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

[SunsetRunner]

---

@UltrarunnerJonL wrote:

---

However, as time goes by, the battery cells will deteriorate - you will eventually have to change the battery or buy a new phone.

---

that's right

after have written my message, i checked my S3 battery : lightly inflated, dying.

trying a younger one 🙂

[ErickFitbit]

@tinkerbell3399@Michael Blaze activities that use Connected GPS have the option of "Use Phone GPS: ON or OFF" so if you don't have a signal, you can still go on your activity and track data without a GPS mapping.

@carly1212 You will be charged when the Blaze ships.

@UltrarunnerJonL Happy to hear that you're excited for the Blaze! Blaze with Connected GPS turned on doesn't burn much battery life as it is using the GPS from your phone.

[JohnCSavannah]

There doesn't seem to be any alert if the GPS connection is lost on the Blaze. Is this correct?

[wisevans]

I see many people dismissing the ability of the Blaze to have built-in GPS, utilizing the phone GPS. 2 issues: 1st is the phones GPS uses data and I'm not willing to use my data on long runs and 2nd is that some places people run don't have phone service, and therefore no GPS, which incidentally is the reason I bought my Surge (actually the GPS in my phone was bad and wasn't tracking me properly and it was out of warranty, so I didn't want to pay for a replacement phone). Very disappointed in the Blaze not having built-in GPS for these specific reasons.

[UltrarunnerJonL]

---

@wisevans wrote:

I see many people dismissing the ability of the Blaze to have built-in GPS, utilizing the phone GPS. 2 issues: 1st is the phones GPS uses data and I'm not willing to use my data on long runs and 2nd is that some places people run don't have phone service, and therefore no GPS, which incidentally is the reason I bought my Surge (actually the GPS in my phone was bad and wasn't tracking me properly and it was out of warranty, so I didn't want to pay for a replacement phone). Very disappointed in the Blaze not having built-in GPS for these specific reasons.

---

I'm not sure which phone you are using, but I know many phones (including my 5 year old android) is able to detect GPS without mobile data.

My only guess is that the problem is a really old iphone that uses A-GPS instead of a GPS chip like many new phones these days.

I bought Blaze for this specific reason that I always run and commute with my phone. No regrets so far! 🙂

[SunsetRunner]

Agreed. Nearly all phones with gps have the option to use for location either mobile data, gps or mobile data and gps. Mobile data can either be WiFi or cell tower. There is usually a location setting to choose which you prefer

[IsmeneP]

I will disagree.

I do 1-3 hours of GPS exercise every day.

With the Surge or the Charge HR I had to charge the battery every day, else there was the risk the firbit will go dead in the middle of exercise of day 2.

With the Blaze, at the end of Day 1  the battery showed 'full'

At the end of Day 3 it showed medium

on day 4 is showed 'low' and I am sure it would last 1 more day - but I did not want to risk it so I charged it.

So I would say the Blaza battery lasts at least 4 days with 1-3 hours of GPS exercise every day!  None of the other Fitbit watches can better this!

[IsmeneP]

I agree with all the points, may I add one more thing.

The Blaze is a beautifully designed watch.

The Surge looks ugly.  It resembles the first Seiko digital watches of the 1980s ....

Plus the Blaze has a chance of hiding under a shirt sleeve, no such luck with the Surge!

[Rich_Laue]

Yes a GPS mapping app will use cell data, but this is not what is happening with the Blaze. Your phone reads the GPS, then sends this to the Blaze which then stores tye points. No internet required.

[JessieDeHaan]

I know this is an old thread but can I ask a follow-up question? If I do not connect my phone while running will the Blaze still show basic stats, i.e. distance, pace, and time? If I'm running on a track, for example, can I just wear the Blaze or will I need my phone even if I don't need an exact map of my run?

Thanks!

[EmersonFitbit]

@JessieDeHaan If you're running without your phone, you'll get most activity data without the map. Hope this helps!

[wisevans]

Im using an iPhone 6. My GPS stopped working, and any app that used GPS wouldn't work. I've since replaced my phone, same model. I guess maybe I don't know for sure if the GPS is using data, but whenever I'm in a location that doesn't have cell service (with new working GPS), I can't get GPS to work in any app, including map apps. So I'm guessing that because of that, the Blaze wouldn't work in those areas also. If GPS doesn't work, either it's broken or no signal, then I don't see how the Blaze connected GPS will work. I'd like a further explanation if this is inaccurate.

[bbarrera]

GPS is still working, although some apps may decide to not show position if Cellular or WiFi are turned off.

Apps designed to use GPS without a cell/WiFi connection will use GPS and show your position.I've got an iPhone 5s, just put it into airplane mode, and had no problem getting GaiaGPS app to pinpoint my position. Apple Maps wants a network connection, but Google Maps app will show position.

[Rich_Laue]

As @bbarrera says, apps that have no reason to use the network will be fine, the Blaze doesn't need the network setting to track GPS.

The Fitbit app will need the network to do a live update to the map. I haven't tried to see if it tracks with the network turned off. For me it usually doesn't draw a map during my walk.

[AZPete]

On the Blaze I had to enable GPS for the Walk Exercise. It seemed to be disabled by default since I didn't disable it. To enable, go to the Walk Exercise on the Blaze and tap the gear icon in the lower left. This will take you to the screen to enable, or disable GPS for that Exercise. GPS was already enabled for Run, Bike and Hike.

[umccki]

Erick, I turned on the Connected GPS on my Blaze, and I can view the graphs noting my stats but I don't see a place where it actually shows you your route like the picture in the quick start guide. Where is that feature?

Also, side note, while I had my run on as an exercise activity, it wouldn't allow me to go back to my connected screen to control my music and volume, unless I stopped the exercise, flipped back to the connected screen, changed the music/volume and then re-started the exercise. Any word on a software update to fix that?

[Rich_Laue]

Here is a.list of several walks i did. As for music control, hold the top right button in. This works in all screens, i think. I chose to track one walk as a rin to test the run cues. With the 3 maps i chose the Blaze, Surge, and Fitbit App tracking. The entry without a map was with the Charge HR button press, then relabled it as Run to see the miles.

[umccki]

Thanks, Rich! I'd been looking for that music feature on the watch for a while now and just tested it out myself, so now I know for next time.

As for the run mapping, it looks like the GPS disconnected when I was messing with the music at the beginning of the run so nothing mapped out. I'll have to try it out again when I can get a run in - I'm hoping it will be decent tomorrow, but I'm doubting it (90% of rain with thunderstorms -- I'll run in the rain, but I'm not doing it when there's lightening. 

[Rich_Laue]

Glad I can help out, and even though the majority of people that get hit by lightning do survive, I know 5 who where hit, none died, but a horse died, the rider lived. I still would not want to take chances.

[Ravenous1]

I agree with Mike's defense of the Surge's GPS accuracy... mine is generally spot on... I have had instances where it reported erroneous routes, but these were exceptions - neither typical nor often - and I have also had the odd instance where my phone's GPS erroneously reported my location as well. So, my only concern is how accurate and smooth "connected" GPS will be vs the rather reliable built-in GPS I presently can count on in my Surge...