Device not tracking exercise Charge 5

[SFMad]

Hi - Just received a replacement Charge 5 from you this morning as my battery was dying and it was under warranty - thank you.

And here comes the BUT....

I charged the new device, set it up and got it ready to go. And then started exercise. From the start it recognised I had started the activity, giving me vibrations and screen notifications when I was moving into different zone minutes, heart rate etc. Yet when I got home and synced with my phone, it has logged less than a 3rd of the exercise done, even though it has logged all the steps. 

Can you please advise? Is there something wrong with the new device? Is there a setting I need to change? Thanks

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, it's good to see you visiting the community forums, @SFMad. 

Thanks for sharing your inquiry and for confirming that this is a replacement device you received. 

Just to confirm, you're able to see your activity recorded by your Charge 5, but you're not able to see it listed on the activity history of the Fitbit app, correct? Let me know if you're having issues to sync any other information. 

If you haven't done so already, please try restarting your device using the charging cable as described here and try these additional steps in case the problem is related to the Fitbit app: 

1. Remove your Charge 5 from the Bluetooth settings.
2. Go to your phone's settings, tap Apps > Fitbit > Storage > Clear Cache.
3. Go back one screen, tap Force Stop and uninstall the Fitbit app.
4. Reboot your phone.
5. Pull down on the screen to force a manual sync.
6. Log back in to check if you can see your activity from now on. 

[SFMad]

HI @DavideFitbit - thanks for your message. 

To confirm, I see steps and zone minutes from exercise recorded on my device (and in the app) but it didn't recognise it as exercise. I've since followed your instructions and tested against new exercise. 

Yesterday, it recognised I had started a run and asked if I wanted to record it. Then it kept asking me throughout my run if I wanted to continue recording it. Never had this with my previous Charge 5 and is not something I wish to continue. I've checked all settings and can't see where to stop this.

Additionally, I've set it to notify me of messages, phone calls and events but nothing is coming through. Help! 

@DavideFitbit I forgot to add! The run mentioned above - I went for a 6k run (as measured by other apps on my phone) but my Fitbit recorded it as 7.74k. 

[DavideFitbit]

@SFMad Thank you for your response and for all the extra details.  

In addition to the steps mentioned above, please try setting up your Charge 5 as a new device in your account and check if the issue persists. 

For certain Fitbit devices, if you stop moving during a run such as at a traffic light, exercise tracking pauses automatically while you’re still (known as auto-pause or auto-stop). Your device vibrates to indicate that activity tracking is paused. Resume your run, and your device vibrates again when exercise tracking restarts. If your device doesn’t detect activity for 10 consecutive minutes, a message appears on your screen asking if you want to end the exercise. To turn this feature on or off:

1. On your device, swipe right or left to the Exercise app >  Run.
2. Swipe up through the exercise settings.
3. Tap Auto Pause to turn on the setting.
4. Swipe down to return to the exercise screen, then tap the play icon to start the workout. 

Regarding the difference in the distance recorded, if the GPS is getting disconnected during your activity, the Charge 5 may track different information for the distance. Make sure to follow the steps suggested in this article. 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)

[SFMad]

Hi @DavideFitbit - thanks for your message. I just tried deleting the device from my account and set it up as a new one. No change. Messages, phone calls and event notifications still not working. I keep my phone on silent knowing notifications will come through discreetly on my Charge 5 so I really need this feature to work. Please advise. As mentioned above, this is a replacement device received last week following a battery fault in the device I originally purchased. 

Re. GPS. My running apps use the same phone as my Fitbit so it's slightly disconcerting they come back with wildly different readings for the same run. But that I can live without. I'll rely on other apps and turn it off on my Fitbit. 

[DavideFitbit]

@SFMad Thank you for your reply. 

Keep in mind that notifications may skip or stop occasionally for several reasons. You won’t see notifications if you turned on settings such as focus, do not disturb, quiet hours, or driving mode on your phone.

If you don't have any of these modes turned on and you're still having this inconvenience, make sure to follow all the steps listed here to resolve problems with notifications, as this has been useful for other users experiencing the same problem. 

In addition to the steps mentioned earlier, make sure that you have the latest version of the Fitbit app installed and to check all the compatibility requirements here. You also won’t see notifications on your Fitbit device if you turned on the Do Not disturb Mode or Sleep Mode. 

[SFMad]

Thanks for your reply. After much trouble shooting I'm happy to say it's now working as expected. Thanks for your help 

[DavideFitbit]

No problem, that's great news! Thanks for sharing this update, @SFMad.