Stuck on setup for new fitbit blaze .. cannot update firmware or use

[alanjwhite]

Given Blaze as birthday present.  

Got app for Windows 10 on my laptop.

Began setup, created accound, connected via USB cable (so could also charge)

all seemed OK, recognized device, showed & entered 4 digit code

only to be told a Firmware upgrade available

When I clicked OK, this began but failed

Have retried, used different USB port, deleted app and regot,  said I have new device to replace original set up

(and several combinations of the above)

All to no avail.

Problem is, the Blaze as out of the box does not function (no response to swipe or buttons)

as far as I can tell nothing else I can try (except another computer which at moment I dont have)

What next?

[Esya]

Please restart your tracker 3 times as explained in this article and let us know of any problems you still face after you tried that.

[SunsetRunner]

My Blaze (and the one I bought for Mrs. Sconie) would do the same thing until I managed to get them to take a charge. There is a post in here somewhere that says you need to use a lower powered charging source than a USB port on your computer. I used a portable charger powered by "AA" batteries and our Blazes have worked properly ever since. There was mention of the charger needing to have a lower amp capacity for the initial charge. The batteries were kind of run down so I figured the output capacity would be reduced.

I have been able to use any available USB power source since getting past the update process. This appears to be a wide spread issue. MAYBE there is a reference to the matter in the support area. Not likely but possible.

Good luck.

[Rich_Laue]

Lets look at this.

The computer is comunicating with the tracker. Is this comunication through the cable or the laptops bluetooth? 

Starting the srtIp all over has not helped?

Did the restarts help?

How about restarting the computer.

The Blaze out of the box,yes will not function, why? Because it doesnt know what Fitbit account to function with. 

[SunsetRunner]

Try what I suggested in my first post. You will get past the Update.

I just did a search and found several references to the power supply issue. It doesn't seem to make any sense but it does work if you use a LOWER capacity power source for the initial charge. Who knows, it may have something to do with the state discharge of the battery after it has been sitting on the shelf for however long.

I tried everything under the sun and could not get past the Update step. I was ready to return the Blazes and check out other devices. I finally came across the power supply suggestion and was able to get set up and updated with TWO separate Blaze units.

This is apparently not an issue with all Fitbit units but it certainly was a roadblock for the TWO units I bought.

[alanjwhite]

as I mentioned in my first post

communication is via USB from a Windows 10 PC

(no Bluetooth)

Reties of update

deleting the app

telling app this was a different Blaze

all had no effect

[SunsetRunner]

Nothing is going to happen until you are able to get sufficient charge in the battery to complete the Update and thus complete the Setup. The Fitbit communicates via Bluetooth. I could be wrong but, I don't think there is any data passed between the computer and the Fitbit via the "charging cable". There is enough power in the Fitbit battery to get to the Update notice and then it quits. You may or may not get that far even without plugging it in. Try it.

You will have no indication that the battery is charged/charging until you have successfully Updated the device. You will have no other communication between the Fitbit and any other device until it is charged and Updated. At some point, the battery will probably be drained to the point that it will not even stay on more than a few seconds.

You need to get it charged from a low powered source before you can proceed. I tried several different power sources before I finally tried a crappy little tablet charger that only put out 1500mah. I found the tip about the low powered charger in another thread on this forum. It only took about an hour and I was able to complete the Setup/Update. Now I can use any USB power source.

[alanjwhite · Accepted solution]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestions.

I tried the reset 3 times ploy and it did not seem to work.

Even after the reset when I persisted deleting and reloading the app and replacing the blaze on my account it would not complete setup.   However on yet another try that failed  I got a different message.

The others had just siad could not complete, this time it said my Blaze had too little power.

Previously the app had shown my blaze as half charged, now the plaze itself showed a red battery warning.

So I left the Blaze in place for a couple of hours, and tried again.

This time the process completed, so it appears PSU problems may well affect the initial setup

though in my case I did not need a low powered USB supply,

[BarbarianDiva]

Thank you, Sconie. You solved the problem I had been having. After 4 hours of sitting in the charger plugged into my laptop, I still didn't have enough charge to do anything. I got up early the next morning (in hopes of getting it up and running before work), and still less than half a charge. When I came home from work, I plugged it into a phone charger adapter for a wall outlet. Presto-chango.. it worked! 

[SunsetRunner]

You're welcome.

If I manage to find the post that showed me the way, I'll give credit where credit is due.