Charge 5 GPS not connecting

[mcfsh]

Is there a trick i'm missing to use the GPS on the charge 5?  I specifically got the charge 5 so I can map my runs without carrying my phone.  I followed the guidance, but it does not connect after I choose RUN for my activity.  Any suggestions?  I hope I didn't upgrade just for a pretty screen.

Moderator edit: format

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, welcome to the Fitbit Community forums, @mcfsh.

Thank you for sharing that you've been experiencing this inconvenience with your Charge 5 device. 

Before considering other options, please let me know if you're using the built-in GPS or the connected GPS with your phone and if you're referring to the guidance and all the recommendations that are listed in this article.  

In particular, please make sure that you've followed all the troubleshooting steps listed here below and that are also present in the article mentioned earlier: 

• Confirm that the exercise type uses built-in GPS. For more information, see How do I start a workout with GPS on my Fitbit device?
• To more quickly establish a GPS connection, point your device toward open sky. Environmental factors, including tall buildings, dense forest, steep hills, and thick cloud cover, can interfere with your device’s ability to connect to GPS satellites. If the signal is blocked—either because you're indoors, underground, or due to another reason—GPS won't work.
• Check that GPS is turned on for the exercise. For more information, see How do I turn on GPS for an exercise on my Fitbit device?
• Make sure that your device is charged to at least 80%.
• Confirm that your device is syncing with the Fitbit app. The more you sync your device, the faster your device can connect to GPS.
• Avoid trying to start an exercise with GPS several times in a row, which can prevent your device from connecting to GPS.

• Hold your arm parallel to your body near your head and at least 2 inches away.

If you still have trouble connecting to GPS or notice that your distance traveled seems inaccurate, try the following tips to allow your device to connect to GPS satellites:

• Follow the recommendations for wearing your device for exercise. For more information, see How do I wear my Fitbit device?
• Try loosening the band 1 notch.
• Make sure your device doesn't touch your wrist bone.
• Avoid bending your wrist backwards.
• Establish a GPS connection before beginning your exercise.

In addition to the steps mentioned above, make sure to complete a restart procedure as well if you continue to experience the same inconvenience. 

Hope this helps, I'll be around. 

[royalle]

DC Rainmaker reports the same issues with GPS   https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/09/fitbit-charge-5-in-depth-review.html

[MyloT]

Hey DavideFibit,

hope you can help...

I'm really disappointed of the own GPS Tracking from charge 5.

Starting my training (example Running) with connected GPS (without mobile)

after maybe 10 min the device is loosing connection. After 5 min finally connected again

& after another 5 min lost connection again.

This goes the whole running session. At the end the GPS Arrow gets red & there is no tracking anymore.

This happened now 3 of 3 times. Really lame for a 180 EUR sport watch.

My smartwatch (which was not made for sport) did this job much better.

Thx in advance for your support.

Br EmTek 

[DavideFitbit]

@MyloT Thank you for your feedback and for confirming that you're still having the same inconvenience with your Charge 5. 

In this case, if you already tried all the troubleshooting steps mentioned earlier, I recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team for further assistance with this. The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. Click here to get connected. 

Have a good day. 

[JohanBerg]

I'm in the market for a Charge 5, but the advertised features (ECG, and GPS-with HR!) is reportedly missing or not working. Please bring out a media/press release when this is fixed. Or at least state by when it will be fixed. Until such time my best guess is never - wait for the 6, or just go for another brand all together. On such topic I might put another brand on hold if I knew when this will be fixed since this "only promises" better health tracking.

A final complaint: Premium $10. Too expensive, I might just skip Fitbit all together and go for mobvoi/samsung/polar/garmin. They all shine in other areas or has less in some - but do what is promised on the pamphlets with no monthly cost. A small fee is acceptable though to keep track of my health.

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the Community forums, @JohanBerg. 

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback about the new Charge 5 and the coming features. 

These "Coming Soon" features were announced to be available this fall, but there's no specific date available yet.  

The team of developers is always working to improve the quality of products and services, and your feedback is greatly appreciated. 

Have a good day. 

[mcfsh]

As i stated, I followed the guidance. Specifically every troubleshooting and operation info on the website. Retyping that information was of no help. 

Regardless, the GPS is currently working with no issues when I start it before a run. I did not do anything differently since my inquiry, it just works now. Thank you to those who tried to help. Sorry I have no help for those with the same problem. 

Moderator edit: format

[DavideFitbit]

@mcfsh Thank you for sharing this update, it's good to know that it's working properly now.

Let me know if you continue to experience any difficulty. 

Have a great day. 

[KentMcC]

I’ve also have had problems connecting to GPS with my Charge 5; regardless of the GPS mode selected (Internal, Dynamic, Phone).  I’ve followed every recommendation that has been suggested and had a period of about a week when I could connect without any issues. But within the last few days, I have been back to being unable to connect.

This morning, I found another suggestion for solving this problem which I tried and was immediately available to connect.  

The suggestion was to remove any other devices that are listed in your Bluetooth settings except for the Charge 5.  For me that was simple as I only had one other device than the Charge 5 configured in my Bluetooth settings.  I clicked on that device in the settings, clicked on “Forget this device” and was immediately able to connect to GPS using the Phone option.

Will this continue to solve the problem?  Your guess is a good as mine.

[DavideFitbit]

@KentMcC Thank you for your reply and for sharing the steps that worked out for you. I'm sure this will be useful for other users as well. 

It's true that having other Bluetooth devices nearby can interfere with the connection between the Fitbit device and the phone, if using connected GPS for example. Thanks again for sharing your experience. 

Have a good day. 

[SunriseRun488]

Yea, I had an old Charge 4 listed on my phone's BT, not connected but listed. No way to remove it (or turn it off) so I locked it in a safe did a rescan and it's gone. So far the Charge 5 is connecting to GPS, we'll see.

-------------

I tried Kent McC's fix and didn't work for me. Stood in open field and get "GPS connecting" ad infinitum. Done everything, definitely defective.

[DavideFitbit]

@SunriseRun488 Thank you for sharing all these details and for confirming that you already tried the steps suggested earlier. 

I've been informed that you already contacted the Customer Support team for further assistance with this. In this case, they will let you know how to proceed. 

Have a good day. 

[MyloT]

Coming to this place for only complaining is not fair and after using my charge 5 a while I wanted to share my actual view:

Beginning with my (old) complaint I want to say... unfortunately Yes, still sometimes trouble with GPS connections. Especially when battery is less than 80%

But all in all it is (still) doing a good job.

for example the sleeping times seems to be pretty exact & the battery can keep up around 5 days even with ~ every 2nd day training.

Interval / Cardio training with this watch is reliable. 

I've just read that swim tracking shall be pretty good, too. 

Next thing I'm going to test hopefully.

Seeing my tracking on screen / dashboard keeps up the motivation... I was afraid of getting "lazy" in my freetime (parent of 2 children) but I think Fitbit is doing a job at all.

In short: I'm satisfied even when it's not perfect (= bad GPS tracking)

and this is the only thing I can say "this could be better" 

------------

BTW why the heck is using fitbit pay in combination with Google pay not possible.

I thought Fitbit is in cooperation with Google 

[DavideFitbit]

@MyloT Thank you for taking the time to share all your comments about the Charge 5. The team continues to work to improve the Fitbit experience and your feedback is a big part of that process. 

Regarding the problem with GPS that you mentioned, if you continue to experience the same problem after all the steps suggested earlier, I do recommend that you get in touch with the Customer Support team for further assistance with this. The best way to get help for this problem is to chat with us online or give us a call. You can click here to get connected

Unfortunately we haven't received other news about the Google Pay feature being compatible with Fitbit devices. I would recommend that you vote for this idea in the Feature Suggestion board of the Community, since this section is regularly monitored by the team of developers: Google Pay. 

See you around. 

[gmlasher]

Same issue..none of this worked.

my wife’s Charge 5 however , on the same hikes, works fine.

Also I used my phones GPS with Map My Walk on the same hikes and that GPS worked fine so getting the signal appears to be the issue with my Charge 5

[DavideFitbit]

@gmlasher Thanks for sharing that you've been having a similar issue with your Charge 5. 

I've been informed that you already contacted the Customer Support team for further assistance with this. In this case, they will let you know how to proceed and I recommend that you continue the communication with them. 

See you around.