Fitbit Connect does not work with MacOS Big Sur

[KCastun]

After upgrading my Mac OS to Big Sur 11.1, Fitbit Connect no longer recognizes Bluetooth. Even when I have bluetooth enabled, it throws the error "Please enable bluetooth to sync your trackers."

I'm using the latest available fitbit connect software -- v2.0.2.7241.

I've seen a few other posts describing the same problem, but the subjects call out specific devices (Alta, Charge 2).  I'm filing fresh new topic because this is not a fitbit device problem. (I happen to have the Surge.)  It is a problem with Fitbit Connect app for MacOS.

I upgraded my Mac about 3 weeks ago, so as of now, I have 3 weeks of data on my Surge that I cannot sync.

Please advise when a Fitbit Connect patch will be available to let it work properly with Big Sur. 

[pennypenny]

Well said RunningGirl1 - I echo your comments from a business perspective too. Yes, unsupported customers DO leave - sort of Business 101 you would think!

I do wonder about the level of communication and serious attention a forum moderator has with those "higher ups" in a position to resolve a company problem that customers are complaining about. How far up the chain do the complaints and forum feedback go?  Based on AnaFitbit's responses there seems to be some form of communication back and forth... I just hope the company has the good sense to take her forum feedback seriously and not just give her "scripted" replies back to us. (She is a forum moderator after all - not the company Director of Customer Relations or such.)

At the bare minimum, the company should ensure that there is regular and ongoing communication with its customer base (i.e., more frequently than two months ago) even if the resolution is complex and will take time.  Thanking us for our "patience" will only last so long.

[pennypenny]

Hello AnaFitbit,

It has been several months now since you made this post.

Can you please share with customers the latest information update on the Fitbit incompatibility problem everyone seems to be having and what, if any, progress is been made by the Fitbit team "investigating" this problem?

Frankly, I growing quite suspicious, given the timeline, whether or not Fitbit has any intentions of correcting the problem at all.

Thank you,

Penny

[bdshirl]

I haven't been much of a squeaky wheel since I use an Airbook w/Movace to sync then go to my iMac w/Big Sur to see the results..Frankly I don't think complaining will get toofar since Fitbit seems to have made a decision that ignoring is cheaper than fixing.
Bill

[dlee60]

"Crickets" from AnaFitbit and colleagues for months.....Fitbit not interested in eithe problem or customers contending with it....

[sarai16]

I discovered this thread after searching for an answer to my problem.  I have Big Sur on my macbook and no longer have a smart phone.  It appears that I can no longer sync my fitbit Alta.  It says that the bluetooth is off - even though it is on.  Ridiculous and Fitbit should have addressed this long ago when this thread first started.   

[dlee60]

Try contacting Fitbit directly. Another complaint can’t hurt.

[dlee60]

Dear sara16

Tech support is no help on this. The problem is above their pay grade. I called the other day, and was told

that Fitbit was "kinda" moving away from desktop computer support. This individual could not be more specific than that.

Fitbit has things set up so it is impossible to get beyond their "help line". No one from the company has addressed this forum for months.

[FitTXDC]

Fitbit doesn’t care about the One and won’t update anything. I just charge it once a week and check my steps at the end of the day. It’s a shame because the One can be much more accurate than Fitbit watches. 🤷‍:female_sign:


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPad

[dlee60]

So, Has your team finished investigating? It is going on seven months, and no answer. This strikes customers

as willful disregard. Why upgrade a device if tracking data is not available?

dlee60

[signal7]

I have two macbook pro's and both had to be upgraded last week due to a known vulnerability.  I've had various issues with the fitbit connect program over the life of my charge 2, but nothing as bad as this.  I, too, am experiencing an inability to sync on Big Sur no matter what I try.  I installed the latest fitbit connect this morning, no change, still says I need to turn on bluetooth.  That is what led me to the forum this morning.

I have been with this company from the beginning - back when their first tracker was vaporware and I had to pre-order it.  It took months to materialize and, aside from some poor design choices, it worked pretty well.

The charge 2, in my opinion, has been a disappointment.  It counts steps that didn't ever happen.  The heart rate tracking does not work if you have any sweat on your skin, which makes it fairly useless.  I wasn't happy having to buy a dongle to sync it back when I bought the thing, but it worked and was reliable.

Today, I can't use the dongle AND I can't use the in-built bluetooth on the macbook.  Essentially, my product is dead in the water and it's not helping to see that the company has been ignoring their customers for over half of a year.

I'm done with fitbit.  As soon as the new watch comes out, this thing is getting recycled.  Fitbit, you have a very short amount of time to get off your a$$ and convince me I should still be your customer.  'nuff said.

[EggshellBlue]

Sept 28, 2021

Still nothing? What a shame. I have a very old doggle or whatever it's called, and today upgraded to Big Sur. Bummer.

If I download the app to my iPhone, will that actually sync my data? I mean, will it work? Considering my fitbit is very old -- I believe it's a flex2.

[signal7]

I tried using my old dongle with my macbook pro, but I couldn't get it to work.  The connect application can see that it's attached, but if I recall, the sync option remained grayed out.  If that would have worked, I would have provided it as a workaround.

I did load the software on a Windows 10 machine I have and that seems to work.  What I noticed, in particular, is that the Windows version of the software has a lot more features and functions much more like a mobile app would.  The mac version of the software is extremely basic by comparison.  This leads me to conclude that the team working on the OSX version of the software must have encountered a lot of difficulties in creating and maintaining the software.

Still, it is no excuse.  Fitbit is losing me as a customer.  I'm not going to maintain yet another computer just for a fitness tracker. I'm not putting any third party software on my phone either because I use that for work and I won't risk a compromise on that device.

[Spcanf]

The fitbit app on my iphone has been flakey - I finally deleted it. Didn't know that upgrading laptop would cause sync to stop working - bluetooth is on but fitbit can't read it. I will get an apple watch and move on.

[dlee60]

I sent two "snail mail" letters to the corporate office (two different addresses) three weks ago. [It should be noted that Fitbit makes itself

very opaque to the possibility of such intrusions - all concerns are directed to their useless “trouble shooting” website, a black hole,

of sorts, regarding any issue of substance not aligned with their protocols.] 

To date, I have not been afforded the courtesy of a reply. One can reasonably infer - as suggested in the Fitbit Forum - that the company has

no interest in rectifying the matter for iMac OS users. Their profit margin would suggest customers dependent on such are expendable.

Consequently, I shall not update my Charge 2 to a new device. I am looking for another company that is compatible with the iMac OS

system - one that does not require a smart phone for data collection, but works on a desk computer. (I have no interest in either a smart phone or smart

watch by choice.)

If anyone has a suggestion for another company - oriented to the iMac OS - offering a basic tracking device that not register email, text, or phone call notifications, I would be interested.

I harbor an antidiluvian preference for such (with my basic flip phone), and plan to maintain this rather Calvinist pedilection. 

[EggshellBlue]

So it seems like the iPhone is not much of an option. The doggle / dongle is still not working, and it just gets worse, as I no longer get the e-mails to go ahead and charge my Flex2. I can kind of tell when to do it, but still. I assume this will also mean that I don't have any access whatsoever to the data, you know, to track how much I've been walking / stepping /running. Way to go Fitbit! A nearly useless product.

[fl_MDG]

Just discovering this issue myself as I just upgraded to a new MacBook pro with Mac OS Monterey.  It doesn't work on that version either.  Really shocking to me, especially since the FitBit website still has a link to download FitBit Connect for Mac.  I guess I won't be using Fitbit any longer. 

[pennypenny]

Nov 2/21

It has been quite some time since I have been on this forum because:

1) customers were repeatedly complaining (rightly so) that their devices were not working,

2) many have made several attempts to get some sort of response from Fitbit to no avail, and

3) Fitbit, by their non-response/non-resolution of the incompatibility problem, are in essence saying "we don't care about these customers, just spend more money on a newer device."

Personally, I will never purchase another Fitbit product because of the above, and would like to suggest that we use this forum instead to support each other with information/suggestions on other fitness trackers from better companies. Let's all stop banging our heads against the wall on this no-win situation with Fitbit.

(Also given Fitbit's track record, I wouldn't be surprised if my post ends up deleted from this forum - but maybe not since Fitbit doesn't seem to pay any attention to customer posts in the first place.)

Penny

[EggshellBlue]

My personal work-around was to drag out my old MacBook Air which had not had an update to the OS, and this solution worked for a while. I just now pulled it out again, but the Fitbit Connect icon has disappeared from the top bar, can't find it in bluetooth, and when I do a magnifying glass search, it briefly appears on the bar below and then just as quickly <<whoosh>> it's gone. Way to go Fitbit!!!!

[wtwolf]

Interesting that it's been 10 months since the last reply from a Fitbit moderator.  I suspect this is a case where Fitbit is reluctant to share it has entirely dropped support for anything Mac OS.  Fitbit has always been slow to address compatibility issues relating relating to Fitbit Connect, wireless dongle, and sync issues.  However, this time I think the strategy is to ignore the customer in hopes that they'll give up.  Albeit, I understand the difficulty in supporting older technology, but some of us still prefer syncing via a desktop or notebook.  So, out with the old and in with the new -- I no longer consider myself a Fitbit customer.

[bdshirl]

Yes. God help us if we cut into the bottom line.