Sync Without Location On?

[GeneDoc]

I got my Ionic last night and am overall happy with it.  One area I'm struggling with is the requirement for the location setting to be turn on on my Android phone.  Do I truly have to have my GPS turned on on my phone to sync with the Ionic?  I am concerned about my phone battery life if I have the GPS on the whole day.  Yes, I can repeatedly turn on/off the GPS setting if I want to see data updated, but I try to reduce as many clicks in life as I can.

[shipo · Accepted solution]

---

@GeneDoc wrote:

I got my Ionic last night and am overall happy with it.  One area I'm struggling with is the requirement for the location setting to be turn on on my Android phone.  Do I truly have to have my GPS turned on on my phone to sync with the Ionic?  I am concerned about my phone battery life if I have the GPS on the whole day.  Yes, I can repeatedly turn on/off the GPS setting if I want to see data updated, but I try to reduce as many clicks in life as I can.

---

Yes, as of Android 6.0 the Android O/S requires location services to be enabled to synch, this is true regardless of whether you've got a Fitbit, a Garmin, or any other tracker.  Long story short, this is an Android issue, not a Fitbit issue.

[JennPizzo]

I just got a fitbit Blaze, but my last tracker dis not need location on yo sync, nor doea my regular bluetooth i use on a daily basis. This seems more like a fitbit issue than a Google issue.

[bbarrera]

Yes its an issue that Fitbit could fix. If Fitbit used a different method of identifying the tracker, they wouldn't require location services to be enabled. As it stands today, they use an insecure method (BT MAC address), and force you to enable location services. 

[EStrah]

Is that alternate implementation being worked on by FitBit?

[jo2010]

this location issue has not been resolved until today.

after a lengthy chat online with support, the solution is, buy an old android 4.1 and use it for the tracker (unfortunately i don't think fitbit cares to fix this. BIG BROTHER is not stoppable anytime in the near future). the idiots in development should be forced to wear sandwich signs in public.

this sort of resolves the battery issue and isn't that unwieldy. it can even be used for an mp3 player.

[JLHumbert]

I am using Android 6.0.1 and my Fitbit app (and Fitbit Ionic) will not sync unless location services are turned on.  However, I also have an Amazfit Bip fitness watch and it syncs perfectly (fast and efficiently) WITHOUT location services (using only Bluetooth).  So, Fitbit, if it's an "Android" requirement, then why (and how) does my Amazfit Bip sync perfectly without location services? 

[Tripletaco]

My guess is Fitbit is owned by google now.

[thompsondc]

This answer is a lie.  Android 10 and higher allow you to choose "only while using the app".  This would solve the OP's concern of reducing the number of manual interactions.  Android 12 is now "in the wild", so Fitbit has had years to fix this issue.

https://developer.android.com/training/location/permissions

The Fitbit app also says it only requires location in the downtowns while the app is open (so it's in violation of the Google play store API).

 

[thompsondc]

No, Fitbit could solve it with an app update for alt version of Android after 9.

[thompsondc]

All the more reason to get with the program and support Android 10, Android 11, and Android 12.

Unless you're Steve Jobs, trying to pit your employees against one another...