GPS Not Working Charge 5

[Redneckgirl]

Anyone else having problems with their GPS on their charge 5? Sometimes it doesn't register at all when I go for a walk, and sometimes it just stops registering during my walk and so it doesn't record everything. I'm getting very frustrated with it.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @Redneckgirl , GPS signals can be affected if you are in a wooded area or in cities where there are lots of buildings.  Could that be part of the issue? 

You can check your GPS if you go to a very open area and try turning it on and making sure it will connect.  If it does connect, it is likely that the problem is the GPS signal in your area rather than the Fitbit itself.  

For most accurate GPS and least impact on battery life, if you have your phone with you, choose the “dynamic GPS” setting on the Quick Settings menu.  In that setting the GPS switches between your phone GPS and the built in GPS, in case signal is weak or lost on one or the other.

[Redneckgirl]

Thanx for the tips Julia. I'm in a very small coastal town so shouldn't be
affected by buildings or trees. I adjusted the setting as you recommended
and am looking forward to going for a walk today to see if that makes a
difference.

Joan

[Baybeemon]

A certain tightness from wearing the Fitbit will cause fitbit to lose its gps too.

https://youtu.be/c7KHBR-xSlc

[Redneckgirl]

Good to know. Thanx for sharing this. I'll keep it a little looser
today and see what happens.

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, I appreciate all the information that you've shared about this inconvenience you've been experiencing with your Charge 5, @Redneckgirl.  

Before considering other options, make sure to follow the steps suggested in this article as well. 

As other users mentioned earlier, 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 restart, as this has been useful for other users experiencing something similar. 

I'll be around. 

[Redneckgirl]

Thank you David for the tips.

Joan

[DavideFitbit]

No problem, @Redneckgirl! 😀