Latest Firmware: Clock Loses Time when Shut Down

[intechpc]

I have a Blaze.  After the most recent firmware update, the clock no longer maintains time when the watch is shut down.  In other words, if I shut it down at 00:00 when I go to bed, when I get up at 07:00 and turn it on, it still shows 00:00 until I manually sync it with my phone.  Any steps between when I turn it on and that first sync seem to get lost or maybe put on the wrong day if it was shut down before midnight. Can we please get this fixed, it never worked this way before the most recent firmware.

[Bunnybear_05]

It was noted in the firmware update notes that you must sync it after a full shutdown from now on. I doubt they are going to fix it.

[Driver8666]

Easiest fix:

Don't turn it off. No anedotal evidence exists to suggest that shutting it off saves on the battery. 

@Bunnybear_05

I wouldn't fix that sort of thing either. It's designed to be always on. Probably why we are having people with sync issues when they shut down the watch. Mine is pounded on 24/7. 

[AlejandraFitbit]

It's great to see you around @intechpc. @Bunnybear_05 and @Driver8666 thanks for stopping by. At the moment of shutting down the tracker it won't be able to sync and to remain the information updated. As suggested by one of our friends here, I recommend not shutting down the tracker, if you don't want to receive notifications for a period of time you can turn off your bluetooth and in this way you won't receive notifications.

See you later. 

[intechpc]

I understand the intention is to never shut it down, but why did that use case suddenly change.  My Surge still maintains the clock when it is shut down without sync'ing, so I'm unclear as to why the Blaze is different.  As far as why I choose to shut them down well there are a few reasons, maybe FitBit can address these instead:

1. I switch between the two watches pretty often based on what activities I plan to engage in. No GPS built-in on the Blaze means I wear the Surge for certain activities.
2. I don't wear either watch to bed.  When not being worn but not being charged, both watches continue to try to read a heart rate meaning the green LEDs sit there and flash all night (doesn't help me sleep).
3. Having both watches turned on and within range of my phone causes unpredictable results when trying to sync.  Often it says it can't find the tracker at all.
4. I get 3-4 days out of my Blaze, and depending on activity, as much as 3 days out of my Surge.  Charging their batteries every night doesn't seem like it would be good for the batteries, am I wrong?

I appreciate the response @AlejandraFitbit.  If you have thoughts on the above, I would greatly appreciate it as well!!

[AndrewFitbit]

@intechpc The behavior change with the clock was intentional, it helped to resolve an issue.

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intechpc wrote:

1. I switch between the two watches pretty often based on what activities I plan to engage in. No GPS built-in on the Blaze means I wear the Surge for certain activities.
2. I don't wear either watch to bed.  When not being worn but not being charged, both watches continue to try to read a heart rate meaning the green LEDs sit there and flash all night (doesn't help me sleep).
3. Having both watches turned on and within range of my phone causes unpredictable results when trying to sync.  Often it says it can't find the tracker at all.
4. I get 3-4 days out of my Blaze, and depending on activity, as much as 3 days out of my Surge.  Charging their batteries every night doesn't seem like it would be good for the batteries, am I wrong?

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1. Multi-device can be tricky sometimes, just make sure to sync whichever device you're currently using before you switch.
2. If you have your Blaze's heart rate set to 'Auto', then the LEDs will turn off when the device is not on your wrist.
3. Sounds more like an Android syncing problem, but whichever device is the closest to your phone should sync first.
4. Battery life depends on usage. You can charge it as often as you like, most people charge their tracker when they're not using it.

You can still shut down your Blaze, you just have to make sure you sync it before you start using it after it has been powered off.

[Bunnybear_05]

I shut down my Blaze when I'm using my flex. I haven't had any issues. I do know to sync immediately upon turning it on though.

Didn't think that using the shutdown function causes any issues. At least it hasn't on my side.

[sai-manoj-kumar]

@AndrewFitbit hello, can you mention which issue was resolved due to this behaviour change

[SunsetRunner]

Need to sell more replacements. So forcing the battery to be charged and wear out faster solves that issue.

[Yewsirnaem]

More importantly its harder for them ti sell your data to 3rd parties if you don't sync frequently enough, so they find ways to break your device to force you to do it.

They don't care if, for instance, you go hiking in places without mobile data and can't sync and need to turn the device off to save power. To hell with you if you need to know the time of day for your own planning and safety. They aren't interested in selling you a decent, working product. If they do sometimes, thats nice, but its not what they're trying to do. They're here to sell you a tracker to collect info on you so they can sell to someone else.

[Rich_Laue]

@SunsetRunner a lithium battery does not care how often it is charged. However it should not be allowed to get much below 30%. Purists also say to not charge a lithium battery greater than 80%. I find the Blaze sitting on the table only needs charging every 6+ days, about 1 and a half days longer than if I was wearing it. 

@Yewsirnaem I'm not sure what data your recovering to, have you read the privacy policy found at the bottom of every page? You will. Note that Fitbit does not share any individual's data without their consent. Say that a user requests MyFitnessPall to link up with their Fitbit account, the user needs to give fitbit premission 

[Yewsirnaem]

They are actually quite careful to qualify that by saying they dont sell data that isn't personally identifiable to you. I.e. thier pledge doesnt include non-personally identifiable data or anonymized data. 

And just think, what ither reason could they have for taking away what has been a basic feature of electronics for decades (keeping time on its own), forcing the user to sync, and force the user to have internet and location on, even though there is no reason that a local sync between the phone and fitbit requires anything more than bluetooth.

[HikeBlaze]

I have the same problem here. Forgot to charge my Blaze yesterday and ran out of power. 

I later charged it, AND synced it. All sync works except the Time... have automatic zones originally. changed to set zones, still didnt work after sync.

Bloody annoying, if this is a two year old problem that they still haven't found big enough to fix. 

Show pretty poor customer service from Fitbits part.

[Yewsirnaem]

Its not a problem that they've neglected to fix. They broke our devices deliberately in a firmware update to force us to sync more often.

[HikeBlaze]

If that is the case it is even worse, because after syncing several times
today, my watch is still showing the wrong time.