Sync Dongle Required for Blaze?

[Eagle1]

I am not seeing any documentation on the Blaze being packaged with or requiring a  USB sync dongle like some of the other trackers.  Will one be needed/shipped with the Blaze?

[sr3112]

windows 7 won't work.... you need windows 10 for it to work! Fitbit is
incompent. You talk to a bunch of heathen in bum **ahem**ed egypt when you
call their number...they don't **ahem**ing squat!

[SashaFierce]

Hello All. I finally got my Blaze to work. Fitbit sent me a dongle and now
it syncs to my PC. Thanks to all for your input.

[Midagma]

Well, I cannot get anything to sync with the Blaze. Wish I never bought the **ahem**ed thing. Every computer, windows or MAC wants a frigging dongle. Useless. Puts you in mind of the old days of early computers when nothing connected to anything. Real bad form from fitbit, will cost them lots of money I am sure - and understandably and rightfully so. Pretty nuts to manufacture something and not supply the customer with whats neccessary to get it to even work. If you need a dongle for a comp or a mac, you should get a friggin dongle! It's not brain surgery is it?  Just about to put this nice looking expensive piece of absolute uselessness back in it's box to return it from whence it came. Perhaps then it has more chance of meeting the elusive dongle it needs. Will shop for an alternative from an alternative manufacturer that actually works. This episode has put me right off of the name fitbit. unfitbit sounds more appropriate. Once I get this sent back - I might get back out to for a long walk, which is what I bought this thing for, instead of sitting for hours in front of a computer trying to get what should really, in 2016 be oh so simple, to get a bluetooth connection to work in any manner at all. Ridiculous. If you are thinking about buying one - DONT!

[sr3112]

I returned mine. It is useless. Inferior piece of **ahem**!

[Michaels19]

Just chill, ok? You could have just asked support for one, and they send it to you

[sr3112]

took the piece of **ahem** back where it belongs. Fitbit sucks

[Michaels19]

No it doesn't, again. Millions and millions of people don't have this problem it's not Fitbit, it's you.

[sr3112]

no. it is fitbit's problem. They don't include a dongle in the blaze and
it won't sync to windows 8 without a dongle **ahem**

[Midagma]

Wrong sir....(Michaels19) - do a search LOADS of people have this problem. It seems fitbit will send out a dongle if you request one because It's NEEDED for a PC or Mac. That it's not provided on the assumption that everyone will be using a smartphone or a tablet is slack and indifferent to customers. I already sent it back - what's the use of a fitness tracker that needs a dongle that the firm don't send out? Ludicrous, never heard of such a thing. Not interested in contacting them to have the dongle sent, purchase with me is a one time event, not in stages, and I am beyond the age where I can give a toss more than a few hours of messing around trying to get a badly consigned product to work. I'd much rather shop with a company that cares about supplying whats needed from the outset. I'll never look at the name fitbit again - most frustrating thing I have purchased in years. 

[sr3112]

**ahem** HEAD... can you not read? One should not HAVE to reaquest a dongle
when you spend $150 on a product. Get your head our of your **ahem**

[Midagma]

Could not agree more. Fitbit are obviously trying to up the profits by not supplying dongles, on the assumption that those who need them will contact them when they cant get the watch to work. If that's not their aim, that's what they have, you would think given the amount of customers who must have had to contact them for dongles, that they would be getting the message, unless....it's in their interests not to provide a dongle. It's nuts to not be given a dongle but be told you need one on installation.  Either they are at the capers for their own benefit at customers expense in time, or they are making an **ahem** out of the distribution of their product, it's not functional as sent out if you want to sync through a computer or mac without a dongle - they should let that be known from the outset. Either way, I'd rather support a firm more competent in supplying a working product. I would have even paid more to have a dongle sent with the watch so it would have worked from when recieved. So frustrating trying to get the thing to work and be told you need to plug in your dongle, when the watch never even came with one. Bad form, bad idea not including a dongle if it's needed in any situation. That type of firm, uncaring about known potential issues from their own actions towards customers, and doing nothing about it - well -  I'd rather steer clear of them. 

[URiR4M]

Found out that the software had to be updated from my Mac. 

Hahaha

[Maebeth]

Me to. Same problem. It will finally sync on its own maybe 4-7 hr. later. Very frustrating!  What to  do now?

[Rich_Laue]

@Midagma here are my thoughts on the dongle. 

The box does not say it is Included. 

Win 8, Win 10, and Mac are able to sync through the charging dock

Windows 7 will need a dongle, but win7 is also a very insecure OS, in that it is not supported. 

The Blaze is designed to be used in conjunction with a phone, and only one device is needed to sync through. 

[brossow]

I don't think that's quite right.  I know for an absolute fact that my Mac won't sync through the charging dock, and it was my understanding that that's all it is -- a CHARGING dock and doesn't actually have any sync capabilities.  Win 8/10 can sync via Bluetooth (or so I've heard) but the only way to sync with a Mac or Win 7 is with a dongle, which isn't included.

[SunsetRunner]

To whom this may concern.
  My dongle is just my charger also, but I can get into my dashboard on my Macbook Pro, but not with the dongle. All I do is bring up my fitbit. When it comes up< I go into check for device update. I then log in with my e-mail and password. Then a another screen comes up and says I am already up-to-date, but on that same screen in the lower right side I go into where it says dashboard. I am then able to get into my screen on the computer. It works every time.I hope this helps someone.
Debra2424

[brossow]

Do you mean the dashboard that you can access when you log in at Fitbit.com?

[pierrotsc]

i did indeed get frustrated  got mine 3 days ago and although it paired with my nexus 4, i was not able to upload the firmware  so i tried my windows 7 and it kept asking for the dongle  then i took my surface pro tablet with windows 10 and it was painless  i do understand that fitbit does not want to spend resources with older os  

i paired it back to my phone and so far so good  i know that they are trying to keep the cost down not to include the dongle  

ps: i am also not sure if i synced via the usb cradle or the built in bluetooth as i realized that my surface pro was paired  

[Rich_Laue]

@brossow please download the latest Mac connect it will sync through the charging cable.

@SunsetRunner pressing the dashboard will let you see the data that has already synced to fitbit.com the dongle or charge canal. Is used to get the data into fitbit.com

[brossow]

---

@Rich_Laue wrote:
@brossow please download the latest Mac connect it will sync through the charging cable.

Just did, and no, it doesn't.  This is on a Mac Pro running the latest OS with all updates.  It similarly doesn't work on my wife's MacBook Air, nor on my Win7 machine at work.  As always, it simply tells me to turn on Bluetooth ("Turn on Bluetooth to sync your trackers - Please go to your System Preferences to turn on Bluetooth"), same as it did months ago when I first joined this thread.  Needless to say, Bluetooth is on and, were this a sync cable and not just a charge cable, would be irrelevant.  Have you actually done this on a Mac, or are you just assuming?  And if you have synced with a Mac, are you sure it's doing it through the cable and not Bluetooth?  I don't know anyone who's actually used this as a sync cable with a Mac ... or any other OS, for that matter -- the only people I know syncing a Fitbit with a computer are either using the dongle or are on a new Win10 machine syncing via Bluetooth.