Bluetooth issues with Galaxy S8

[ScottMan]

I recently purchased a Blaze, after downgrading from the Surge.

I can not for the life of me get my Samsung Galaxy S8 plus to connect with the Blaze to

be able to get notifications.  After spending almost 45 mins between the chat feature on Fitbits website and on the phone with a tech. They determined that the Blaze's notifications do NOT work with the Galaxy S8. Seems like a cop out, why didn't they tell me that in the first 3 mins of talking with them?

Any solution to this?  Anyone else have this issue, and resolved it?

thanks!

[SilviaFitbit]

Hey there @ScottMan! Thank you so much for sharing your comments and the troubleshooting that you did. I'm sorry about all the time that you spent with Customer Support. Samsung Galaxy S8 plus has just been added to the list of supported devices due to this, our team is still actively working to resolve the notification process between Fitbit trackers and this phone. 

Your patience and understanding while this gets resolved is truly appreciated. 

[SunsetRunner]

Let me ask another Galaxy S8 / bluetooth question here. First day using the Blaze. I drive about 3 hours a a day and listen to podcasts via bluetooth on my radio in the car. With the default setup of the Blaze it wants to frequently sync with my phone. This interrupted the sound of the podcasts about  every 30 seconds. In the android phone app I turned off all sync to phone options and this fixed it. 

Why are the updates so frequent and why do they garble the bluetooth? It was like watching netflix on dialup. 

Thanks

[ScottMan]

Hello @SilviaFitbit thank you for your response.  But i question what you said about the supported devices.

"Samsung Galaxy S8 plus has just been added to the list of supported devices due to this".

Don't  you mean UN-supported devices?  The notifications do NOT work on the S8.  It needs to be taken off of their list of what the Blaze supports until they get it resolved.

[SilviaFitbit]

Hey there @SunsetRunner! I believe this is because you may have all day sync option on in your app. This means:  All-day sync makes sure your tracker will sync automatically with your iPhone, even when the Fitbit app is in the background. 

When you are viewing the Fitbit App, your device will be actively scanning for your tracker to sync new data if it is available. With new data, your tracker will sync approximately every 15 minutes if it is awake. When the Fitbit App is open, but not currently being viewed, your device will scan less frequently to sync new data.

 Also, if you're using more than one device connected to the Bluetooth you may want to learn more about it by checking Is the Fitbit app for Android interfering with other Bluetooth devices?. 

Hey @ScottMan! It was just recently added to the list of supported devices as now you're able to sync your data with Samsung Galaxy S8. However, our engineers are still working with the notifications option. 

Hope this helps! Let me know how it goes. 

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks with the sync settings turned off there is no interference. I don't have enough data to worry about syncing.

[SunsetRunner]

So you're saying that I bought my fitbit Blaze based on the fact that it's supposed to be compatible with my S8, but it isn't? One of the important features was notifications. 

[SunsetRunner]

Not sure on your uses. I don't "exercise", so there is nothing for me to track. (this was a gift, I didn't choose it). The notifications were set to be on all the time, but it interferes with me listening to bluetooth audio from my phone ( driving 2-3 hours a day listening to podcasts). So I turned off notifications to prevent the interruptions. I would suggest you try the notifications settings and see what works for you. If you are only tracking texts and email, there may not be any interference. For streaming audio there is. 

Overall, I think I will be using this as a watch during the week and that's about it. I was out on the boat today and had to take it off to prevent water issues. Will think about putting it back on Monday. 

[SunsetRunner]

As a follow on, I haven't found much worthwhile for me to track. Can I delete the app from my phone? Will the fitbit still act as a watch?

Thx

[ScottMan]

@SunsetRunnerexactly! You buy a high dollar phone, a high dollar tracker, you would have thought they would have worked out all the bugs before releasing them. I feel like i was mislead when looking at the features for this Blaze. If I had known the notifications didn't work, I might not have bought it.

[SilviaFitbit]

@ScottMan, @SunsetRunner and @SunsetRunner I appreciate your feedback about this and I totally understand your point about the notifications and Samsung S8. Based on the comments of other users about adding this mobile device to the list, our engineers added it for syncing but they are still working to add the notifications feature working completely.

Hey @SunsetRunner! If you delete the app from your phone, the tracker will still work. Just don't delete it from your account or your Fitbit Dashboard and it will continue working normally. 

Once again, your patience and understanding is appreciated. 

[ajcastle]

So, no amount of troubleshooting on my end will get notifcations to be received by the blaze on the S8 as of now?  Just got the phone yesterday, as I was under impressions the issues had been resolved, and I spent 2 hours last night trying all troubleshooting methods.  Very disappointed in this, as I waited until the S8 was a compatible device and it's not fully compatible now.  
Please let me know if I am understanding this correctly. and if so, is there an expected date that this will be resolved and therefore the info on the fitbit site saying it is compatible will be accurate?

[SilviaFitbit]

It's great to have you here @ajcastle! Thank you for the troubleshooting that you've done. I can't confirm when this issue is going to be resolved, however, I can assure you that our engineers are working towards fixing this notifications issue. 

Once again, your patience is appreciated. 

[ScottMan]

Last week I received a large update from Samsung, Now my Bixby has a voice, and my Fitbit has notifications. My Blaze seems to be working good now. Notifications are being received on it. Thank you @SilviaFitbit for your concern on this issue and for your help.  I am happy with it now!! 🙂

[SunsetRunner]

I've also begun receiving notifications. Thank you!!

[Rosie32000]

Thank you for mentioning s8 update scottman got blaze today and no notifacations was about to cry till i read your post its downloading as we speak

[ScottMan]

That's great @Rosie32000 . Let us know if that fixes it!

[ZFamilia]

I just got the S8+ yesterday with the impression that the issues with the notifications from the S8 to the Blaze had been resolved but I do not get any notifications from my phone on my Blaze. I have tried all recommended fixes on these threads to no avail.

[Rosie32000]

I'm still trying 😣 if I figure it out I will post

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[ajcastle]

So, oddly enough after posting this and giving up the troubleshooting, I went out for the day.  Out of the blue, the Blaze starts to receive notifications!  Got home, and no notifications again.  Took it off wi-fi, and notifications worked.  Turned wi-fi back on and they have continued to work.  I have no idea what happened, but I am happy to report it is currently working.  I did start to receive all notifications now.  I am curious how it all came to pass, but happy nonetheless to have it working again!