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.

[hiimtye]

this feature is basically the reason why I purchased the Blaze over other devices. I was really looking at getting an Android wear device, and I'm still not sure if I made the right purchase. There are a lot of features missing in Fitbit vs. Android wear, Google Fit syncing and Sleep as Android data sharing being the most important ones, but the connected GPS vs. the battery drain of built in GPS has not let me down. it means the difference between charging your watch every day vs. once per week, on average. occasionally I've had issues with connecting, but generally it works without any issues.

[advoWade]

LOL, I have a government affiliation too and you don't see any such attachments on my responses. And you're not sending emails and your not on a gov website.

[advoWade]

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@dorketh wrote:

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@FlavioCardoso wrote:

My Blaze is abandoned... I'm using MS Band, which has GPS and talks with every phone and every OS...

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And rarely lasts more than a few months before breaking.

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Not all of them. I've had mine since before Christmas.

[docwatkins]

If my disclaimer bothers you all THAT much.......
Disregard and move on.
Good grief people. Are you THAT bored that you have nothing better to do than to offer up judgement, non-constructive comments, and trivial BS ?
This page and my replies come through my phone and when I reply, attaches the disclaimer. NO, I'm not going to remove it. I try to respond to questions as they are discussed and posted to HELP.......others.
If all you have to time to do is critique my disclaimer, I pity your boring existence.

Sent from my iPhone

CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE:
The contents of this email message and any attachments are intended solely for the addressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information and may be legally protected from disclosure. If you are not the intended recipient of this message or their agent, or if this message has been addressed to you in error, please immediately alert the sender by reply email and then delete this message and any attachments. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of this message or its attachments is strictly prohibited.

[Rich_Laue]

I'm not saying it bothers me, just saying that as advoWade points out,
you're not using email
It is useless, since it is red getting to (email) addresses and not being sent through email
Your posting on a public website
This post can be considered forever public, and absolutely unrelated to work.
If you are indeed posting on work hours you're resisting my money, so cut it out.
The poster accepts that his post will be public and availible to anyone with internet.
There is nobody that has access to it that would not be the intendent target.
It is a webpage and the disclaimer is not auto generated
If your worried about the wrong eyes seeing it.. Since by definition of a public forum your post is public and open to all, LOL your best option is not to post.

@advoWade wrote:
Not all of them. I've had mine since before Christmas.

Lol - how did you get your Blaze 2 months before it was announced an 4 months before any in general where shipped?

[dorketh]

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@Rich_Laue wrote:
I'm not saying it bothers me, just saying that as advoWade points out,
you're not using email
It is useless, since it is red getting to (email) addresses and not being sent through email
Your posting on a public website
This post can be considered forever public, and absolutely unrelated to work.
If you are indeed posting on work hours you're resisting my money, so cut it out.
The poster accepts that his post will be public and availible to anyone with internet.
There is nobody that has access to it that would not be the intendent target.
It is a webpage and the disclaimer is not auto generated
If your worried about the wrong eyes seeing it.. Since by definition of a public forum your post is public and open to all, LOL your best option is not to post.

@advoWade wrote:
Not all of them. I've had mine since before Christmas.

Lol - how did you get your Blaze 2 months before it was announced an 4 months before any in general where shipped?

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@advoWade is talking about the MS band.  They're brilliant devices, amazing range of sensors, but build quality is not their strong point.

With regards the email footer, you do realise that you can reply to threads on here by sending an email?  You don't have to login to the site each time to reply.  Hence the footer being attached!

[Rich_Laue]

I see one drawback in the MS band, it is made by that MS compamy.
No actually I can't reply by email, I get a polite auto response telling me that I can not.

And as the disclaimer in the email state
To reply to this forum post, click here. Do not reply directly to this email.

[dorketh]

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@Rich_Laue wrote:

I see one drawback in the MS band, it is made by that MS compamy.
No actually I can't reply by email, I get a polite auto response telling me that I can not.

And as the disclaimer in the email state
To reply to this forum post, click here. Do not reply directly to this email.

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And when you "click here" on the email it opens up an email to a random email address (ie xmnuz233762.prodjfjlkfew@reply01.lithium.com

So yes, you can respond by email.

[advoWade]

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@dorketh wrote:

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@Rich_Laue wrote:
I'm not saying it bothers me, just saying that as advoWade points out,
you're not using email
It is useless, since it is red getting to (email) addresses and not being sent through email
Your posting on a public website
This post can be considered forever public, and absolutely unrelated to work.
If you are indeed posting on work hours you're resisting my money, so cut it out.
The poster accepts that his post will be public and availible to anyone with internet.
There is nobody that has access to it that would not be the intendent target.
It is a webpage and the disclaimer is not auto generated
If your worried about the wrong eyes seeing it.. Since by definition of a public forum your post is public and open to all, LOL your best option is not to post.

@advoWade wrote:
Not all of them. I've had mine since before Christmas.

Lol - how did you get your Blaze 2 months before it was announced an 4 months before any in general where shipped?

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@advoWade is talking about the MS band.  They're brilliant devices, amazing range of sensors, but build quality is not their strong point.

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Yes, I was referring to the MS Band 2. And yes I agree there is an issue with build quality or else people have them sized wrong. My wife does not workout and she didn't mistreat her Band 2, but the strap broke like others. Mine on the other hand, haha no pun intended, hasn't broken. I don't mistreat it either, but I do workout. It is really mistifying on how one can break and another not.

[advoWade]

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@Rich_Laue wrote:

I see one drawback in the MS band, it is made by that MS company.

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Have you tried a MS Band 2? They really hit it out of the park with the features the Band 2 can do. You won't find any Fitbit that can do everything the Band 2 can do.

For my uses:

Blaze - no on board GPS = fail. With the size of the phones today, who wants to strap a 5" block on their arm. My Band 2 does all my fitness tracking and then syncs to my phone when I'm done.

Surge - no calendar notifications = fail. I work in a D.O.E. facility where personal phones are not allowed. I eat and workout at specific times of the day, so I set calendar appointments in my phone and sync them to my Band 2. Phone stays in the vehicle, but yet I get my reminders through my Band 2.

I like both form factors, Blaze and Surge, but neither one will do everything I need.

[hamdrow]

Same here. Its driving me crazy and Im ready to smash this thing.

[Rich_Laue]

Sorry @hamdrow I'm not sure what your same here is referring to? And what it is that is driving you crazy? Is your GPS not connecting to the phone? 

Sorry @advoWade why buy a device that is advertised as having connected gps then complain that it has connected gps? I don't understand the logic here, and feel the fail is with the user in not purchasing the Surge, which does have built in gps. 

Most people today don't have a seperatr media playing device and I very rarely see someone running without their phone. 

As for the MS2 band, it still is connected to the MS company 

[advoWade]

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@Rich_Laue wrote:

Sorry @advoWade why buy a device that is advertised as having connected gps then complain that it has connected gps? I don't understand the logic here, and feel the fail is with the user in not purchasing the Surge, which does have built in gps. 

Most people today don't have a seperatr media playing device and I very rarely see someone running without their phone. 

As for the MS2 band, it still is connected to the MS company 

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Well for starters, I don't own a Blaze (or any other Fitbit), because I researched it enough that I discovered that it doesn't have built-in GPS. I could care less that it was "advertised" as having "connected-GPS" because I had to learn what that meant. Yes I understand the Surge has built-in GPS, but it doesn't get the notifications that I need. I explained how neither one meets MY needs as a fitness tracker.

I could care less that you don't see a lot of people running without their phone. I rarely run with my phone and when I do, it's because I'm in the neighborhood and my 10yr old is home by himself. I run with an ipod touch for my music. Hey if strapping a huge 5in block to your arm to run works for you, great.

So the Band is a MS product. Have you used it? MS has products on iOS and Android (Office, Health, etc) and from what the people that use those platforms say, the products work very well. And unless you use a mac, you're using a Windows os on your computer. You're immature attitude about MS is like my 10yr old saying he doesn't like a food he's never tried.

[FlavioCardoso]

Who's talking about reading and saying that MS Band works only with MS products? C'mon... MS Band is one of the few gadgets that works with almost every platform... I don't have Apple products just because of that...

By the way, yesterday the app was updated... Another person there talked about the Band team resignation...

Hate demagogy...

[advoWade]

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FlavioCardoso wrote:. Another person there talked about the Band team resignation...

Hate demagogy...

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That was the team that was trying to put Windows os on the Band.

[hamdrow]

I was replying to a much earlier post. I didnt know my reply was going to be drop to the bottom of the list where it did make any since. My issue specifically is my Charge 2 will not properly track using the GPS on my phone. I have been combing through everything I can to try to resolve it but I think it not compatable. However before I bought the Charge 2 I checked FitBits compatable devices and my Windows Lumia 650 was good to go. Including GPS tracking. 

[Julia_G]

Hi, @hamdrow, "connected GPS" does not currently work on any Windows phone even where your device is otherwise compatible and supported.  This is a Windows issue, not a Fitbit one, but Microsoft have promised that the required update to make this work will be available "later this year" -- which is getting very close!  At the same time that "connected GPS" works, email, text, and calendar notifications all should become available.

So the good news is you can stop combing through threads to make it work, because it doesn't.  The better news is that hopefully it will soon, as soon as MS produces the required update.  

You can get more information and updates in the Windows 10 section of the forums.  Also note that you will need to be running Windows Phone 10 in order to connect with any of the newer Fitbit trackers.

[Sandy_]

Question not related to topic:  How did you put the picture into your post?  Thx

[Aclobos]

@Sandy, login to your Fitbit app and click on your account tab. You will need to click on your name and edit your profile. Once there click on add photo. From there you can take a photo or choose a photo.

[Rich_Laue]

@advoWade you sound like your not familiar with all the Operating systems out there and failed to read my signature or you would know that for the last 15 years I have not had a computer in my house that is running Windows or Mac.. I have 1 raspberry pie running Linux and my Fitbits, all 6 sync nicely through this, 1 laptop and two desktops all running Linux. 

Personally I find windows terribly annoying to run and Mac entirely to exoensive, and as I said the problem with the MS band is the MS part.. 

As for connected gps it is exactly what the first apple watch uses, since it too does not have built in gps. 

Why hang around here if you detest Fitbit so much.