Connected GPS Information Post

[EmersonFitbit]

Hey all!

I've been seeing a ton of great conversation about Connected GPS- the technology that will allow you to see your maps, as well as pace/distance using your phone's GPS. Ahead of launch of the device, I'd like to provide a bit more information about Connected GPS in comparison to our built-in GPS technology (found in Surge) or our existing GPS functionality in relation to other devices! The following is an in-depth look at Connected GPS, and and opening of the floor for questions!  Are you ready? Let's do it!

• What is Connected GPS? 

Connected GPS is a new part of the Fitbit ecosystem! Using Connected GPS, Blaze connects with your phone's native GPS capabilities to plot routes and activity stats screen as the pace and duration.

• How do I use Connected GPS?

The necessary components for initiating a Connected GPS exercise are: 

1. Your charged tracker
2. Your compatible Mobile device with GPS capabilities
3. The Fitbit App

To initiate a Connected GPS exercise, open the appropriate exercise (exercises that offer GPS connectivity on the Blaze will have a gear icon on the tile). Once you select the exercise type, you'll see that your Blaze will begin to look for your phone's GPS services. Once the device establishes a connection, you'll be notified that you're ready to go. You can always bypass the connection if you'd like, much like on Surge. 

• How is this different than Surge? MobileRun?

GPS is built-in on the Fitbit Surge, meaning that you could initiate a GPS activity without your phone in proximity. The MobileRun process works a bit differently; you'll have to open the Fitbit app and select Track Exercise > Stopwatch Icon > Start. 

• What errors might I run into? 

Phone Not Found: Users may see the following error state if their tracker is unable to connect to their phone. If this happens, please ensure the following: phone is within range, your app is open, phone is charged up, Bluetooth enabled and bonded, and Internet connection is present.

Check Fitbit App: If you come across this error, there may be a bit of action required. Please ensure that your app is open, you are logged into your account, and that location services are enabled.

• Location Services and Permissions: 

Location services are required for Connected GPS to function properly. Please ensure that location services are enables, and set to "Always" if applicable. 

Permissions are requested upon setup of the tracker. Users who intend to use the Connected GPS feature should accept the permission requests. If you switch phones during the life of your Blaze, you'll be prompted to run through all of these permission requests again before being able to successfully use Connected GPS.

[AirHej]

Yeah this is an absolute joke. I use the Nike+ Running app as my main running app on my iPhone 6s running the most current version of iOS. I've mapped out my route via Google Maps as well as run it with my Garmin ForeRunner so I know the Nike+ app is the correct distance. Yesterday I ran 3.11 miles according to the Nike+ app, yet FitBit Blaze is saying 2.76. Seriously? The primary purpose of me upgrading from the Charge HR to the Blaze was for the available data on my wrist while running. If not corrected, this thing is going back.

[RazorBladeAlley]

Absurd. Today I again walked to work (London Victoria to Sloane Square) but according to the GPS exercise report I finished the exercise somewhere in Harringey!!!

Using FitBit Blaze and a Samsung Galaxy Note II

RBA

[RazorBladeAlley]

Equally I wasn't drunk when I left home - see image below. This jouney is exactly 0.5 miles. This journey 0.66 miles. Hmm, not convinced.

[day2day]

I returned my Blaze today and am moving onto to MS Band 2 as I'm a Windows phone owner I'm sick and tired of major companies ignoring the 4% and not noting on the package in which features work with which operating software

[RazorBladeAlley]

Again, GPS all over the place. Am returning mine today for a full refund. This is really not good enough for the price we pay. The Runtastic Pro app was so much more accurate that the FitBot Blaze in terms of GPS tracking - from the same phone at the same time!! Ridiculous, FitBit really need to address this erratic GPS.

RBA

[landvus]

I have been using connected GPS but have accuracy issues.  If I use the Run exercise setting it is accurate.  However, when I use the Walk setting it is way off.  For example, today I walked 3.4 miles (validated on google maps), and the Blaze wiht GPS Connected only charted 2.35.  My pace is thrown way off by this issue.  Any suggestions? 

[RazorBladeAlley]

get rid.

[Rich_Laue]

The phone model could be the source of the inconsistencies. 

Has anybody contacted fitbit on this,  or posted in the feature section?

Posting here is not guaranteed to bring this to Fitbits attention.

Here is one of my runs on a G5 running Lollipop, it doesnt seem to affect everyone, which can make it a nightmare to troubleshoot.

When the Surge came out, some units had the same ptoblems and a later update did fix yhis.

[RazorBladeAlley]

if phone model was the problem it would happen with other mapping devices/apps. In my case for exactly the same exercise I mapped with FitBit Blaze and the Runtastic Pro app. Runtastic was perfect whereas Blaze was all over the place.

And no, I haven't posted elsewhere or contacted them. Thought this was supposed to be where a moderator could intervene, no?

[Rich_Laue]

I disagree because each app, does its own processing of the data, the GPS API calls only return points. Then again it could also be a particular app that is interfering with the Fitbit App, and not phone related at all. Either way it is going to take some troubleshooting. 

This same inconsistencies were found in the  app tracking, when first released, for some, but not others, while most people,  Everybody on these forums feel other tracking programs like MapMyFitness work great, but do a google and you will see that outside of Fitbit there are many complaints of GPS accuracy. Even here the many complaints add up to a very small percentage of users.

You might have noticed that my starts are almost always incorrect,  and this is consistent with the Surge, Blaze, and the Fitbit App tracking. I should check MMF.

[AirHej]

So if other apps are interfering with FitBit's GPS, what good is the FitBit app? I'm not switching out of the running app I've been using for two years. One of the main selling points for me was the GPS feature so that I could just look at my wrist to see my mileage/pace instead of the iPhone strapped to my arm. What is the likelihood Fitbit is able to fix this and how long does it typically take them to put out an update? 

[landvus]

I haven't figured out how to email support directly.  I would rather do that!  I agree fitbit is great about fixing issues, and new products have issues.

[landvus]

Nevermind I just figured out how to email them directly - thanks!

[Rich_Laue]

@AirHej the likelihood of it bring fixed, once they no about it is pretty good, how fast, that would depend on a lot of different circumstances. How easy is it to determine the cause, then the code needs to be written and debugged, then tested on both the offending and none offending configurations. It will not be overnight.

Sometimes there are 15-25 version changes between official releases of firmware, to me this says that Fitbit does try to test and debug.

[AirHej]

@Rich_Laue thanks for the information. Good to know that FitBit addresses user concerns. How do you recommend me contacting them about my problem? At this point since I'm still in the return period, I'm really torn on whether to return it and wait to see if the problem gets addressed and go back to my Charge HR or just get an Apple Watch 2 when it's released in the Fall.

[Rich_Laue]

@AirHej one of two way,  you can contact Fitbit, amd list then know about your concerns. 

The other way would be to post in the Feature Request board,  this is where the developers monitor,  Choose your title carefully, maybe something like, "Concerns with the accuracy of the connected GPS on the Blaze". Post some details, a screen shot, and cocerns.

Youmight decide to go both routes.

[oddis60]

The Blaze does not handle distance info from the GPS on my iPhone6plus correctly. I have done 8-10 walk exercises now, and the Blaze constantly shows only a bit more than half (!) of the correct number of kilometers after an exercise. I use a Garmin Hiking GPS for reference. I also run an other training app on the iPhone which uses the same GPS data as the Blaze, and it shows an accurate distance number, compared to the Garmin, which I trust. So the GPS recordings in the iPhone is accurate, but the Blaze are not able to pick them up correctly. This must be fixed. 50% distance measurement error is stupid and makes the device useless for monitoring exercises. On the other hand it shows a correct track on the map on fitbit.com. Its only the distance reading which is way off.

[Baltoscott]

@oddis60 - I suggest you contact support. http://help.fitbit.com/?cu=1. I've had a couple instances where connected GPS lost connection and stopped tracking but for most its tracking distances match my Apple Watch or my Fenix 3 when I compare them. Possibly there is something wrong with your particular Blaze. I saw another post where the user thinks his garmin is causing his Blaze to restart when they are both connected. I think he also has a iPhone 6plus. I have not had that issue with my iPhone 6.

[landvus]

Please do report this to fitbit support. I am having the same issue in
walk mode with my blaze, but in run mode it works properly. The more of us
that report this issue, the more likely it will get fixed quickly. I
reported it and they have asked me to do some more tests. Other than this
issue I love the blaze!

--
Thanks,
Leslie

[oddis60]

Thanks for your advice @Baltoscott. Just to clarify: The Blaze does not loose the connection to the iPhone GPS. It draws a perfect line in the map of the route I have done (crosscountry skiing, btw). It just shows only half the correct distance. The pace is then of course also wrong, twice the correct value. 

And my Garmin is a separate GPS unit, not connected to the iPhone. So it would not interfere with the Blaze. 

A more severe problem, which I have mentioned in an other post, is that the Blaze turns off my exercises by itself. Probably because I wear cloves and a jacket. There should be a way to lock the screen, disabling the touch screen feature.