Blaze Firmware Release - 17.8.301.8

[AndrewFitbit]

Firmware version 17.8.301.8 - Resolves a syncing issue with Apple iOS version 10.2

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Workout mode missing? Not a problem! Just follow the steps for adding it back. 

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 Hey everyone! 

We're rolling out a new update for Blaze, release notes below: 

• In addition to call, text, and calendar event notifications, you can receive notifications from email and other third-party apps on your tracker.Common emojis also appear. Keep in mind all notifications currently on your tracker will be deleted after the update.
• You can receive reminders to move throughout the day.
• Five new clock faces are available. Navigate to your device settings and check them out!

This release also resolves the following issue:

• Some users reported that auto-brightness was too dim or delayed.

Important to note: A sync is required after a manual shutdown or a battery drain in order to show the correct time on Blaze. This is especially important for your activity tracked by Blaze because you'll want to make sure it's associated with the current date and time.

[jmattwood]

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@benphonez3 wrote:

Thought I'd go for a run this morning.  Didn't charge my phone last night, so the perfect opportunity to switch it off and charge it whilst I'm out.

Watch on, warmed up off I set, look at watch to start activity.  BUT WAIT, IT'S STILL YESTERDAY!!!  Of course it is!  So I have to stop, run back to the house, go to the kitchen, switch on phone, wait for phone to start, wait for app to open, wait for watch to sync, turn off phone, put it on charge, go for run.  Every second of those four minutes was spent seething with the hatred I have for Fitbit and this latest firmware update.

I do hope that what I presume is your 'evil' wanting to know where I am when I turn my watch on so you can sell the data to other people, is worth putting your customers through this.

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This might be a fun way for me to manipulate the leader board step total...If I could add to yesterday's step count today 🙂

[AlbertStClair]

Why do you turn your watch off to charge it

[12HourWalker]

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@AlbertStClair wrote:
Why do you turn your watch off to charge it

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Probably because most people have known for ages that devices draw current from the battery to run, so turning them off while charging makes them charge faster and finish sooner.

[benphonez3]

And also that it was my phone that I turned off to charge, not my watch, hence the need to return home, switch on the phone etc to sync with my watch.

My watch I turn off when I go to bed to save battery.

[Cybdiver]

I never turn my device off and it charges pretty quick.  The current draw is very minimal.

[OleMarius]

SInce my double post regarding extreme distance error on GPS tracking when out running got deleted here.
Does the developers of Fiterror device even know that this issus is making this device unreliable?
Yesterday i took a 6 km run, it showed in the fitbit log that this rute was an 11.25 km run. Its off by 5250 meters.

Odd part is, fitbit use google map to get the rute and log in, and i use the official google map log to get the real distanse. Anyone els notice that this is an issue with no fix nor recognition that is bug exist?
This bug has been from may when i first bought and tested the device to this date, and that is with the new update that came...

[AlbertStClair]

How much faster, if you leave your device to charge and go out what difference would that make.

[AlbertStClair]

And how much time does it take to resynch

[blans]

The point is, before this new release, you didn't need to sync your watch with your phone before it would reset for the day when you turned it on in the morning. Now you have to not only turn your phone on, but you have to open the app and sync it before it is accurate. Until you do this, your watch shows the time that you turned your tracker off the previous evening. There was no good reason to make this change. I am sure it has something to do with Fitbit wanting to capture data from the users that they somehow benefit from. And they are doing it at the inconvenience of the user.

[blans]

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@AlbertStClair wrote:
And how much time does it take to resynch

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The point is, before this new release, you didn't need to sync your watch with your phone before it would reset for the day when you turned it on in the morning. Now you have to not only turn your phone on, but you have to open the app and sync it before it is accurate. Until you do this, your watch shows the time that you turned your tracker off the previous evening. There was no good reason to make this change. I am sure it has something to do with Fitbit wanting to capture data from the users that they somehow benefit from. And they are doing it at the inconvenience of the user.

[AlbertStClair]

@benphonez3
If both devices are off, they both need to be loaded correctly then communicate with each other, then transfer data, then confirm that exchange is accurate. That all takes time and is not instantaneous.

[AlbertStClair]

@blank ok I see your point. Hope they fix that soon.

[AlbertStClair]

Sorry @blans

[Driver8666]

It's not an inconvienience. Why shut it down just to save juice? You would not do that with say a Timex or a Brietling would you? You can't switch those off and the battery draw is barely noticeable. So my question is why shut it off? Mine is on 24/7. Even charging. 

[blans]

True, but I don't have to worry about recharging my Timex. I have had my Blase run out of juice in the middle of the day when I don't have access to my charger. I think you will find that lots of people turn it off just like they do with their phone when they are sleeping. It is something that Fitbit changed with this release. Seems to me a pretty significant change that affects users.

[Rich_Laue]

If the heart rate is set for auto or off the battery drain is at a minimum. I however when I leave the Blaze in my arm and get 4+ days, the charge 2 is even better. 

Personally I leave my phone on at night, I don't have a home phone, in case there is a reason that somebody really needs me.

[jmattwood]

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@blans wrote:
True, but I don't have to worry about recharging my Timex. I have had my Blase run out of juice in the middle of the day when I don't have access to my charger. I think you will find that lots of people turn it off just like they do with their phone when they are sleeping. It is something that Fitbit changed with this release. Seems to me a pretty significant change that affects users.

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I don't quite follow why you don't pop it on charge rather than turn it off...problem solved.

[ultrablazer]

On the contrary, I don't quite follow why anyone tries to assert/argue personal behavioral change to others, particularly in defense of poor product update management with uncommunicated rationale vis-a-vis user expectations. My wife has me turn off all my personal electronics and gadgets at night, EMF sleep quality concerns.

[mcrmama]

Most of the other fitbits cannot be turned off so I have always thought of it as a bonus that we can turn the Blaze off if I ever feel the need to do so. I never think to turn mine off and have no issues with battery life etc. That being said, I can understand you wanting to be able to do so, perhaps that feature can be brought back. Personally, I switch fitbits most nights as the Alta is smaller and does better job waking me when I am tired but I just leave my Blaze on the counter left on so it is ready for me in the morning. On the weekends, I tend to just wear it at night.

[ultrablazer]

You just the the irony of why I started following this forum and the heart of the problem imho: I actually leave my Blaze in the car i.e., 'out of the house' most nights. Just easier for me. (trust me, a whole novel there,,,) I'm upset because no other Fitbits required an on/off switch. Required and/or required to be used in order to calibrate time after running out of batter juice, which mine sometimes do. I'm upset that my other Fitbits never made me have to do this. The device "time", at the very lowest of hurdles expected to be provided on a very mobile (by definition) device, I'm upset at continued, cross-device + history, poor product management with uncommunicated rationale vis-a-vis user expectations. I'm a look long term buyer going back to Ultra days. But I can no longer endorse this company.