Windows Phone Support Blaze

[supermoe]

So you've developed a completely new device but still don't support CallerID,Text Messaging or Calendar updates on Windows Phone?

Moderator edit: format

[lola65]

did not know that when i just ordered and recieved my fitbit blaze, thought that if my fitbit flex worked and synced, then the blaze will too, so very annoying will be buying another phone not windows soon, have had so many issues with phone, often times my apps don`t work. What is wrong with Microsoft? I bought a windows 10 PC and it is slow, the first day I got it. In a year will purchase a new computer, will not be windows. If Microsoft want to be competitive, why don`t they make their products more compatible? We, their customers, would like that. Come on, what are they doing, why make things difficult, if you offer a product that you said would be revolutionary then make it so. And they did say it!

[Rich_Laue]

I gave up windows years aho, been happily in Linux for the 10 years. Plus the open source community has been able to get your Fitbit to symc.

Seriously if your Flex had no problems syncing the Blaze should also have no problems.

[nagelgj]

@ErickFitbit or anyone else from Fitbit. Any update about GPS/notification support with windows 10 mobile? Is there any progress in getting all Blaze futures supported with Windows Mobile 10?

I'm considering the Blaze but if these futures are not comming soon I perhaps have to consider the microsoft band.

[SunsetRunner]

The ball is still in Microsofts court as far as I know, as they are still to implement GATT Server functionality.

And unfortunatley Microsoft is discountinuing their Band so that'd be a dead end eventually as well.

[advoWade]

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@SunsetRunner wrote:

And unfortunatley Microsoft is discountinuing their Band so that'd be a dead end eventually as well.

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They disbanded the team that was working on putting Windows on the Band. There is nothing to say the Band will be discontinued.

[advoWade]

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@nagelgj wrote:

@ErickFitbit or anyone else from Fitbit. Any update about GPS/notification support with windows 10 mobile? Is there any progress in getting all Blaze futures supported with Windows Mobile 10?

I'm considering the Blaze but if these futures are not comming soon I perhaps have to consider the microsoft band.

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You definately should look at the Band 2. It does everything if you have a Windows Phone. On board GPS; calendar, email, FB and text notifications. Respond to text messages via the Band keyboard or Cortana (Windows Phones only); create reminders via Cortana. And a host of other features.

Tracker comparisons

I like the form factor of the Blaze, but the lack of on board GPS was a deal-breaker for me.

[AlphaPapa]

I had a Band and then Band 2 - great devices minus some design choices. My Band 2 wore through on the edge of the display. To me it was a design flaw as I only had it a couple months but because I didn't have the extended warranty they told me no go on replacing it. If they would have just acknowledged the going from such a hard edge to the soft band was a design flaw and would do exactly as mine did and replaced it I would not even be in this forum.

Now about the Blaze - here is an article I found about the notifications and GPS feature support for FitBit - http://www.winbeta.org/news/windows-10-mobile-notifications-coming-fitbit-devices - so still waiting on delivery.

[advoWade]

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@AlphaPapa wrote:

I had a Band and then Band 2 - great devices minus some design choices. My Band 2 wore through on the edge of the display. To me it was a design flaw as I only had it a couple months but because I didn't have the extended warranty they told me no go on replacing it. If they would have just acknowledged the going from such a hard edge to the soft band was a design flaw and would do exactly as mine did and replaced it I would not even be in this forum.

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Did you wear your Band screen in or screen out? My wife and I wear ours screen in and haven't experienced wearing around the screen. Now, hers did suffer the strap breaking and mine had the heart rate sensor go out. MS replaced both of ours with no questions.

If you only had it a couple months, replacing it shouldn't have been an issue, since you would have been well within the 1yr warranty.

Yes, some of these do seem to have flaws that vary from one to the next. If they can nail down the quality, no tracker will be able to compete with it. Even with sporadic quality issues, the Band 2 is one of the best available.

[SunsetRunner]

Latest info from Microsoft devs:

https://wpdev.uservoice.com/forums/110705-universal-windows-platform/suggestions/7176829-gatt-server...

They're currently implementing it, and GATT Server API should be in insider builds by the end of the year. Which would mean it's probably in the next big Windows 10 Mobile build coming sometime early next year. (if all goes well)

[BigBri41]

I'm confused. Isn't GATT just a protocol for bluetooth low energy devices to communicate with each other? If someone wants to write a media server over tcp/ip, they don't wait for the designer of their operating system to write a media server made easy over tcp/ip API before they build their product. They build their server using the tcp/ip protocol and build the clients to connect to the server they built. Doesn't Fitbit just need to use the protocol and write their own GATT server for the windows phone clients, or is there truly a platform limitation keeping them from doing this?

[Rich_Laue]

Yes @BigBri41 as for as I know GATT is just a type of protocol or communication but like any other OS the apps call commands in the OS. In this case it uses the Bluez stack. Very few apps take direct control of the hardware, but talk through the OS. Currently the Windows phones do not support this. 

In your example you mention API, what if the API did not support commands that every body else's API supported. 

[BigBri41]

@Rich_Laue 

I posted over in that Windows 10 forum and I think I might have a better understanding now.  The Bluetooth LE programming that I have done has involved a couple of devices (Anki cars and the Anova Precision Cooker).  I think the difference there is that the devices themselves are functioning as GATT servers and publish services and characteristics that can be read/written to.  I have a feeling that the FitBit functions as both a GATT server and client.  I imagine for data that is actually changing on the FitBit device (sensor information for steps, heartrate, maybe barometric pressure to determine floors) is published back to the phone through a GATT server on the watch.  For data changing on the phone, like messages and phone calls, the phone is probably the GATT server publishing services/characteristics that the FitBit subscribes to as a client.  I just figured that whatever characteristic exists on the FitBit device for messaging could be written to by the phone regardless of whether it was a server/client, but those characteristics are probably implemented as read only if they are intended to subscribe to a GATT server on a phone.  Maybe someone from FitBit can confirm I’m on the right page here?

[bbarrera]

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@BigBri41 wrote:

I imagine for data that is actually changing on the FitBit device (sensor information for steps, heartrate, maybe barometric pressure to determine floors) is published back to the phone through a GATT server on the watch.  For data changing on the phone, like messages and phone calls, the phone is probably the GATT server publishing services/characteristics that the FitBit subscribes to as a client.

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@BigBri41 Yes, once a month I teach Arduino and Linux classes and have played around with iOS/Android notifications using Arduino and Raspberry Pi boards as the Bluetooth device.

Both iOS and Android have BLE stacks that support client and server, however Windows 10 currently only support client. Its exactly as you describe, the phone is the server when pushing notifications, and the Fitbit tracker is the server when pushing step count/HR/etc.

Other companies have made this work in Windows 10, including Microsoft, however the Fitbit Windows app product manager has stated on these community forums that Fitbit is waiting for MS to release GATT Server support before implementing notifications and other features that require GATT Server on the mobile.

[BigBri41]

@bbarrera  Thank you for the clarification.  Sometimes it is easy not to see the point of view from a product management perspective as a user.  It was probably a good decision not to implement a hacky solution for this.  With text messages and calls not being a predictable item to notify on, I imagine the polling it would take to notify within a reasonable amount of time after the action happened on the phone would completely defeat the energy savings of Bluetooth LE and there would be a whole other can of worms users would be complaining about.  It might even demotivate Microsoft to get the server API out there in a timely fashion should FitBit give in.  I know that people have been talking about this feature missing for quite some time, but I have a feeling now that the Microsoft Band line has been discontinued, we might see more movement on this from Microsoft (especially since they are selling these in their stores (my blaze was offered as a replacement after my fifth Band return for the dreaded battery issue)).  @Fitbit, you can count me in on any beta testing needs you might have!  TGIF and have a great weekend!

[SunsetRunner]

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@bbarrera wrote:

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Other companies have made this work in Windows 10, including Microsoft, 

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using older BT stack 😞

[Cybdiver]

It's a 200 dollar piece of sporting goods used to track my heath. Microsoft seems to be having problems getting its mobile devices moving because using windows on a phone seems too complicated for many oh and it's not in a shiny white case with a cutsie Apple logo.

[niknak82]

For anyone interested,

GATT functionality is currently being added to Windows 10 mobile,

https://wpdev.uservoice.com/forums/110705-universal-windows-platform/suggestions/7176829-gatt-server...

Hopefully it will be available soon, it was introduced in Windows 10 SDK Preview Build 14965 apparently.

[niknak82]

Looks like it may already be in there...

https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/uwp/devices-sensors/gatt-scenarios

In fact I just checked the APIs in visual studio 2015 for the Anniversary Update and it is in there.  So why the Blaze doesn't support this yet I don't know.

[MaxLV]

You've been posting this SAME 'update' since September! It's Not going to happen! MS have abandoned the Windows Phone. It's a dead product, and that gives Fit Bit little (no) incentive to add GATT support to any Fitbit device for the Windows Phone.

And yes I do have Windows Phone (640 XL) and the Fitbit Blaze.  The Phone is running Windows 10, and works fine with several other Bluetooth devices.

[niknak82]

Total and utter horse****, it's not a dead platform at all, microsoft have only just announced Windows 10 on ARM and have been mentioning lots about their Surface Phone to be released next year.

Get your facts straight.