Connected GPS failure

[hawkyou]

I walked Bloomday a 7.5 mile race today. I used the exercise "walk" connected GPS feature. It only tracked 6.8 miles and the map is missing a large stretch. Not sure why this happened. Really sucks.

[GarethDPhillips]

Im not certain, but I wouldn't expect that Fitbit would accept any data from a Garmin device? 

[mvan231]

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@GarethDPhillips wrote:

Im not certain, but I wouldn't expect that Fitbit would accept any data from a Garmin device? 

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I would say probably not... However, I am still having the issue. I think that the app / phone need to spend more time locking the position. I am going to try some more things. But I think Fitbit still needs to solve this issue. People are having the same or similar issue with the app tracking as well.

 https://community.fitbit.com/t5/iOS-App/Exercise-tracking-error/m-p/1841258#M55949

@MoungjeanLee @AliLopez Can you guys help out with this?

[mvan231]

I just finished  a run and had the same issue. I am still working with support on this piece of crap. I am getting really frustrated about this because it is clearly a fitbit problem and not a device issue.

you can see here the fitbit one at the top shows where it lost its mind but my Strava recording was running great still and kept my connection the entire time. This tells me that the phone GPS is perfectly fine and has good enough lock but Fitbit for some reason deems that it isn't good enough so it kills the connection. It also lost connection around the last corner of my run as well

[hmkarnes]

That is true. I log my mileage in Dailymile. I wear the Garmin to get accurate stats, since the Fitbit is incapable of doing so. I wear the Fitbit to track steps for sync with my employers healthy initiatives ($$$ in my HSA for steps/month). Sucks to have to wear 2 devices. It does not seem to be my phone, Runkeeper is dead on with my Garmin.

Sent from my iPad

[mgeorgalas]

What data are you able to sync between garmin and fitbit?  I know fitdatasync no longer works, but I have heard strava still works for everything except for steps. 

[climategary]

I'm just curious. Have you tried turning off Wi-Fi before you start your run? That has worked for me. I saw that someone else put their device in Airplane mode, and I think both apple and android products now allow bluetooth in that mode, so that might be an option as well.

I too had the very same issues you have described and saw in an obscure thread that turning off wi-fi before the run might help. In my case, it definitely has. 

[mvan231]

Yeah Fitbit needs to issue a fix here. Something is wrong with the connected GPS function. 

[climategary]

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@mvan231 wrote:

I just finished  a run and had the same issue. I am still working with support on this piece of crap. I am getting really frustrated about this because it is clearly a fitbit problem and not a device issue.

you can see here the fitbit one at the top shows where it lost its mind but my Strava recording was running great still and kept my connection the entire time. This tells me that the phone GPS is perfectly fine and has good enough lock but Fitbit for some reason deems that it isn't good enough so it kills the connection. It also lost connection around the last corner of my run as well

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Oh and @mvan231 I can't see your images.

[mvan231]

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@climategary wrote:

I'm just curious. Have you tried turning off Wi-Fi before you start your run? That has worked for me. I saw that someone else put their device in Airplane mode, and I think both apple and android products now allow bluetooth in that mode, so that might be an option as well.

I too had the very same issues you have described and saw in an obscure thread that turning off wi-fi before the run might help. In my case, it definitely has. 

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Yeah I ran today with wifi off. It showed no help. I did a test before in airplane mode and it worked okay that time but I was also only walking. 

[mvan231]

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@climategary wrote:

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@mvan231 wrote:

I just finished  a run and had the same issue. I am still working with support on this piece of crap. I am getting really frustrated about this because it is clearly a fitbit problem and not a device issue.

you can see here the fitbit one at the top shows where it lost its mind but my Strava recording was running great still and kept my connection the entire time. This tells me that the phone GPS is perfectly fine and has good enough lock but Fitbit for some reason deems that it isn't good enough so it kills the connection. It also lost connection around the last corner of my run as well

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Oh and @mvan231 I can't see your images.

Fitbit, lost GPS near the pond and didn't get it back until I got off the trailStrava, correct GPS route

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[climategary]

@mvan231 Thanks for uploading those again. It might be worth a try to run in airplane mode. But that does look like the issue I had until I took my phone out of wi-fi mode before opening up the running app on my Blaze. It is a pain in the butt, but that has definitely fixed my problem. On a similar note, wow, love that Strava map. Does Strava use the HRM from the Blaze?

[mvan231]

So you turn off wifi, open the Fitbit "Run" exercise on your blaze, then it
works fine? I swear that's exactly what I did today but maybe not.

As for Strava, yeah the map and analysis is awesome. But they only use the
heart rate if it was uploaded from Fitbit. I have my Fitbit account linked
to my Strava account so those runs get auto loaded to Strava when I sync my
Fitbit. You cause use a satellite map view too.

[GarethDPhillips]

I've gone round in circles a bit, but I'm not sure that this is a GPS lock issue now, and my current mindset is that it is bluetooth related (i.e. the GPS data which the Blaze is using gets interrupted, but possibly not because the lock is bad, but because the Bluetooth LE connection lags, or drops, or otherwise goes screwy). 

Clearly I'm not expert, but like you, I can map the run using another app on my phone and it records it with 100% accuracy, so the phone is able to use the GPS service reliably, but that data being sent over to the Blaze is being messed up somehow - which makes me now think its Bluetooth LE again. 

I think you said you are not using Bluetooth headphones?  Do you have any other Bluetooth or Bluetooth LE devices which may be interfering?  Or even any other apps that may be using Bluetooth to try and find those devices, even if your not carrying them when running? 

Im still clutching at straws, but I think in my case it may be something else using Bluetooth during the run, scanning for devices or whatever, and this is interrupting the Blaze connection. I am now less convinced that it is GPS signal loss (tho If I place my phone somewhere to simulate GPS signal loss, I can replicate the same issue - I think the disconnected icon appears on the Blaze if the connected GPS is lost, which can be due to EITHER a Bluetooth disconnect, or a loss of GPS fix)

[GarethDPhillips]

I have the "Tile" lost key finder, and the app constantly uses Bluetooth LE to not only try to connect to your tile, but also to try and find other tiles. I dont think this can help, so I am currently experimenting with the setting in the Tile app set to not locate tiles when app is closed. 

Google location settings also has an option to use Bluetooth, as well as WiFi and cellular, to help pinpoint location. Cant see how that is needed, so that is off also. 

Will try a run or two with this setting and see how it goes. Interested to know if anybody else has Tile, or any other apps that are "polling" Bluetooth or Bluetooth LE in the background. 

[mvan231]

I did try without headphones and it seemed to help for a slow walk. But
when I did it without headphones for running I had no success. It still
lost signal or thought it was lost. And part of that was in airplane mode
too.

[mvan231]

I ran today with wifi off and opened the app before I ran and I also waited a good 30 seconds or so after my blaze said full strength GPS signal. And the results were better. I even had my phones with me. But it still cut a corner and ended sooner than when I ended it.

[mvan231]

so I got some further feedback from Fitbit today! Hopefully they will fix this soon!

[climategary]

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@mvan231 wrote:

I ran today with wifi off and opened the app before I ran and I also waited a good 30 seconds or so after my blaze said full strength GPS signal. And the results were better. I even had my phones with me. But it still cut a corner and ended sooner than when I ended it.

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That's really annoying. Both my Blaze and Surge complete the runs, anyway. I've got some 10K training runs this weekend and I will see how things go. Funny thing, on a common run of mine, the blaze actually did a better job tracking than the Surge. 

[climategary]

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@mvan231 wrote:

so I got some further feedback from Fitbit today! Hopefully they will fix this soon!

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Good news! I also know that there should be a firmware update that adds most of the features of the Charge 2, as well. Hoping for VO2 Max!

[Arifyusof]

Regarding this issue I think it's a phone compatibility problem with blaze. I was using a Xiaomi note 3 (Qualcomm) and had no issues with the blaze, 100% tracked. Last two days I started using a Samsung j7 phone and I'm having your issues where the workout is getting cut off. So far I'm 2/2 failure officially.