How to stop syncing often my Fitbit device

[AlleyGator]

I would like to synch my fitbit to my phone app only when I choose to do so.  There used to be a setting for this, but I can't find it.  Right now my phone is synching my fitbit periodically all day long and the result is that I have to charge my fitbit far more often.  How do I stop it from synching unless I open the app?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[BraulioFitbit]

Nice to see you here, @AlleyGator and thanks for the details about syncing.

Your Fitbit device will sync as long as the Bluetooth on your phone is turned on and the Fitbit app is running in the background. The option on the Fitbit app was "All-day Sync" but it was to sync your device during the day and it was removed. If you want to stop syncing your device all day you can turn off your phone's Bluetooth or force stop the Fitbit app by going to your phone's Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Force Stop.

See you around.

[AlleyGator]

Unfortunately, that did not work at all - it's still synching.

--
Far better it is to dare mighty things... than to rank with these poor
spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray
twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. --- Theodore Roosevelt

[PureEvil]

Hello @AlleyGator,

If it's still syncing after you've turned off bluetooth, it sounds really suspicious.  In order to diagnose, I'd try the following:

1. Log on to fitbit.com from your computer and go to the dashboard.  On the top of the screen, right next to the date, it shows you the last time you synced.
2. Turn off your phone and note the time when you turned it off.
3. Refresh the page from Step #1.

If your tracker syncs during the time when your phone is off, then there's another device syncing your Fitbit.  It may be your tablet (or old phone).  It may be a neighbor's computer.

If it's your tablet, then you can turn off all day sync there as well from the App (or bluetooth).

When Fitbit first came out (and before bluetooth LE was readily available), trackers synced through the computer using Fitbit Connect.  In this mode, that computer synced all nearby Fitbits (yes, even ones that weren't associated with the account).  Don't worry no one else may see your stats, think of it as simply a messenger from your tracker to the Fitbit servers.

This could easily be one of your neighbors.  Bluetooth range can go over 100 feet.  However, if it is your neighbor, there's probably very little you can do about preventing your Fitbit from syncing.

I hope this helps.

[AlleyGator]

I didn't turn off my phone's bluetooth, I did the force stop that BraulioFitbit suggested.  Turning off my bluetooth is not an option.  I use that for other things - everyone does - and I can't imagine how anyone would suggest turning off their phone's bluetooth as a practical solution in this situation.

So I tried the force stop.  It did nothing. 

I really miss having that simple option in the program to turn off all-day synch.  It really sucks to lose that.

[PureEvil]

Hello @AlleyGator,

I'm only going by what you said:

"Unfortunately, that did not work at all - it's still synching."

I have no further insight into what you meant by "that did not work at all".  And for better or worse, we're not making suggestions as a long term solution, we're simply trying to diagnose the cause.

I'm still trying to figure out if it's your phone that is causing it to sync.  So in order to diagnose the problem, consider logging out of the Fitbit App, and see if it continues to sync.  This allows you to use bluetooth with other devices but should disable your Fitbit from syncing.  Let us know.

I hope this helps.

[AlleyGator]

Yes, I understood the miscommunication perfectly.  That's why I replied to elaborate.  

I did log out of the app.  No more synching, so it's definitely coming though my phone.  What can I do to stay logged in, but not have it synch until I actually open the app?

[PureEvil]

@AlleyGator,

I don't know of a simple way to keep the app from running in the background.

However, I believe that the way Android works is in order to use bluetooth, it needs to turn on location services.  So as a way to get this to behave the way you want, you may try changing the location permissions for the Fitbit App to "Allow only while using the app".

I hope this helps.

[AlleyGator]

Unfortunately, I've had that set that way the whole time, so that doesn't seem to help, either.  There may not be a fix.

I understand the difficulty involved in adding a new feature, not only is there all the programming needed, but then it has to be checked, double-checked and sometimes triple-checked to make sure both that it works AND that it doesn't interfere with anything else.  It's a lot.  

But they had it.  They had it and it worked perfectly.  I really wish they hadn't gotten rid of it.

[PureEvil]

@AlleyGator,

I was reading through your original post and noted that the reason why you want to suspend syncing is to maximize battery life.  Which tracker do you have and how frequently do you need to charge it?

I honestly doubt that frequent syncing is the biggest impact on your battery life.  Some impact for sure, but not the biggest impact.  For instance, the Fitbit Zip will run for literally months on one tiny 2025 battery without needing to suspend syncing.  Are you running other features that minimize battery life (like Always-On Display)?

I hope this helps.

[BraulioFitbit]

Hi, @AlleyGator.

The Fitbit app hasn't had any option to turn off the syncing process. The option "All-day Sync" is the one that was removed and it was to keep your device syncing constantly (which is not what you want). You can change the settings so the Fitbit app doesn't run in the background. By doing this, your Fitbit device doesn't automatically sync and it will affect other functions on the app as you can read on this help article.

You can change those settings by going to your phone's Settings > Apps > Fitbit.

See you around.

[AlleyGator]

Yes, I know that. That was the feature I was talking about.

--
Far better it is to dare mighty things... than to rank with these poor
spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray
twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat. --- Theodore Roosevelt

[ShockwaveV88]

So I still use the Zip since I only care about the step count and I do not like having things on my wrists for my job. It was great to get a month or 2 out of a single battery for the Zip; however, I have noticed lately that the Zip barely last 2 weeks on a single battery life. There is no reason the zip needs to sync every 15 mins and unable to turn that off since Fitbit decided to take it away. I do not know what Fitbit did but it is annoying to replace batteries every week or so.

[ziplock9000]

Braulio that is terrible advice.

Turning off your phone also stops syncing too, as does smashing it.

Believe it or not, FitBit is not the only app that uses Bluetooth on people's phones.

[RodrigoMFitbit · Accepted solution]

@ziplock9000 Nice to see you again in the forums. Appreciate your input. 

If you wish to sync your device just when you choose to do so, you can submit it as a feature suggestion. The best place to make your voice heard is the Feature Suggestions board, where you can submit your ideas and share it with other members, so that they can comment and vote for it.

Since there is no way to actually turn off the syncing, that is the only way to stop a frequent syncing. Either force quit the app so that it is not running in the background and restrict its permission so that it does not launch automatically. However, I would not do it since it will affect the Fitbit app functionality. I believe Braulio was just informing how it can be done, since that is what the original user inquired about. 

[cyn1949]

It seems odd that it would be their phone when it is happening to a lot of people. I have a Charge 5 and it won't stop syncing I have to charge it often. Nothing that has been suggested so far seems to work. Often what is suggested can't be found when I look on my fitbit.

[ghbryce]

Turn off Bluetooth to stop syncing 

[RodrigoMFitbit]

@ghbryce Thanks for your advice.

@cyn1949 Nice to see you again in the forums. Thanks for your input!

The syncing can be stopped by turning off the Bluetooth on your smartphone. However, syncing should not impact battery life that drastically. I suggest you take a look at the following article: Can I extend my Fitbit device's battery life?. Here you find some tips!