Shirt sleeve interacting with screen. How did this escape every review?

[wfs]

EDIT: Here is a video I made demonstrating the bug

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjMIuFv_vKU

5 of my 7 run recordings since buying this device have been borked because my sleeve evidently will swipe the screen and cause it to pause, stop or otherwise interrupt the exercise session. Its EXTREMELY frustrating to say the least. I spent $200 on this device and its essentially unusable.

Today's run:  Checked my watch at around 1 mile to discover it was on the EDM screen and the exercise had stopped about 2 minutes prior.  I started another run exercise and this lasted 0.2 miles when my wrist buzzed and it had stopped the exercise again. I started it a 3rd time and it manged to survive the rest of the run, but it did pause twice.

I'm wearing a lululemon exercise shirt. Its just a normal shirt that doesn't have any strange design around the wrist or anything. But why can it control the screen? Shouldn't the screen require an actual fingertip?

I am not just hear to gripe. I want to see if it can be fixed. Is mine particularly buggy? Is this a known issue that is being worked on? Is there a setting somewhere to make the screen less sensitive? Lastly, can I get a refund even though I don't have the box any longer?

Cheers and thanks

[SMMAC]

I have had similar experiences with my sleeves interacting with the screen.

[Rich_Laue]

Maybe non of the reviewers experienced this. 

[wfs]

> Maybe non of the reviewers experienced this. 

Clearly. Nor the QA department at Fitbit. Winter is fast approaching and I have to run with my left sleeve rolled up if I don't want my fitbit to arbitrarily activate and deactivate buttons as I run. Its very disappointing 😞

[fac73]

Haha! Thought it was only me.

Reported this problem in this thread: Charge 5 GPS recording-time/distance maxing out

Assumed the problem was with the GPS, but after testing, noticed that my clothing was causing the problem, starting and stopping my activities.

Still waiting on a solution - firmware update?

[wfs]

I contacted FitiBit a little while ago. The rep said that this issue is not on their radar. 

[fac73]

Well, that doesn't look promising.

Fitbit do it again - a product that promises so much at a good price point but is massively flawed by one major fault (i.e. Charge 2/3/4 - dim screen). Guess I'll be going back to the Strava app on my phone!

[SMMAC]

Perhaps it is something they can resolve quickly now that they're aware.

[fionac]

I guess it has never cropped up in reviews because it actually hasn't happened when the reviewers are wearing the device.  It could be that even if they were wearing long-sleeved tops, that the sleeve wasn't worn over the device, because most people, myself included, like to be able to see the screen when they lift their arm up.  Covering it up means faffing about moving the sleeve every time they want to check time/distance/pace.

[SMMAC]

It only takes a light touch of a cuff to interact with the screen and change it, so even if the cuff of your sleeve doesn't usually cover the device if you bend your elbow and only barely touches the screen as you move with your arm extended, it can terminate your activity, change it to a different activity, activate timers, or any number of things it shouldn't be able to do. Even the drops of a shower interact with the screen of my Charge 5.

[fionac]

The shower problem I can relate to - it put itself into sleep mode when I was in the shower yesterday and I couldn't work out why the screen wake wasn't on auto for ages.  I guess that's what the water lock thing is for, but this morning I just took it off before showering instead.

I ran in a long-sleeve top on Wednesday and didn't have any problem with it stopping or anything; the mapping was a bit dodgy but the distance wasn't too far off what the Garmin said I had done so it kept going throughout the run.

[wfs]

I made a short video demonstrating the bug. I hope this gets the attention of the engineers and this can be patched!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjMIuFv_vKU

[Wibby]

That was such a good idea to do that.  Seeing is believing and anyone who says it isn’t an issue after seeing that is crazy.

I jog with my sleeve rolled up because I want to see the screen and my stats all the time, so hadn’t experienced this problem.

Your video was really well done, shocking, and I hope it gets fixed!  If it does, a lot of the credit should go to you.

Let’s hope it’s something they CAN fix easily!

PS I just wondered if you set your Screenwake to Manual instead of Auto it would make it a bit less sensitive to your sleeve in the meantime.  You absolutely shouldn’t have to do that of course.

[Heather-S]

That's a great video @wfs!  I tried to simulate with my long sleeves and my screen did not respond to my sleeve at all when I did the same thing you did.  I wonder if you have an overly sensitive screen or if different fabrics affect it.  

[wfs]

Very interesting point Heather. This is the shirt I typically wear on a run:

https://shop.lululemon.com/p/mens-t-shirts/Metal-Vent-Tech-LS-Two/_/prod400054?color=41982

It has the word "metal" in it, but the description of the fabric shows there's no actual metal in it.  But I tested it out and it does definitely affect the screen more than my cotton/polyester blend shirt. I was still able to recreate what I showed in the video but definitely not as easily.

[SMMAC]

You did an excellent job demonstrating it with the video. In response to Heather M's point, I've had similar experiences with shirts with different styles and materials, though a smoother finish to the fabric does seem to exacerbate the problem.

[Heather-S]

I was wearing a plain, cheap sweatshirt (rougher material on the inside of the sleeve).  I'm wearing a different shirt this morning, but still a bit rougher fabric and it won't interact with my screen either. I also tried one of my workout shirts made in a smooth, sweat-wicking fabric and it didn't interact with the screen unless my finger was directly on the other side of the shirt.  But just bunching up the shirt and swiping it across the screen didn't do anything.

Very strange, but interesting tests nonetheless.  

[fionac]

That's really interesting and not something I've seen at all.  I tend to wear sweat wicking tops when running and cotton or wool the rest of the time and haven't experienced anything like this.  It does look like there's something odd going on.

[Wibby]

It doesn’t happen to me either but the video was eye-opening.  

I wonder if it has any connection to static electricity and certain materials ‘conducting’ it further on some people so it works without direct contact from a finger?

Do you have screen wake set to auto or manual?  I’m not sure, but I think manual might make it a bit less sensitive to fabric only as you need to double-tap (and we all know how hard that can be at times even when we’re actively trying with a finger).

I have to confess I’ve been trying out different fabrics on mine to see if I can replicate it and I can’t.

It could be that the few people with the issue have super-sensitive screens and should be given replacements.  

I’d be really curious to try an experiment if you have a friend with a Charge 5 and try theirs on and see if it happens with theirs too.  Also if they can make it happen with yours.  Or go into a shop selling them and do the experiment with a staff member (if they’d let you).

This is one of the more intriguing problems, so please keep us updated on developments.

Good luck!

[fac73]

I've been in touch with support. 

Firstly, they asked me to restart the device - already done - no effect on the issue.

Then to confirm that Screen Wake was set to manual. It is, but to be honest, it only takes the lightest of touches to wake and interact the screen. 

Then send a video of the issue actually happening (basically me slapping my Charge 5 with some fabric and demonstrating it waking the screen). It wasn't quite as impressive as @wfs 's vid - that was a really good job.👍

I've pointed them to this thread.

Let's see what they have to say.