location services

[lin317]

So completely disappointed with this latest app update. I never have my location turned on, it drains the phone battery! Why do they require this just to sync my device to my phone?!!! I am sure I am not the only one annoyed by this. Please, Fitbit, change this back ASAP!

[SilviaFitbit]

@lin317 Welcome to the Community! This changed with the Marshmallow release. It's not a change that Fitbit did. You may want to learn more about it by checking this Fitbit Update. 

Hope this helps. 

[Rashelle98]

This change is totally unecessary! If this requirement isnt removed I will be canceling my fitbit.

Moderator edit: format

[MELODYS_SONG]

I agree. On my daughters phone location is not required. Location setting drains my battery by 50% if left on over night. And I've only had phone for 3 days.

[ElliottRW]

I am shocked that I am still having this problem.   I stopped using my fitbit several months ago because of this requirement, which for me is a showstopper.   I want my money back

[ErickFitbit · Accepted solution]

@lin317 @Rashelle98 @MELODYS_SONG @MELODYS_SONG As of the Android 6.0 Marshmallow release, Google has changed the permissions required for Bluetooth syncing. Location must be turned on as of the Android 6.0 update in order to sync. The way we identify trackers (called a MAC address) is no longer the real address. Any mode (such as Battery saving) works, it just appears turning that off, kills Mac addresses, even on Bluetooth devices.

[Art25]

Call me skeptical - I've had a Fitbit charge for a year and have had Android 6 for a few months now.  Never turned on location services.  Buy a Blaze, and it needs location services.  My bluetooth headset doesn't need location services.

[USAF-Larry]

I don't understand location services draining the battery on the phone. I always have location turned on with my HTC One M9 phone, and the battery typically last 2.5 to 3 days.  When I use an app that requires the GPS, such as MapMyWalk, that does drain the battery, but having location enabled does not turn on the GPS unless an app that uses the location needs GPS.  If I check the phone's battery usage to see what is using the battery, Location Services is very, very low, like 1% of total battery usage. So, I don't think disabling Location Services will do much to improve battery life. But, it will affect a lot of apps such as Google, Poynt, Maps, etc., that use Location Services.

[Art25]

I have a HTC M8.  I used to leave location on all the time.  When I upgraded to Android 6, everything wanted GPS.  I opened the phone dialer and the GPS icon appears.  Worst, is some apps wait until they get a satellite, and so some apps take a while to open completely.  I lost a half day in battery life when I upgraded.  I turned off location services all the time, and I got over an extra day of battery life back.

[shipo]

@Art25, be skeptical all you want, the folks over on the Garmin boards are having the same issues.  This is an Android 6.x issue and the folks at Fitbit have no real option.

[scl205]

And Fitbit can not figure out a way to sync without location services? I am not buying into that theory!

[USAF-Larry]

I am not sure why having Location Services enabled is a problem, since so many apps require it. It doesn't report anything about the tracker or phone location to any agency, and it doesn't affect battery life, so it doesn't bother me personally.  Most fitness trackers are now requiring it to be enabled, and those that don't presently will in the neart future I am sure. As I recall, this was a complaint with the early editions of the Apple Watch, but people finally got used to it and no longer complain about it.  Android decided to implement the requirement to enable location services with their latest release for a reason, and that reason probably had something to do with something like the national 911 service or Homeland Security - although I have no knowledge of their reasoning. The iPhone has been using location services forever, and Windows phones has a long history of recording such information. So, Google couldn't be far behind.....

[AlFu]

That is exactly why I don't want to have the location service on. Because Government agencies and whatsoever agencies may spy on my whereabouts 24/7 and so can any hacker and even Google sends me weird messages I did not ask for, just because they track my location for their advertisement business.

I am definitely looking for a way to turn this Location Service only on when I decide I want it on, not anybody else on or via my phone.

[Splashy2]

The gps use will drain your battery, I have a choice in the android "power saving" = wifi only.

[Splashy2]

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@AlFu wrote:

That is exactly why I don't want to have the location service on. Because Government agencies and whatsoever agencies may spy on my whereabouts 24/7 and so can any hacker and even Google sends me weird messages I

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You are aware that the use of a cellphone is enough to track your whereabouts 27/7 ??

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[saminmt]

Agreed! I don't have my location services turned on unless I specifically need them for gps. all of my other apps are compliant - and I'm not turning location svc on for *one* app. It's a matter of principle - no one needs to know my location besides myself. I just upgraded my smartphone, and now I will no longer be able to synch fitbit with my phone. So fitbit, are you going to refund money to people who can no longer use your device?

[shipo]

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@saminmt wrote:

Agreed! I don't have my location services turned on unless I specifically need them for gps. all of my other apps are compliant - and I'm not turning location svc on for *one* app. It's a matter of principle - no one needs to know my location besides myself. I just upgraded my smartphone, and now I will no longer be able to synch fitbit with my phone. So fitbit, are you going to refund money to people who can no longer use your device?

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Please read the full thread; this is N-O-T a Fitbit issue, it is a new requirement from the Android 6.x and later operating systems.  Like it or don't, believe it or not, all makers of these types of devices, from Fitbit to Garmin have to deal with the new requirement.

Long story short, since this isn't a Fitbit issue, no, they won't refund your money.

[KrisHOK]

Can I turn on my location to sync my fitbit and then turn it back off?  Having it on has drained my battery to 50% in three hours.

[shipo]

A 50% drain on your phone's battery in three hours?  Yikes!  How old is your phone?

[KrisHOK]

A year old, not old enough for that


Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy S7.