Charge 5 and iPhone 13 Mini constant GPS disconnect during Cycling

[williamerogers]

When I start tracking Cycling from my Charge 5, I can't seem to log more than 9 or so miles on my Charge 5 before the GPS disconnects and will stay disconnected for several minutes at at time, or won't come back at all.

This happened while using "Phone" GPS mode on my Charge 5 over several different days, and when I switched to "Dynamic" GPS mode, it made the problem worse, and GPS disconnected at 5.2 miles and never reconnected.

I'm on the latest version of iOS 15, my phone allows my Charge 5 to have background GPS "Always", and I don't have any current requests for a device firmware update. I just purchased my Charge 5 last week. Please help!

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community forums, @williamerogers.  

Thank you for sharing all this information about the issue you've been experiencing with your Charge 5 and the troubleshooting steps you already tried. 

It's a bit odd that you're having this problem while using the connected and integrated GPS options. If the GPS is getting disconnected during your activity, the Charge 5 may track different information for the the distance. Before considering other options, make sure to follow the steps suggested in this article. 

Keep in mind that all devices with GPS sensors require a direct path to GPS satellites to calculate location. A weak GPS signal might affect the accuracy of your route and other activity data. Your device uses your step count to calculate distance until it finds a signal, so the total distance calculated for a workout may be slightly less accurate when GPS isn't available for the entire time. In particular, please make sure of the following: 

• That you are  in open sky and moderate trees
• Adjust how you wear the tracker when you want to use GPS 
• Make sure the Location in your phone settings is set to Always or All the time for the Fitbit app (if you're using connected GPS)

If you continue to experience the same behavior and your GPS is getting disconnected, make sure to try following the steps listed in this article to complete a three pulse restart using the charging cable, as this has been useful for other users experiencing something similar. 

I'll be around.