Notifications not working and constantly asking for password

[SunsetRunner]

Is anyone else having an issue where your watch wants your password each time you try to do something on it?  I get the security piece; but it used to just ask for the password when the watch was taken off and put back on; whereas now it's each time.  Because of that, I suspect it is not providing notifications (i.e. I not longer get the reminder to get up and move and this morning my alarm didn't go off).  Somewhat frustrating.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[MarreFitbit]

Hey there @SunsetRunner, it's great to see you around the forums! Hmm... this is weird... Is your Ionic asking for a password or your Fitbit app? What is the exact message you're getting? Password? PIN? 

If you're trying to set your notifications, I'd recommend checking this article to get the step-by-step guide. 

On the other hand, if you've set them up correctly but they're not coming through, note that notifications skip or stop occasionally for several reasons that don't suggest a problem with your device or the Fitbit app. 

• Your phone was too far away. It must be within 30 feet of your Fitbit device to transmit the notification.
  For texts, you have the conversation open on your phone. Your Fitbit device shows new texts you haven't already read.
  You changed a related setting on your phone, such as turning on Do Not Disturb, Quiet hours, or Driving mode. 
• You're using another Bluetooth product. If you have Bluetooth products like speakers, headsets, or car stereos paired to your phone along with your Fitbit device, you may have trouble using more than one at the same time. For example, turning on your speaker might stop your phone from sending a notification or syncing. 
• The connection between your phone and Fitbit device is unstable. Bluetooth signals are susceptible to disconnecting or dropping occasionally. If you have an Android phone, check the following:
  • Make sure Enable Notification Widget is on. You can find this with the other notification settings in the Fitbit app.
  • Make sure Always Connected is on. This improves your Bluetooth connection but also drains your Fitbit device's battery more quickly. Turn it off and on as you prefer.
• Your device was syncing. Syncing can sometimes prevent or delay a notification. 
• You just updated the Fitbit app. Restart your phone and try setting up notifications again.

If you've reviewed the list above and can't get notifications to work, force quit the Fitbit app and reopen it to sync your Fitbit device.

Notifications should work as expected after your device syncs, do the following:

1. Turn off Bluetooth on your phone.
2. Restart your Ionic 
3. Wait 10 seconds, and then turn it back on.
4. Open the Fitbit app to sync your Fitbit device.

If they're still not working, let's go for this:

1. From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap the Account icon >  your device image.
2. Tap Notifications.
3. Turn off all notifications
4. Restart your phone.
5. Open the Fitbit app and turn notifications back on.

Notifications should work as expected after your device syncs. If they don't, continue with the next task:

1. Tell your phone to "forget" your device, removing the connection between the phone and the Fitbit device. 
   1. On your phone, go to Settings > Bluetooth and find your Fitbit device in the list.
   2. Find an option to forget the device.
2. Open the Fitbit app and set up notifications again.

Give this a shot and let me know how it goes! 

[SunsetRunner]

My issue is that my Ionic keeps asking for my password every time I try to use it; even though I continue to wear it (that appeared to be the prior time a password was requested). Because the password is not entered, the watch discontinued providing notifications such as the reminder to get 250 steps/hour and the alarm that is set does not go off in the morning. Nothing to do with syncing issues from what I can tell or the app. I’ve reset the watch a couple of times and that does not appear to fix it. Notifications are setup appropriately on watch and/or app. 

[Magalhas]

Hey,

I’m having exactly the same issue. A couple of days ago this started: the ionic constantly asks me for the passcode (every 30m or so, can’t tell exactly).

I’m not sure if this is disabling notifications and whatnot, but maybe it is.

As far as I can tell there were no updates to the firmware since I started using it so it’s very strange this started happening. Is this an hardware problem?

[CHill73]

I’m having the same issue too. I guess we just have to wait for a firmware update to correct the bug.  Would be good to have a rep from Fitbit confirm this.

[Magalhas]

I've disabled passcode for now since there's no NFC support for Europe/Portugal yet.

[MarreFitbit]

Thanks for getting back guys @Magalhas @SunsetRunner @CHill73! You must enter your PIN code at least once a day. Ionic prompts you to enter your PIN code based on your device lock setting:

• Enabled: Each time you put your watch on your wrist.
• Enabled for Fitbit Pay: First time you make a payment after your put your watch back on your wrist. 

Note that your card issuer may require you to re-enter your PIN code to authorize a payment. 

To change the device lock setting:

1. On Fitbit app dashboard, tap or click the Account icon > your device image.
2. Tap or click Device Lock.
3. Tap or click to change your device lock setting.

Keep me in the loop! 

[Magalhas]

I believe all of us know that.

The problem is that it asks for the passcode many times during the day.

[MarreFitbit]

Hey guys, let's give another shot with this, I've tested mine and I found out that the placement of the Ionic will affect if you get the PIN code or not. Remember if they are too lose, is like you weren't wearing the tracker. 

Also, make sure the trackers are pretty clean, moisture or things like that might interfere as the tracker won't read your heart rate and if there's no readings, is like you are not wearing the tracker. The steps to clean your trackers can be found here. 

The Device Lock feature shouldn't affect the notifications on the Ionic, so after following the steps let me know if the notifications are still missing.

Give this a shot and let me know how the trackers go. 

[MassiP]

From my experience this problem started since the last Fitbit App update for IOS a week or something ago. This problem bothered me as well and I had to disable the pin and leave it enabled for Fitbit pay only. I also tried to wear the watch tightened and clean but this didn't solve the issue.

[Magalhas]

I confirm that the problem for me started after the last FitBit App update as well.

Moreover it cannot be due to positioning, I've been using the watch the same way since I bought it. Also it displays heart rate readings whenever this happens.

[Magalhas]

By the way don't know about the notifications issue. Sometimes in the morning I had to turn off and on the bluetooth on my iphone for notifications to work again but that havn't been happening the last couple of weeks.

[RafaelG]

I bought mine yesterday and I have been trying to fix the problem all morning without success. I’m feeling like returning it to the store and continue using my old Charge 2 as I never had any issues with it. For being their higher end product you would expect these bugs to be detected and corrected right away...

[Htgan]

Just bought my Ionic yesterday and getting the same issue where each time I want to do anything on my FitBit I have to type the passcode.
Image my confusion when on my phone app it clearly said unlock once every 24 hours.

Waiting on a firmware update to fix this.

[CHill73]

Early days, but the latest Ionic update seems to have done the trick - long may it last!

[MarreFitbit]

Hi again guys! The new Firmware version release includes Fitbit Pay and some bug fixes and improvements. Please follow these steps to complete the update:

For Fitbit app:

1. Verify that the latest version of the Fitbit app is installed on your phone or tablet. 
2. With your charged watch or tracker nearby, open the Fitbit app.
3. Tap or click the Account icon > your device image.
4. Tap or click the pink Update button. You'll only see an option to update your device if an update is available.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions and keep the device close to your phone, tablet, or computer during the update. Note that a firmware update may take up to an hour to complete. If the update is slow, don't remove your device from your account as a troubleshooting measure.

Fitbit.com Dashboard:

1. If your device came with a wireless sync dongle, make sure it's plugged into a USB port on your computer. 
2. Verify that you're using the latest version of Fitbit Connect:
   1. Click the Fitbit Connect icon located near the date and time on your computer. If you can't find the icon, you may need to reinstall Fitbit Connect from http://www.fitbit.com/setup.
   2. Click Open Main Menu...
   3. Click Troubleshooting.
   4. Below the Fitbit Connect number, click Check for updates.
3. Go back to the main menu and click Check for device update.
4. When prompted, log in to your Fitbit account. Fitbit Connect syncs your watch or tracker and then looks for a firmware update. If an update is found, Fitbit Connect displays a progress bar until the update finishes. If your device has a screen, you'll also see a progress bar there.
5. Keep your device close to the computer during the update. When the update is done you'll see a confirmation message and your device will restart. Note that a firmware update may take up to an hour to complete.

Start charging your device before updating it, since a firmware update can take several minutes to an hour and is demanding on the battery. Note that if you update your device at midnight (when your step count resets) you may see an inaccurate step count for 24 hours.

Give this a go and let us know if the issue with the password persists! 

[bdub3]

Every once in a while my Ionic randomly decides to lock itself.  I have the lock feature enabled so that if I take it off my wrist, it will lock.  I like this security feature.  However, there are times when I do not receive a reminder that I have set up and that is because the Ionic randomly locks out and when it locks out, reminders are not triggered.  An hour or two can go by before I realize that I missed something because of this.  There is no setting to change to get around this other than to disable the lock feature or have to enter the passcode each time I use the pay feature.  Either Fitbit should fix this bug of random locks or it needs to add a setting by which the Ionic locks if taken off your hand, but still allows notifications/reminders to trigger.    

[CL218]

I am on the current version for Iconic 27.32.10.20 and it constantly reboots itself throughout the day. As a result, it will ask for a password. My Iconic had been restarting itself constantly since I got it in March 2018.

I tried factory reset 3 times with different firmware versions already, but problem persist. 

Anyone else experience this? Can Fitbit give me a better solution rather than asking me to factory reset & download the latest firmware again?