Stuck on setup for new fitbit blaze

[WillowTheWhisp]

I just received my fitbit Blaze this morning and very keen to start using it.

I already have a Flex and a One, so went to my laptop to set up the new blaze. 

Part way through the set up, when my laptop  said it was updating the Blaze the connection was lost.

I now have a situation I don't understand.

The screen on the Blaze just has the fitbit logo and "fitbit.com/setup" displayed - but when I go to the dashboard it shows the Blaze on there as well as my Flex and One. It says I have a Blaze connected but the Blaze itself doesn't seem to think so.

I have no idea how to resolve this problem.

Can anyone help?

[Vikesh]

                                    Same problem. Tried everything recommended on all these sites an nothing helped. Eventually I discovered that the blue tooth comes switched off from the factory. Only way to switch it on is to connect via a laptop. However, Fitbit does not recognise Windows 8.1. Installed Windows 10 on computer. Then installed Fitbit app. Connected Fitbit and updated software. Got rid of "that" screen. Switched on blue tooth. Works perfectly. 

[SunsetRunner]

I tried numerous methods over several increasingly fraught hours - phone on and off, restarting the blaze, altering my bluetooth settings (so bluetooth was permanently, and then transiently (but for extended periods) discoverable), turning off my phone's wifi (which someone suggested, but I didn't expect to work!), hiding my Fitbit One at the other side of the house ... NONE of these worked! Same error, everytime ... the necessary update commenced then aborted after about a minute, telling me to turn bluetooth on WHEN IT WAS ALREADY ON! Grrrrr ... For all those in this situation and tearing their hair out, Jim_Jogger's solution of updating via a laptop (running windows 7) and my Fitbit One's Dongle has worked, although on the first attempt the update aborted suddenly halfway through when my wife walked into the room - she has a fitbit Zip. The lesson: isolate your new device from any other Fitbit Device and use a Dongle. If you have only bought the Blaze and don't have a Dongle, you have every right to be very annoyed! Like many other people posting in these threads, why on earth is the bloody thing not updated before shipment! PS My phone is a Huawei P8 Lite, like Jim_Jogger, so maybe the problem (and solution) is specific to this model.

[Driver8666]

And I have pointed out before that list of "compatible phones" should not be relied on. 6 years of playing various musical instruments taught me that one. One of the first lessons I learned was never rely on any lists. 

[SunsetRunner]

Unfortunately I am getting the same problem... Just received my FitBit Blaze and all I can see for the past 2 hours is fitbit.com/setup screen.... I have tried everything, restarted my phone (iphone 6), rebooted the blaze, switched bluetooth on and off several times, got the app for my mac, downloaded new software, restarted it... And all I can still see is this annoying screen...

Any sugestions?

[Vikesh]

Did you connect to computer using the cable provided? If no, do that. If
yes, perhaps try a Windows 10 computer. That's the only thing that worked
for me.
Good luck

[Pennystime]

Having same problem. Won't connect with my google pixel. Are they not compatible?  And forgive my ignorance but what is a dongle. I keep seeing it mentioned 

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hi there @Pennystime @SunsetRunner, welcome to the Fitbit Community Forums! 🙂

@SunsetRunner, the screen you describe means that you need to set up your tracker. If you're already inside the app on your iPhone 6, go to the Account section at the bottom right corner on the Fitbit app and select the option that says "Set up a new device". Follow the on-screen instructions and once you're done, your tracker should be syncing without a problem and you should be able to navigate through the screens on the Blaze.

@Pennystime, Unfortunately, at this time the Google Pixel phone is not compatible for syncing with Fitbit. If you take a look at the list of compatible devices, only Nexus models are compatible from Google at the time. I'm sorry about the inconvenience 😕

Anything else you guys may need, let me know and I'll be happy to help out!

[angecharlie]

you might try clicking the "drivers license" icon on the upper right of the app windo and removing the prior fitbit if needs. in the same section of the apps areas choose add a new device. It will sync and push a code to the fitbit that you need to enter on your smartphone or macbook. Perhaps there will be a software update that you should do when you are in a solid wifi zone.

[SunsetRunner]

Cheers for all the advice but it's been the device where the problem was. I got it replaced at the end and it works fine now.

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hey there @angecharlie, Great to see you in the Forums and thanks a lot for jumping in and giving us a hand here! 🙂

@SunsetRunner, thanks for getting back and letting us know where the problem was. I'm happy to hear that you were able to get it replaced and if you need anything else, let us know. We'll be happy to help! 🙂

[Idealisjam]

I had this same problem with my blaze using a windows 10 laptop, it wouldn't update and was stuck on the setup screen.  I spent a lot of time troubleshooting it, and i found the problem to be two things:

1) The blaze wants to do this update using bluetooth or a dongle.  Do not plug your charging cable into the computer, and take your blaze out of the charging cradle.  If not using a dongle, turn your laptop bluetooth on and pair with the blaze.  Keep the blaze close to the laptop or other device you are pairing it to, obviously.  You can then go back into the fitbit app and reset up your blaze, and it should do the update and get rid of the setup screen via blue tooth. (or the dongle if you have one).  The update takes a long time, like 10 to 15 minutes.

2)  The blaze can get messed up as it may already be trying to pair with another device.  Shut off the blue tooth on any other  blue tooth devices that are around.  Also if you have multiple accounts on your computer that both have fit bit apps, it will get messed up as it seems to try to communicate with the fitbit app on the wrong account.  Close out any user accounts that aren't being used on your computer.

3) The fitbit blaze does not seem to be compatible with the microsoft lumia 635 phone running windows 8.1.

[Driver8666]

For me, I modified the setup slightly. But keep in mind I was using a phone that has Android 6.0 (Android M). I'm now using a phone that has Android 7.0 (Android N).

When I set it up I had it in the charger, plugged into my Xbox One and ran through the setup on my phone. The notion of keeping the Blaze close to the phone, or laptop is absurd. I did this with my Blaze at least 20ft away. Why? I was running missions in Grand Theft Auto Online and my Xbox One is 20ft away. Not to pick fights, but that's completely false from the setup sense. To stay neutral, if you feel this is the case you can do that, but it's not required. I've never had to reset my Blaze during the setup. Today, it's still charged using my Xbox One S (I have 2 Xbox One's and 5 controllers, 2 of which are limited edition and one restricted to my computer) and this takes 120 minutes from the warning to full.

10-15 minutes is not a long time. It's average. If it's less than 10, then it's great. If it's exceeds 30 minutes, with the exception of certain setups for PC's and laptops and some PS4 and Xbox One game installations. Windows 10 updates are the only exclusion to this rule as I had one that took 90 minutes to install. I don't give a rats **ahem** about Internet speed, so long as the thing downloads and installs correctly. If I ran into this, I fire up Grand Theft Auto Online, and this timeframe seems inconsequential. I'll be concentrating on either racing or doing illicit things in the game than the Blaze. My phone will tell me if something is wrong. Or the Blaze on the charger.

And that's being blunt. But I would only set it up on my laptop as a last resort.

[angecharlie]

Thanks so much!!

Ange

[angecharlie]

Thank you

Ange

[jetto7]

it takes forever to setup fitbit blaze, why won't fitbit include a Dongle with it? Sooo troublesome! Have been trying to setup since last night, tried all the recommended methods here, except dongle. Need to spend some more to buy dongle? This is super annoying! Regret buying this device, not user friendly at ALL!

[Rich_Laue]

@jetto7 do a search of these forums you see that if a user contacts Fitbit they usually send a dongle out. 

Fitbit only makes one dongle, you might know somebody that already has one. 

[jetto7]

It is weird that there are so many similar problems with setup for one device, think about those time spent in trying to setup from everyone! Sorry, but I do not wish to spend more time on trying to solve this problem. Going to return my Fitbit Blaze and get my full refund~ Adios!

[Idealisjam]

So true, I feel your pain! I got my blaze and ended up spending an
extremely frustrating about 6 hours setting it up. I was so excited to get
it I ended up staying up way too late trying to get it set up. I ended up
buying a cheap android phone with no phone carrier service on amazon (I use
windows phone and windows computer). I was able to get the blaze set up and
synched to the android phone. I also got viciously trolled on this forum
so... I like the blaze but would never buy another fitbit product.

[jetto7]

Precisely! Was so excited when I received mine, but spent so much time on setup, which is really unreasonable for such a product. Since I'm using iPhone, will opt for Apple Watch instead, although I like Blaze design much more.

Oh, forgot to mention, I "earn" these badges. What a joke! 

[Rich_Laue]

@jetto7 which phone are you referring to as having so many problems.. Generally it is the phone are user error that causes the setup problem.