Fitbit Blaze Sync with Windows 7 PC

[ResilientSoul]

Hello!

I am evaluating whether i should buy a Fitbit Blaze.I have a WIndows 8 mobile and  a windows 7 PC. Apparently Fitbit Blaze doesnt sync with windows 8 app and i am confused whether it will sync up win dows 7 pc.

I have the following questions.

My laptop is bluetooth enabled. 

Does Fitbit blaze sync up with windows 7 PC at all?

If it does does it automatically sync up with bluetooth enabled laptops or should i purchase a dongle?

[AngelaMa]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @ResilientSoul 🙂  The Fitbit Blaze should sync with your Windows 7 PC you just need to download the software from here. To sync the Blaze you just need to use the charging cradle, included on your package.  You can read more about the Blaze on the product manual. 

I'll be around if you have any questions. 

[ResilientSoul]

 Thanks for replying back.

I have gone through the thread here and apparently as per the poster, he had some issue with syncing up using a charging cable.

Are these issues resolved ?

[ResilientSoul]

oops missed the link 

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Blaze/Fitbit-Blaze-and-Windows-7-Setup/m-p/1212266#M3899

[AngelaMa]

Hello @ResilientSoul thanks for your reply! 🙂 Fitbit is working hard to get this issue solved. Also to sync you can use a USB Dongle if the cradle is not recognized, if required you can contact customer support and they will be happy to assist you! 🙂 

[ResilientSoul]

Hi Angela,

Thanks for replying back. I have not bought a fitbit blaze yet. I just wanted a confirmation whenther  this was a problem(which i guess it is).

I probably will have to wait for the fix or check other options out since i have a windows phone and a windows pc. Let me know if you think there are anyother options for me.

[Rich_Laue · Accepted solution]

To answer the question as to, well your BT in the laptop work? Probably not, the Win 10 app is the only software that works with a generic BT

[ResilientSoul]

Thanks Rich!

[EmmKay]

I am using Win 7 with the dongle for my Blaze.  Once I figured out how to get it set up (Fitbit's device and setup documentation really needs to be written, and not force people to rely on a Community that is made up largely of people troubleshootin their own problems or the circular frustration of everything referring them to www.fitbit.com/setup), it synced automatically just fine.  I keep the charging cradle in my bedroom, plugged into the USB outlet in a powerstrip.  As someone noted in another thread, the 5 day battery life it nowhere near accurate, so I charge it everynight for 30 minutes or so before going to sleep, because I want it to track my sleep.

For the first 10 days, it worked great.  I could look at the Dashboard on my iPad and see when it synced and would check my sleep, battery level, etc., without having to go into the den to look at the desktop computer.

And then it stopped syncing automatically.  (The Blaze is not paired with iPad's Bluetooth or any other BT, so that is not the issue.)  Starting a couple of days before the recent firmware update, it just stopped syncing "within 20 feet" of the dongle.  Now, I have to force the sync using Fitbit Connect on the computer.  When doing so, Connect says that the Blaze needs to be "near the computer".  Well, apparently 12 inches away from the dongle isn't close enough.  I have to take the Blaze off and put it right next to the dongle for it to sync.

When I first installed the dongle, it was in my USB hub, as there are no USB ports left in the back of my tower, and the ones in front are a pain to use.  One of the few bits of documentation I found buried soemwhere said that the dongle must be plugged into the computer, not a hub.  Well, it worked fine in the hub until it didn't, so, okay, I'll try it in the computer.  Well, it still doesn't automatically sync, and I still have to take the Blaze off and put it right next to the dongle to get it to sync.

From my own experience with the Fitbit setup and the Blaze's failure to sync, reading through many of the threads here in the Blaze Community, and the problems a friend of mine (who got her own Fitbit because I liked my Blaze so much) is having getting hers setup and syncing, I feel like I am dealing with Apple and Microsoft, both pretty notorious for relying on "communities" to help the people who buy their products and do nothing about addressing the problems raised in those communities.

I like the device for what I am using it for (cardio/bpm, walking, sleep).  I don't have a smartphone at this time and so have no need for those features.  I wear my watches with the face on the inside of my wrist, not the outside.  This confuses the Blaze so it doesn't 'wake up' the watch face when I turn my arm so that I can see the face or bring my arm up closer to my own face to see it.  It would be nice if this were a selectable option, like the dominant/nondominant hand is.

Overall okay, but improvements could be made to the way the device functions, and need to be made in the documentation.

[sum1else]

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@EmmKay wrote:

I keep the charging cradle in my bedroom, plugged into the USB outlet in a powerstrip.  As someone noted in another thread, the 5 day battery life it nowhere near accurate, so I charge it everynight for 30 minutes or so before going to sleep, because I want it to track my sleep.

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I think that the USB on the powerstrip must have a higher voltage than a typical computer USB power strip. Most things designed for charging have a higher voltage than the standard to charge quicker, but if the device isn't designed to handle that, it will destroy the battery life. My cowerker has a Charge HR that he had this issue with and support told him to not charge it in this manner when they replaced it (he had been using his phone AC adapter).

I've not had battery life issues with my Blaze at all, actually getting around 6 days out of it. I'm just lucky that I had a Charge HR so I had a dongle since I'm on Windows 7, though I have heard that support may send you a free one if you bug them about it. I had those sync issues with my Charge HR, which is one of the reasons behind getting the Blaze, and the Blaze in my experience syncs perfectly, unlike my Charge HR.

[EmmKay]

I have a USB adapter on the bedroom powerstrip that enables me to charge my iPads; I use it to charge the Blaze, too.  I also have USB ports in my computer's power strip which I have used to charge iPads, iPod, and other such devices.  But from the moment I took the Blaze out of the box and charged it up, it never lasted more than 2.5 days.  I am not crazy about having to charge that often as it does shorten battery life.

I had those sync issues with my Charge HR, which is one of the reasons behind getting the Blaze, and the Blaze in my experience syncs perfectly, unlike my Charge HR.

After ~12 days of having to manually sync the Blaze, it has started auto-syncing again.  ::shrug::  I have been waiting to finally encounter technology that doesn't operate on the F.M. principle...guess I'll keep watiting.

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[Graziotto]

I don't even have to be into fitbit for my Blais to sync, I just have to be near the computer, or working on it and it will automatically sync.  All I do is click on my web browser, click fitbit and click dashboard, and most of the time, I find that it has synced while I was doing something else on the computer.

[Rich_Laue]

That is true @Graziotto your Fitbit does not sync through the web browser, a sync can not be started from the browser. The Fitbit Connect software does the sync. look by the clock.