Charge 2 stopped tracking during run

[Meg16]

My Charge 2 suddenly stops tracking during my run. I press the button so that it will start tracking and I start running. I look down and it has suddenly stopped. No buzzing, no warning, no nothing. So I try to start tracking again. The same thing happens! This has been going on for weeks. I have updated the app, charged my tracker, etc. Nothing works! I want to know my GPS and my pace. This is so frustrating! 

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[AlvaroFitbit]

@Meg16 Thanks for stopping by!

Let me help you with your Charge 2 stops recording your activities. Try restarting your tracker by following these instructions. Also try refreshing the link between your phone and your tracker by doing the following:

1. Go to your phone's bluetooth settings and remove all devices listed there.
2. Restart your phone and restart your device. 
3. Check that no battery saving app/feature on your phone is affecting your Fitbit app.
4. Also, on an Android device, check that your app has the necessary permissions (settings > apps > Fitbit > permissions) and make sure bluetooth and location services (GPS) are on. 
5. You can find troubleshooting instructions here.

Let me know how it goes.

[Lucinda3151]

I'm having this issue as well. I've tried the steps you listed but it still stops tracking during the run

[jlaforge]

My Charge 2 has also started doing this as well. It is really an intermittent issue, sometimes it will track perfectly other times I have to re-start it several times during a single run. There is no Goal Line and summary displayed, so it is not an issue with the button accidentally being pressed during the run.

Would love to know how to resolve this.

[JoSmewing]

My last succesfully recorded run for Charge 2 was on 23rd September.  Since then, I start the run on my watch and it then stops itself automatically after about 0.2 miles - on the phone the map obviously only shows the run as 0.2 miles distance.  This happens every day after successful use in exactly the same way for the last 2 years.  I have done all of the above suggestions (several times) and my phone has not been changed during this time. Everything else is logged successfuly on the watch and transfers to the phone correctly.  If only the watch did not stop the run automatically!  What should I try next?

[Jackanory]

Hi @AlvaroFitbit ,

Is there any further update or advice on this issue.

This has now started occuring on my own charge 2 device recently.

The exercise will randomly stop on the charge 2 with no explanation why. The button has definitely not been pushed as they device does not show the usual information that it displays when an exercise is ended correctly.

This appears to only been an issue on exerices that utilise the connected GPS and not for other exercise types.

If there is a gps issue I do not understand why the exercise does not continue but without tracking location.

Please can you advise on how to resolve or if there is a wider issue as based on the replies on this thread this appears to be affecting a number of users.

I have tried all the previously mentioned steps with no success.

Thanks

[EssexHebridean]

This is an issue on Charge 3 also - known about by Fitbit for approximately 7 months. On my Charge 3 the issue manifests itself when I use the app to track activity - stopping the tracking and then freezing the app - requiring at the least a log out and log back  into to free things up so the app is useable again. 

I have been struggling to get FitBit to acknowledge that this is a known fault - they have finally today done so on Twitter which is at least one step forwards - although I am no closer to them confirming whether a fix is in place for the fault. 

[Chewingyu]

Wow..looks like I am not alone suffering this problem.  Wanna know something?  It works when  I wear my Garmin on the other hand! Looks like the Charge2 is alive!!

Seriously though, why is this happening and why is FitBit not answering the subsequent queries. Surely it cannot be we need to turn this or that off when it works intermittently which means all settings being consistent why is FitBit not working (or failing for that matter) consistently??!

[JimN13]

Mine stopped tracking hikes & runs a few months ago. Think the longest it will track once started is .2 miles, though it often doesn't even get that far. I've tried the reboot procedure up above to no avail.

Given that it seems to be an issue with older Charge 2 & 3 models, I'm starting to think that the same type of thing is going on here as with old iPhones, where an OS upgrade proceeds to brick the phone as a strategy to drive people to upgrade to newer models. I'm guessing that Fitbit isn't devoting many resources to software maintenance on old devices, probably in hopes we'll upgrade to a Charge 5 or whatever.

Given that one of the main reasons I got a Fitbit in the first place was to track elevation and correlate physical performance to that, and that it seems the Charge 5 doesn't even track stairs, I'm thinking that I'll soon be getting a tracking device from another manufacturer.