CPU Load

[MrEcho]

I have noticed that the Fitbit connect OSX dock icon/helper is using 1.6-2.0% CPU. OSX 10.10 and 10.11.

This is way way to high for a little helper app. iStat meuns uses 1/2 as much CPU. Dropbox and GDrive uses even less then that.

This is not acceptable.

[RobertoME]

Hello @MrEcho and welcome aboard to our community. Note that Fitbit connect is not only an app that require less resources from your computer. The Fitbit connect is a software that runs in the background reason why use a little more of your CPU percentage. The reason of this might be once your tracker is paired to your Fitbit.com account, your tracker automatically syncs every 15 minutes when it is in range of a wireless USB sync dongle inserted into a computer running the Fitbit Connect software, since is constantly looking for your tracker and any change on your activity numbers.

See ya around and keep posting in our community.

[MrEcho]

Constently pulling your USB device should not use that much CPU time, unless your programers do not know what they are doing. Its CONSTENTLY at 1.6-2.0% CPU, not every 15 min. The main App isnt even open, its just the background task and icon.

The Fitbit Connect app has used more CPU time then Google Chrome!!!

[SolarDaveGreen]

On my heavily-used Windows system fitbitconnect.exe is not the direct user of CPU time.

What's happening under Windows is that fitbitconnect.ext is causing the PlugPlay service to run every time it polls, and that is causing the PlugPlay service to use more cumulative CPU time than Outlook (my heavily-used email client). Almost more than Firefox!!!

When I suspend fitbitconnect.exe using ProcessExplorer, the corresponding PlugPlay activity stops.

What's happing is fitbitconnect.exe is making "expensive" calls to RPCRT4.dll and it's causing 1,832 (typically) page faults every time it pokes RPCRT4.dll. That spikes CPU as high as 5% momentarily on my system. It's the difference between having the fan running in the laptop or not when it's idle.

So - I use task manager to start and stop fitbitconnect.exe so it's not running all the time. That lets my laptop cool off and idle with the fan off when I am not using it.

Hey Fitbit! How about giving >US< control over how often fitbitconnect.exe polls and reports? I don't need to know my stats within the last 5 seconds. Your engineers could add the feature in an hour.

Thanks for listening.

[SolarDaveGreen]

The only difference is fitbitconnect.exe running or stopped. It's a constant resource drain.

[SunsetRunner]

I don't ever run FitbitConnect.exe, it's not needed. Instead I have the Windows Task Scheduler fire up FitbitConnectService.exe and shut it down again after it has synced. This happens a couple of times per day.

[VigilantCitizen]

This is just the thread i've been looking for.

The software hammers between 2 and 3% of the CPU on my 2010 MBP running OSX El Captian

Havent actually used my fitbit in 8 months.

Was thinking of getting back into it but this has put me right off.

Never known another piece of software do this.

Will be deleting until I think of coming back.

[VigilantCitizen]

and it is not readily apparent as to how delete posts on this forum (not my post above but i thought i was replying to OP). This is an edit.

[MrEcho]

So it looks like "Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper" is doing a system process list, and from there its doing a xpc call to another app. This seems a bit exssive to be doing, you should be caching the PID and such and just do the xpc call when needed. You could put some checks around it to see if that process is still there and such.

[jggtn]

@MrEcho What app are you using to pull symbol calls from the Fitbit .app?

My CPU usage is tracking between 8% and 11% and persists regardless of whether my Surge is attached via USB cable or not. It is the second highest usage application running and second only to sysmond.

Does the background app really need 80MB of Real Memory, or 2.6 GB of Virtual Memory when it is disconnected and should be idling in the background?

What's wrong with this picture?

/Applications/Fitbit Connect.app/Contents/MacOS/Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper.app/Contents/MacOS/Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper
/Applications/Fitbit Connect.app/Contents/MacOS/Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper.app/Contents/Frameworks/Sparkle.framework/Versions/A/Sparkle
/private/var/db/mds/messages/se_SecurityMessages
/System/Library/Frameworks/Accelerate.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/vImage.framework/Versions/A/Libraries/libCGInterfaces.dylib
/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemAppearance.bundle/Contents/Resources/VibrantLightAppearance.car
/Applications/Fitbit Connect.app/Contents/MacOS/Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper.app/Contents/Resources/menubaricon_disconnected.tiff
/Applications/Fitbit Connect.app/Contents/MacOS/Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper.app/Contents/Resources/menubaricon_connected.tiff
/System/Library/Fonts/SFNSText-Regular.otf
/System/Library/Caches/com.apple.IntlDataCache.le.kbdx
/System/Library/Keyboard Layouts/AppleKeyboardLayouts.bundle/Contents/Resources/AppleKeyboardLayouts-L.dat
/usr/share/icu/icudt55l.dat
/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemAppearance.bundle/Contents/Resources/SystemAppearance.car
/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemAppearance.bundle/Contents/Resources/Assets.car
/System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/Resources/HIToolbox.rsrc
/System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/Resources/English.lproj/Localized.rsrc
/Library/ScriptingAdditions/BartenderHelper.osax/Contents/MacOS/BartenderHelper
/Applications/Bartender 2.app/Contents/Resources/BartenderHelperTwoFive.bundle/Contents/MacOS/BartenderHelperTwoFive
/private/var/folders/qb/74tg814x7sj24t2ymh9dmxhh0000gn/C/mds/mdsDirectory.db
/System/Library/Fonts/Keyboard.ttf
/Library/Keychains/System.keychain
/System/Library/Keychains/SystemRootCertificates.keychain
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/XQuery.framework/Versions/A/XQuery
/System/Library/Fonts/SFNSDisplay-Regular.otf
/System/Library/Fonts/Helvetica.dfont
/System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Extras2.rsrc
/Users/gomberg/Library/Keychains/login.keychain
/System/Library/Fonts/HelveticaNeueDeskInterface.ttc
/private/var/folders/qb/74tg814x7sj24t2ymh9dmxhh0000gn/0/com.apple.LaunchServices-134501.csstore
/usr/lib/dyld
/private/var/db/dyld/dyld_shared_cache_x86_64h
/dev/null
/dev/null
/dev/null
count=2, state=0x12
/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemAppearance.bundle/Contents/Resources/SystemAppearance.car
/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemAppearance.bundle/Contents/Resources/Assets.car
->0x50fd0ae63237ad8d
->0x50fd0ae628192f85
->0x50fd0ae62816923d
/System/Library/CoreServices/SystemAppearance.bundle/Contents/Resources/VibrantLightAppearance.car
FNetwork.defaultStorageSession
/System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/Resources/HIToolbox.rsrc
/System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/Resources/English.lproj/Localized.rsrc
/dev/random
/System/Library/Frameworks/Carbon.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/HIToolbox.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Extras2.rsrc

[MrEcho]

The issue is that they dont really care about the users computer and resorces. They probly hired some 3rd party developer that fullfiled the requirments, and thats it. As long as it works and passes their tests, Fitbit ships it. There are more and more programs these days that dont really care how much ram or cpu they use, and its very very sad.

Call me an grumpy old man, but when a helper app takes 80MB of ram and more cpu time then Chrome, something is very wrong. Remember, Windows95 ran fine in 8MB of ram.

I stopped using my fitbit untill they fix this crap.