Zip is not syncing with Mac OSX.10.11.5

[iBozz]

Hi, I'm new, really new, so probably making a fool of myself but here goes ...

I have set up my Zip to sync with my iOS iPad and all seems to be working well.  

However, I have inserted the USB device into my iMac running under MacOSX.10.11.5 yet I cannot get the Zip to pair with the imac's Bluetooth.

Under Bluetooth in System Prefernces, although it is clearly searching and can see other Bluetooth devices (mouse and keyboard) it cannot see the Zip.

I have disabled Bluetooth on the iPad, as suggested in the panel presented, buwhen running FitBit Connect but that makes no difference.

Occasionally, FitBit Connect terminates with something along the lines of "An unexected error occured" but with no clue as to what or why.

What am I doing wrong?  How can I pair the Zip to my iMac?

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[EdsonFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @iBozz. It's great to have you here. I would recommend verifying if the dongle is recognized by your computer. You can do this by checking the Fitbit icon. The first item in the menu text should read "USB Dongle Connected" if the dongle is being recognized. 

If the dongle is not being recognized please reboot your computer, plug the dongle in a different USB port and see if it is recognized once again. Hope this helps. Let me know how it goes.

I moved this thread to the Dashboard board because it's more related to the topic. Catch you later. 

[iBozz]

 Hi, EdsonFitbit.

Firstly, please accept my apologies for the delay in responding.

OK, I have rebooted and put the dongle into each of the four USB ports in my iMac.

The Fitbit Menu shows, as the top item, Wireless Sync Dongle Connected but it is greyed out.  the other Menu items are all in black and read Sync Now, Open Main Menu, Fitbit.com Dashboard and Online Help.  There is no Options Menu item as there is in your screenshot.

If I click Sync Now (which seems to me to be the logical next step) FitBit Connect opens and it reports Searching for FitBit tracker and then, after a while, Not Working? and then options to Try Again or Main Menu.

Bluetooth is currently disabled on my iPad, there are no other Fitbit devices nearby, my Zip is within a foot of the dongle and is awake but, no matter what I do or how many times I try to connect, the result is always the same.

As I said before, the Zip is responding to my iPad and the data is being uploaded to my account when i swipe the app downwards every night.

What am I doing wrong and how can I get the Zip to talk to the iMac?

27" late 2009 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 quad-core iMac running under MacOSX.10.11.5 (15F34) with 16GB

1067 MHz DDR3 RAM

[EdsonFitbit]

Thanks for the update @iBozz. The engineering team just released an update of the Fitbit Connect software for Mac computers. If you haven't tried it already please uninstall and reinstall the Fitbit Connect software. Additionally, it could be a good idea setting up your Fitbit Zip as a replacement device using your computer by following @Odyssey13's steps. This should get you back on track.

Keep up the super stepping. 

[iBozz]

Thanks, Edson

The version downloaded just now from your link is v2.0.1.6801 which was created on Thursday, 2 June 2016 at 12:59 so hardly "just now".

Nevertheless, I have uninstalled the application, reinstalled it from today's download and followed the instructions linked in  Odyssey13's post here which, I believe leads here - with exactly the same result.

I even moved the Zip to withing 6 inches off the dongle as opposed to the original 12 inches!

Help!

[EdsonFitbit]

@iBozz In this case I would recommend reaching out the Support team for further assistance. Let them know the workarounds performed so they can investigate your case and help you out as soon as possible.

Thanks for stopping by, see you around. 

[iBozz]

Hi again, Edson.

Still no solution to this, I'm afraid.

I don't know if you work for FitBit, but I have contacted their Support Team a couple of times and received no acknowledgement, let alone any reply!

if you do work with them, would you mind nipping next door and waking them from their slumbers!  😉

Otherwise I shall just have to rely on the iPad gathering information when I remeber to sync.

[Steven1234]

Did you make sure to tap the zip to wake it up before syncing? Make sure the display is on on ye zip before trying to sync. I've run into this before and this worked for me 🙂

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @iBozz, I hope you're doing well. I noticed @Steven1234 has provided some useful tips that were of help in his situation. If your Zip is still not syncing with your iMac after trying his recommendations, please contact our Support Team once again, via chat or phone will be best to get a quicker response. 

I hope this informaton can be useful, please keep me posted! 

[iBozz]

I confes to have not looked any further yet, but I'll have a go at setting it upagain over the next few days and report back.

It syncs manually with the iPad just fine, it's only the iMac which "can't see" it!

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hi @iBozz! Thanks for reaching back.

Be sure to keep us posted on how it goes or if you notice any sort of issue when you try to sync. 

Please let me know if you have any questions. 

[iBozz]

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Well, my busy period in the theatre has ended at last and I'm back to trying to get this sorted.

First, a question: if I have the Fitbit app on my iPad, to which I usually "back up" (because I cannot get the imac to work) does this mean that I cannot back up to both? is it an "either or" situation? Bluetooth, as you may gather, is a bit of a mystery to me.


OK, on to trying to resolve the iMac problem.

1) I have yet again completely uninstalled Fitbit Connect;
2) I have ensured that Bluetooth is turned on on the iMac (I have a wireless keyboard and wireless mouse so it is always on) and rurned off on the iPad (I don't use it on the ipad so it is always off);
3) I have run the Fitbit Connect Installer from FitbitConnect_Mac_20151109_2.0.1.6761.dmg;
4) I have ensured that the dongle (or whatever it is called) is in a USB port;
5) I have run the Installer. It first reports that it is Searching for Fitbit Tracker. After a period, it reports "Not working?". "If there are other trackers nearby ..." - there aren't. "Make sure your tracker is close to your computer". Is three inches close enough? "If your tracker is connected to a nearby mobile device, disable Bluetooth ...". Bluetooth is disabled on the iPad and it seems that I can upload my record to the iPad via the app without enabling Bluetooth.
6) I have resisted the urge to use good old fashioned Anglo-Saxon oaths and curses and re-opened this thread.

No doubt I am being unbelievably stupid and overlooking the bleeding obvious, but please can someone tap me gently round the skull with a brick and give me a clue?

Or even better, solve the problem using very short and simple words! 🙂


2009 27" 2.8GHz i7 quad-core iMac with 16GB 1067 MHz DDR3 RAM running under MacOSX 10.11.6 Build 15G1217

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @iBozz, thanks for the update.

No need to go for oath and curses. Based on what you're saying, I'm thinking that the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse might be interfering with the tracker's signal. My suggestion would be to try to turn the Bluetooth off and just keep the dongle on the USB port. The Dongle will do the connection between your computer and the Fitbit.

Let me know if that does the trick.

[LEfoto]

I'm having the exact same problem. I replaced my old device and it syncs fine on my iPhone, but nothing works on the iMac. Followed all instructions multiple times. I did not have this problem last year with my old device.

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hey @LEfoto! Thanks for joining the Community.

Like I mentioned above, turning the Bluetooth off from your iPhone whenever you try to sync with your computer should do the trick. It is possible that the phone's Bluetooth is not letting the tracker sync with any other devices.

Please try it and let me know how it goes! 

[iBozz]

The iPad Bluetooth is definitely off - primarily because the iPad is a tad below par having joined me when I fell into a river last week!

I have disabled the iMac's mouse and keyboard and used a wired mouse but System preferences > Bluetooth fails to see the Fitbit.  Indeed, when going through the set up steps (yet again) I get a panel suggesting that I turn on the iMac's Bluetooth - yet it is clearly on and searching for nearby devices.

I should add that the iMac's menu Bar icon shows, greyed out:

Wireless Sync Dongle connected

Sync now

Open main menu

And not greyed out:

Fitbit.com dashboard

Online Help

I have exported the logs so to where would I send these?  I am at my wit's end - I'm usually reasonably good at troubleshooting but this is beginning to get me down!

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @iBozz!

Perhaps it has to do with the USB dongle. Have you tried connecting the dongle to a different USB port on your computer? Since you mentioned that it is grayed out, perhaps the connection in that specific USB port is not working properly.

As for the logs you mentioned ,let's try the above before we look into more technical details. 

Please try that and keep me updated.

[iBozz]

 The"greyed out" changes from time to time.  Now it is showing "Wireless Sync Dongle Connected", at other times it shows "Couldn't Find Wireless Sync Dongle".

There seems to be neither rhyme nor reason as to why this status changes without apparent cause.

However, as suggested I have removed the Dongle from one USB port (proven to be working by attaching another device to it) to another USB port (proven to be working by attaching another device to it) and the situation has not changed.

Although the Menu Bar icon currently shows "Wireless Sync Dongle Connected", the sync process always fails with an "Unexpected error" (never defined) and a second panel stating "No dongle.  Fitbit Connect 2.0.1.6761 Check for updates" (there are none).

So, we are back to square one and no further to resolving this.  For myself, I suspect that the dongle is, and always has been, the culprit - it has never once sync'd whereas the iPad always does, albeit it that it is currently broken and in for repair.

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hey @iBozz! 

Thanks for doing the testing and letting me know about that. Please check your inbox.

If you have any further questions, please let me know.