit app on the watch.

Thanks,

Mike

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @MikeD555, welcome, One of the functions of the Fitbit app that sometimes causes problems is the syncing between the device on your wrist, the app on your phone and the Fitbit server. You may find these articles of interest How do Fitbit devices sync their data? & Why won't my Fitbit device sync? Under normal circumstances, your Fitbit app will sync with the wearable and server when it is opened but missing Bluetooth or Internet connection may prevent the normal function. Some data needs to be bounced on the server to get the results you see in the app. Sleep score is one of them, I often find it's not present when opening the app in the morning, the solution is to manually sync the app by sliding your finger down the "Today" screen & releasing it, it sometimes takes two attempts to produce the data.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

[MikeD555]

Appreciate the response @Gr4ndp4 .

I have tried syncing multiple times.  And things like steps do sync - unfortunately heart rate does not. The problem appears to be that the Fitbit App on the watch is not seeing/collecting the heart rate data ... even though the watch face is showing heart rate data.

I have a support case open with Fitbit and have provided them with photos of the situation.

Fingers crossed for a speedy resolution.

Thanks again.

[gdio53]

@MikeD555 

The Fitbit app on the watch just reports the data that is in the Fitbit app on your phone.  The watch app just reads the data already available after a sync, it doesn't send any data to your phone.

Also, the phone app doesn't give instant HR readings from the watch, just the daily range.  Tapping on the graph for Today will show the readings throughout the day.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @MikeD555, thanks for the update, you may find this article of interest How do I track heart rate with my Fitbit device? , there's a section on Pixel watches.

I hope this helps.

Cheers

[wbtvlover]

Please let me know how you resolve the problem. I am experiencing the same with my pixel watch. I can see my heart rate on the pixel app but Fitbit does not show anything related to heart rate (sleep data, exercise, heart zones).

[JenMah]

I've had exactly this issue since October 18. I've done everything to troubleshoot. The problem is the app. Either it doesn't work with Android 14 or some other update was made to the app that broke it for many of us right around the same date.

[Jamuir42]

I've been having the same problem since 10/17. Would love to hear if anyone has gotten it resolved.

[JenMah]

I could have written this message. After an hour with tech support chat, my case was escalated. The first time I got an email asking for more information, which I provided. Crickets after that. Nearly a week later, another chat, another hour, another escalation. No email at all.

Did your case get fixed? I'm so annoyed that my expensive fitness service is now just a pedometer. Fitbit/Google don't care.

[wakejr]

@MikeD555 Thank you for bringing this up. It has been an issue going back years. I am using a Google Pixel Watch with a Google Pixel 7 Phone and Fitbit does not show heart rate data despite the watch measuring that information. 

The only way I can get it to working again is to reset the watch. The heart rate information appears for about a day after the reset but data collection stops overnight. Like Mike, I've updated the app and the phone and reset the watch several times. Manually syncing the data doesn't work.

[wakejr]

I experienced this issue on the exact same day. I believe an update to the app was made available that day. I think we are long past due for a rollback or at least someone from Fitbit with more insight could be more forthcoming about the nature problem. 

[fix_hr_sync]

I believe this is a bug in the current version of the mobile app. My data has only synced 5 sporadic days since October 13th. Multiple people seem to be having this issue, including my friend with a Pixel Watch 2 and a Pixel 8 Pro - two devices you'd think are most compatible.

I also posted about my struggles with similar here: https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Android-App/Can-t-sync-HR-data-from-Pixel-Watch-2/m-p/5489268#M17310...

It seems that the data is syncing, but the mobile app is no longer parsing or displaying it properly. I think, unfortunately, we all just have to wait 😞

[JenMah]

I'm resentful at being a premium member and paying for data i can't access. And for the tech support guy suggesting that my problem was an aftermarket band that isn't tight enough. And for the escalated tech support that ghosted me a week ago. My patience is thin, not that I know what I'll do about it. It's the first worldest of problems, but I'm annoyed

[fix_hr_sync]

I hear ya. It's frustrating that Google/Fitbit won't address this issue head on and fix it, instead of telling us all we're doing something wrong when we're not.

I'm working on a program that can parse and generate graphs of the JSON data exports you can request from Google. Should be done this weekend. Happy to share the source code with everyone so we at least have something until this is all fixed.

[MikeD555]

Thanks gdio53

Yes I realize that. The watch face shows the Heart Rate for the past 2 hours.

The problem is the Fitbit App is not capturing any of it. I get nothing when I sleep. I get nothing when I workout nor throughout the day.

It is definitely a problem with Fitbit app.

Thanks

Mike 

[MikeD555]

Hi @wbtvlover ... I still do not have a resolution from Fitbit Support.  Have you started a case with them? Have you resolved the issue yet? If not yet resolved, maybe if you too file a case, it will help increase the urgency for Fitbit to resolve this issue.

Thanks,

Mike

[JenMah]

No resolution. I have 2 case tickets. One I've been emailing about daily without a response. The other came after a second tech chat was "escalated." No email about that one ever came.

I managed to roll back to the app version 3.88. It still doesn't work. I really don't know what to do.

[JenMah]

After 2 weeks of silence, I got this from tech support. Of course, I've done all off these steps more than once. It's infuriating.

I did reply and sent a link to this thread.

And another. Passing the buck.

Moderator Edit: Merged replies

[fix_hr_sync]

No resolution for me, either. For now, I've taken to requesting a full data export each day and then parsing the data points myself since the Android app seems to fail to do so.

No amount of cache clearing, force app closing, update checking shenanigans fixes it. There is very clearly an issue with either the Fitbit mobile app for Android or Fitbit's sync system as a whole bit they seem oddly mum about it.

For now, I've been proactively advising anyone to look elsewhere since it is so unreliable and support is non-existent.