Find my phone doesn’t work Charge 5

[Shadowy]

I have tried reinstalling Fitbit app and restarting my iPhone and clearing cache but the find phone on Fitbit charge 5 doesn’t work. It only works if I have the Fitbit app open which is pointless if the phone Fitbit app isn’t running when lost. Anyone have a fix for this?

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[bahbahbisheep]

Same issues! Any fixes?

[DavideFitbit]

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

Thanks for sharing this information about the issue you're experiencing with your Charge 5.  

Could you please provide a few more details about this inconvenience? Let me know if you're receiving any error message or how is this feature behaving when you try to activate it. 

In the meantime, please make sure that you've tried restarting your device using the charging cable: 

1. Connect your device to the charging cable. For instructions, see How do I charge my Fitbit device?
2. Press the button located on the flat end of the charger 3 times (end of the USB cable), pausing for 1 second between presses. Then wait 10 seconds or until the Fitbit logo appears.

If you continue to have the same problem, you can also try setting up your Charge 5 as a new device in your account. 

I'll be around. 

[ScottoDesperado]

I just upgraded to Android 13.0 and my Fitbit Charge 5 isn't Syncing.  I've rebooted the Fitbit and Phone multiple times.  I've uninstalled and reinstalled the Fitbit app on my Samsung Flip 3 Z.  I've stopped Bluetooth and restarted.  By Charge 5 is not in my Bluetooth device list.  When I try Find a Phone from my Charge 5 it doesn't find my phone.  My Bluetooth earbuds are working fine, so it doesn't seem to be a Bluetooth issue.

[cathartink]

Same issue. Resetting charge 5 didn’t work for me 

[Cambrook]

I think I figured it out from the manual.

The Find My Phone feature ONLY works if the Fitbit app is already running on the phone.  Then, it must be within Bluetooth range of about 10m.

If the Fitbit app is not running or if the devices are beyond Bluetooth range, nothing works.

In other words, the feature is so limited that it's not useful.

[cathartink]

Super helpful - thanks. 

[TanyaChantel]

I had this same issue too. Went to settings on my phone. Go to app permissions for Fitbit and allowed the app to access the microphone. Now the find my phone works even with the app not open. 

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the community forums, @TanyaChantel. 

That's great news! Thanks for sharing the steps that worked for you. I'm sure this will be useful for other users as well. 

[bahbahbisheep]

Hi there!! Do you have a Charge 5? Maybe I have a simple one. My iPhone doesn’t give me the option to allow microphone access (there is not microphone toggle).

My FitBit doesn’t have a microphone/I can’t speak into it like one of the upgraded FitBits, so maybe that’s the issue. Sounds like this solution only works if your FitBit has a microphone 😩

[DavideFitbit]

@bahbahbisheep Cold you please provide a few more details about the issue you're experiencing? Let me know if you're getting any specific error message or what happens when you try to use the Find My Phone feature. 

[ScottoDesperado]

@DavideFitbitmy issue was 8 months ago.  I got a software update from google that resolved the issue.

[DavideFitbit]

@ScottoDesperado That's great news, thanks for the update! 

[Dianeww11]

This did not work for me. 

i tried my find a phone. My phone rang once and then stopped. I tried again, right away, and it didn’t work at all. I tried resetting, restarting, uninstalling and reinstalling. NOT AT ALL HAPPY with the Fitbit Charge 5. 

[ronbou]

Find phone does not really find my phone. It finds the device that synced with the tracker most recently. So if I synced with my tablet, the tablet will ring, not my phone. This makes it not very useful. There should be a way to specify my actual phone, maybe with an IP address, Wifi SSID, or Bluetooth SSID. A feature for the future??

[Dianeww11]

This has me so angry i am actively giving bad reviews on this device on social media. I have totally wasted my money because this was the app i used the most on my old versa. The caps are intentional because i am so angry about this!!!!

Moderator edit: format

[nancy0614]

I have the same issue.   I even restarted the Charge 5 as instructed but still it only works if the app is running.  They need to stop noting this as a feature until it’s fixed.  It’s misleading.  

[DavideFitbit]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the details and feedback that you've provided about this feature so far. 

Before considering other options, please check the requirements the Find My Phone app needs to work properly:

• Your smartwatch must be connected (“paired”) to the phone you want to locate.
• Your phone must have Bluetooth turned on and be within 30 feet (10m) of your Fitbit device.
• The Fitbit app must be running in the background on your phone.
• Your phone must be turned on

Let me know if you continue to experience the same issues after  these extra steps. 

[bahbahbisheep]

Hi Davide,
I think we understand the instructions pretty clearly, but the issue is for those of use with simple fitbits without microphones built into them, the only way to use the Find My Phone feature is to leave the fitbit app running on our phones 24/7, which is impractical. Essentially, this feature is not well-thought-out and has been improperly advertised as a lot of us aren't willing to leave an app open on our phones all day, every day. 

We would just like fitbit to hear our concerns and address them.

[nancy0614]

I agree

Moderator Edit: Removed personal information