Anything like this...
Charge 5 - Built in GPS - Inherently very poor, or... - Fitbit Community
I asked that question a few days ago, and got no response so far.
A search on Google suggests that the built in GPS really is poor. Extremely poor.
I just went out for a walk again earlier today, and told the charge 5 to use the built in GPS again to give it a test (I usually have my phone with me when walking and it's usually fine with a phone connected GPS, I just don't use my phone normally when running), and it missed around 50% of the route. Absolutely garbage.
They tell you to slacken the band for the GPS, but mine was too slack that I had to tighten it because the heart rate was reading "--" . (Up until that point the GPS had managed to keep it's connection once connected)
The suggestions I've seen that you should exercise away from buildings and away from trees are just non-sensical. The route I exercise is the route that I exercise, and it's a fairly normal kind of route that you'd expect to do exercise. A mix of residential roads and green spaces. I don't have an open route, with totally open sky for the entire route. That's just ridiculous if Fitbit expect that. Most people are not likely to have that. My route is a very common route with lots of other people doing similar exercise along the same route.
Moreover, some times it won't get a connection under trees, other times similarly dense trees it tracks almost perfectly. So again, I don't think this is an issue of the surroundings. I think that's a red herring.
I'm torn between attempting to contact fitbit customer support or taking it back to the shop I bought from. From what I've read from other comments, I suspect fitbit support don't have a solution, and it seems will either just tell me I should run a different route, or maybe they will send a replacement, but it seems from what others have said that (1) replacements are likely to be refurbs, so who knows what state the battery or seals will be in, and other people seem to have BIG problems with those in the charge 5, and (2) it seems from what I can discern that this is just an inherent problem or at least those who say they've had a replacement seem to say they've been just as bad,... unless someone from Fitbit is prepared to say that it is a known fault and that a replacement unit should fix it?. Or, since mine is still within 6 months of purchase, in the UK I could just use the consumer rights to take it back to the shop I bought it from instead.
This Charge 5 is definitely not what I thought it would be, that's for sure.
For me, the GPS was the only feature that justified paying the extra for this model. The cheaper models do everything else I need.
The frustrating thing is that when the built in GPS works, it does work well.. I put it on for my cycle commute yesterday, and by fluke(?), it tracked the whole route. And it was almost much spot on, tracking really closely to the route I took! So when it manages to connect, it usually works well. If it tracked that good every time, I'd be *very* happy with it.
I really feel that there's probably a hardware problem. I've seen some claim it's to do with the location of the antenna, but TBH I think that's unlikely. Based on experience I've had over the years with loose connections in things, this very much feels like a loose connection issue. I suspect when the band is tighter, it's slightly warping the case, which if there's a loose connection, could just be enough to temporarily break the electrical connection, e.g. of the antenna or other connection related to the GPS, and when you slacken it, the warping is alleviated and the connection gets made again.
But that's just my suspicion, but unless Fitbit are prepared to offer any explanation, I can only judge these on my experience, and my experience with the built in GPS is that it is absolutely not fit for purpose. You'd expect better from a kids toy, not an expensive, premium fitness tracker. This is garbage.
I'm just torn about what to do about it. From what I'm reading of other people's experiences with this, I'm not optimistic that it's likely to be resolved satisfactorily. From what I'm reading online, quite a few people have the issue, and Fitbit really don't seem all that bothered.
I feel a bit of a fool because I'd seen some of the reviews raising these GPS issues before hand, but I figured since they were from middle of 2022 that surely the issues would be fixed by now (mid 2023). Clearly not. That's in part why I get the feeling that Fitbit just don't care about the issue, and the charge 5 is what it is.
(I'm not convinced by the heart rate readings in the charge 5 either)
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