GPS vs Connected GPS

[kurtisscott1]

I did a comparison on the Blaze and the Surge it pretty much had (in the chart) everything the surge had except GPS route tracking, but in the video and the feature of the Blaze it said it does have GPS route tracking.

Moderator Edit: Title For Clarity

[Nirvana]

If I don't have my phone when I run. Will the GPS on the blaze and then when I connect to my smartphone it will show me the map? Or will it only work when my phone is with me while running. 

[MikeF]

The Blaze doesn't have GPS. It uses the GPS from your phone so it will only work if you have that with you.

[Vickilyne]

Why won't my blue tooth pair with iPhone stay on????

Sent from my iPad

[bbpatt]

What is "Connected GPS"????  How can I verify this is set up?  I use Android Nexus 5X running Nougat 7.1.1 with Blaze.  I went on a bike ride today for the first time with Blaze and nothing recorded.

[Rich_Laue]

There will be a telophone in the corner of your blaze, if yhere is a line through it, there is no gps.

[Colinm39]

@bbpattYou need to use the Connected GPS mode via your Phone and the Exercise screen on your Blaze.

Wait for the GPS signal to connect and then push the bottom button next to the RH arrow. When finished, you pause from the same button.

Be careful you don't accidentally touch the button because you could pause the recording.

I did some simple tests driving my car before I embarked on the Connect GPS and got perfect results. A little mixed with the walking but accurate enough for me. I have line of sight with a 4G phone tower and in a relative flat area., so signal strength is no issue.

[bbpatt]

@Colinm39, Thanks for the details and screen shots...VERY helpful!!!  However, I have tried several times now and all I get is error trying to connect to phone that says "check FitBit app".  There are no error messages when I check app.  What should I be looking for on app?  I verified the "Connect to Phone GPS" setting for biking is "on".  Again, I am on a Nexus 5x running latest version of Android, 7.1.1.  (I checked location settings and it shows GPS "On" with High Accuracy)

[Colinm39]

@bbpattHave you got Location set in your Android settings. ?  From other posts I feel that may something to do with it.

Here is a link to the manual.. Page 16 stresses Notifications must be ON...

[Colinm39]

@bbpattI'm on V7.0 Android and apologies, because I didn't fully read your post about Location

[docwatkins]

I’m giving step by step instructions. You may already be aware of some of the steps so please overlook if you know some of these. First, phone MUST be with you to use “connected GPS” as with the FitBit Blaze. I have found that you must open the FitBit app on your phone once initially at the beginning of your bike ride. Not sure why it just needs the app open to connect. After that, during your ride, your phone can be used normally. With the app open, side swipe to the exercise you are going to track, in your case, the cycling screen. Give the Blaze a second to connect to your phone. There will be a icon in the top right corner that says “let’s go”. Tap it. your Blaze is now tracking via your phone’s GPS. Hope this helps. If you have more questions, feel free to ask. I know its aggravating in the beginning. Been there…….it DOES work and pretty good. I have the Charge HR, The Surge, and the Blaze and they all have their quirks, but they do work well once you learn the ins and outs.

[Pam0290]

I am looking at replacing my surge with the charge 2.  Similar to previous questions about the GPS - I would like to understand what statistics I can see when on a run with the Charge 2 if I don't have my phone with me?  Will I get distance and pace?

[Rich_Laue]

Well @Pam0290, yes you basically will get the same thing. Without the phone, the Charge 2 will base distance and pace off of your stride setting, it will be important to set this up or do enough runs with the phone so Fitbit can get the stride for you.

[kksl]

When I use the phone's gps, I have a choice of exercise types walk, run, hike ... how do I get bike or cycle to appear as a choice?

[Rich_Laue]

There is two ways to use the GPS on your phone. 

You can start the Bike recording mode on your tracker snd it will use your phones GPS to record your route. .

[kksl]

Can you start it from the iPhone?  That is how I get into GPS mode ... I have an Alta HR and my husband has the Charge 2

[Rich_Laue]

@kksl, the alta doesny have the ability to atart a Gapas recorded event, so yea you would have to start it from the phone. It is cwlled Mobile Track.

Your husband may use eithet.