Blaze non-responsive after plane trips

[mikolajek]

Hello Community,

I've reported this issue a couple of weeks back, but hasn't got any real response :(. All I got were only "that's interesting" / "that's strange" comments, so I'm putting the case once again, this time with some more details. Since there are more and more Blazu users, maybe this time someone can confirm / deny my observations.

It looks the problem is connected to my travel - each time I travel on a plane and it gets above certain height, my Blaze starts restarting repeatably every couple of minutes and becomes non-responsive for a long time - neither buttons nor the touch screen work at all (this includes Quick View feature as well).

After I land, the tracker stays non-responsive for a long time, but apparently works correctly in terms of tracking my activity, I mean the bottom LEDs are flashing and the data is synced to my iPhone app. However, for at least 2-5 days I'm not able to use my Blaze in any way, dependent on how long the plane trip was (the longer trip, the longer Blaze stays non-responsive). After approx. 2-3 days the buttons start working and after consecutive 2-3 days the touch screen becomes responsive (unless I board another plane before...).

However I travel usually once per two weeks and that means 4 flights, which effectively makes my Blaze non-responsive for all the time (unless the trip is really short, then it "recovers" faster). Apparently either my Blaze is broken or there's some more general problem related to how Blazes react to air pressure / height changes. Can anyone comment on that? Am I the only one that expeirence such trouble? If so, I should probably have my tracker replaced....

[fudge22]

In your situation I would contact support via phone as they can more closely diagnose the issues you are having.

It may be an issue with the altimeter. If it is a faulty altimeter, then the whole watch would need to be replaced. 

I haven't traveled personally since having my Blaze so I can't say that I haven't had these same issues, but they don't seem to be correct behavior. My advice would be to shut down the blaze before a flight and then start it back up after the flight and see how the tracker behaves. Additionally, when it starts misbehaving on the flight, feel free to shut it down as opposed to just the hard reset. 

[mikolajek]

Just to update the Community on that - I've received an answer from Fitbit Support saying that the maximum operating altitude for Blaze is 28,000 feet, therefore it should be shut down before taking a plane.

On the other hand I've googled a bit and the routes I typically fly are served by planes that operate at approx. height of 8,000 meters (which is only a bit more than 26,000 feet), so my Blaze shouldn't have got impacted in any way if left on (it was on in fact).

I'm still questioning them on how to investigate the case, but I unfortunately believe I won't be able to do anything on my own...

[fudge22]

I'd suggest shutting it down before the plane takes off and see if that fixes the issue.

Even if fitbit support says that 28,000 is the max altitude, that could be a rough estimate given to them by the manufacturer of the altimeter they include in the blaze, which may not be an accurate estimate. Ultimately, the suggestion of shutting down the blaze before flights is probably one way to cause the issues you are having to not occur.

[bbarrera]

Aircraft are required to maintain a cabin pressure equivalent to an altitude of 8,000 feet or less. For example, in one study published in 2010 of 65 flights in a 747 the median cabin pressure was 5,159 feet of altitude. That means for the median pressure in that study, while traveling your body and Blaze experience an altitude approximately equivalent to Denver, Colorado.

Bottom line: your Blaze and your body experience a max of 8,000 feet altitude when traveling in a commercial aircraft.

[mikolajek]

Thank you for this remark, bbarrera!

It would suggest then that it's safe to leave Blaze on when on plane as the interior condition emulate quite normal conditions. Referring to my particular case, it may be actually something wrong with the tracker then...

[Julia_G]

I was going to reply to say pretty much what @bbarrera said.  I monitor these forums quite a bit and have never heard anyone reporting the kinds of issues you are describing.  I would get back in touch with Customer Support as I think it sounds like your Blaze is not working as expected.

[AngelaMa]

Hello @mikolajek, @bbarrera, @fudge22 and @Julia_G! It's great to have you here. 🙂 @mikolajek I would suggest to reach out to support team so they can review your tracker's back-end information and provide you a personalized troubleshoot. 

Let me know how it goes! 🙂 

[Coasteee]

I am having the same issue with my blaze after flying. It's been 2 days and mine still isn't working.

[AlejandraFitbit]

Welcome to the Community @Coasteee. Have you tried to restart your Blaze? If you haven't, I recommend restarting your tracker. If this procedure doesn't work, as recommended in previous posts, please get in touch with our support team. For a faster response you can contact them via phone or chat.

Let me know the outcome. 

[santoshnc]

Hi! I’ve been facing the same problem. Every time I fly, my blaze becomes unresponsive. After my first trip with the blaze, I shut it down and restart it only after exiting the plane, but even that does not help. Takes the blaze about 4-5 hrs to return to normalcy. Please help

[Lexie620]

Hi i just googled this.I spoke to fitbit representative on the website they gave me a 35% off but this is the second time this happens. I flew to VA and my versa never started back up nor charges. Last time I went to Colombia same thing happened to my charge 2 and i did fall for the 30% off but this second time sorry no money doesn't grow on trees to be buying fit bits all the **ahem** time. I've had fir bit watches since 2017 I'm DONE!