Charge 3 Bluetooth connection keeps dropping

[PaulG66]

Hey! Well, searching through the forums it appears like I’m not the only one with this issue.

I have just got a Charge 3 for Xmas, replacing a Surge, paired with an iPhone 6s. Everything seems to be working ok apart from the Bluetooth connection. When the watch is initially set up it works fine, I get notifications.

However, after a few hours or after I have connected to my in car kit, the Bluetooth connection between phone & watch appears to be lost, i no longer receive notifications & I can no longer access the notification menu on the app or select all day sync. When I try to access it I am told I need to pair my phone to the watch before I can use this feature! When I try to set it up I will receive a warning after 5ish minutes informing me the Bluetooth set up has failed! If I go into my phone Bluetooth settings it tells me I have a connection to the watch, but the app disagrees! 

The only way way I can get the notifications working again is if I forget the Bluetooth connection on my phone, forget the Charge 3, uninstall the app & start all over again! This will make the notifications work again, but only for a few hours or until it receives another Bluetooth connection.

To say it’s a pain is an understatement, I have seen people saying it could be down to multiple Bluetooth connections, which strikes me as odd, why can’t this watch & phone handle multiple connections? I only have the one Fitbit synced to the one phone.

I’m not an expert in Bluetooth or Fitbit technology but it seems like the Bluetooth is turning off, for some reason, & the only way to turn it back on is to put  the watch back into set up mode! Is there a menu on the Fitbit to physically turn Bluetooth off & on or put it into pair mode? 

Come on Fitbit, I want to keep & use the Charge 3, but this issue is frustrating, my Surge worked a lot better than this! Is it time to return the Charge 3 & return to the Surge?

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[Bangs666]

I also have the same problem. I bought the Charge 3 in December 2018 and was running the older firmware. Everything worked perfectly and I used to have Bluetooth headphones connected and the Fitbit and get all the notifications etc. When I tried to update to this latest version it was not successful and I had to delete the app and also reboot my actual Fitbit and also go into settings and forget the device in Bluetooth. After doing all of this then I was able to update to this latest firmware 20001.49.45. Since I have done this I keep getting this problem where I can’t get notifications and it doesn’t connect in the app however it still syncs at times and the phone shows that it is connected in the Bluetooth setting. When I remove the Fitbit and set it up like new it works for a couple of hours and then the same problem occurs. It’s frustrating. I am running an iPhone 6splus iOS 12.1.2

[PaulG66]

Hey Bangs666. From what you’re saying then, if it worked ok with the previous firmware version then another update would fix the problem.  Trouble is, it’s the iPhone 6s, not a current model so I’m guessing it’s at the bottom of Fitbit’s to do list, could be a while. 

Whatcha say Fitbit, any plans to fix this fault soon with another update?

[tpreston]

I have the same problem and have to “re-pair” several times a day.  I have a iPhone 8, and this was not an issue until a few weeks ago. Help!

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @tpreston, and @PaulG66. Welcome to the Forums @Bangs666.

I apologize for the delay in my response. Thanks for all of your experiences on the matter.

In this case I'd like to ask if you all are also connecting your phones to another Bluetooth devices? More specifically a car? 

Look forward to your reply.

[tpreston]

Not to a car and my earbuds (beats) are the only other Bluetooth device.
The thing is, all worked perfectly in the beginning. What happened? Apple
did an update over the weekend, and I’ve stayed connected since then, but
I’ not sure of it. Oh my Alta is also connected and never drops off. I
wear it for dressy occasions, like church.
--
Terry

[PaulG66]

Hello Lanza, yeah mine is connected to a parrot kit & another car kit, also BT speakers. My old Surge was connected to the same & never missed a beat! Since the app updates mine has seemed to become more stable.

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @PaulG66 and @tpreston.

Thanks for reaching back.

@tpreston hopefully it continues working correctly. Please do keep us posted on how it goes.

@PaulG66 If you try to remove the pairing between the other Bluetooth devices and your Charge 3, does that improve the connection between the Fitbit and the phone?

Let me know if you have any further questions.

[YvonneClark1973]

Shouldn’t have to disconnect other devices ! Car pairing is more important!! Worked on charge 2 and3 is supposed to be “better”

very disappointed !!!

[PaulG66]

I agree with Yvonne, my phone pairing with my car is far more important than pairing my Fitbit, if it is a choice between them the car wins every time! 

But then since the latest app update, version 2.87, the connection does seem a lot my stable. 

[tpreston]

But mine dropped off today. Still not as it should be.
--
Terry

[LanuzaFitbit]

Welcome to the Forums @YvonneClark1973. Hello @PaulG66 and @tpreston.

Thanks for sharing your feedback on the matter.

I can definitely understand that disconnecting the two is not optimal nor the desired thing to go about it, however it should help in getting the Fitbit ti sync. 

We will be sure to take these comments into account. Rest assured that we take all comments into account and we're always looking for ways to improve the overall Fitbit experience.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

[tpreston]

And here we go again. It’s dropping off of Bluetooth repeatedly again.  I am truly frustrated and about to make a switch if this continues.

[PaulG66]

Hey tpreston! What app version are you on? Since the last app update my connection seems very stable & hasn’t dropped since I updated (famous last words!). The app version I’m running is 2.88, if you’re not already on this one give it a go. 

[SunsetRunner]

As you instructed another person to ensure they are running version 2.88, I am here to say I am running 2.88 & am also having to reboot/re-pair every day.  Not sure if Fitbit will ever fix the C3 problems.  If yours is working, lucky you!

[tpreston]

I’ll update and try again. I’m on 20001.49.45. With the last Apple update,
it remained stable for about 3 weeks until Last Sunday, and it’s dropped
and been difficult to reconnect. Thank you.
--
Terry

[tpreston]

Actually I’m already updated and the few weeks of success are over. I hope yours continues to stay connected. I worked with Fitbit chat again and was asked to be patient.

[Dees1234]

I have my fitbit charge 3 since december and my connenction is lost daily. I'm really not happy with my new fitbit like this. It doesn't sync untill i restart and reinstalled everything. Aren't there other solutions? I have a samsung s7 and both my phone and fitbit have all the latest updates.

[tpreston]

I haven’t found a solution. I received mine in October and it was fine for several weeks and then this started....

Sent from my iPad

[SunsetRunner]

This has been a on going issue since the start of the year.  It always says Bluetooth can't be found thus affecting sync issues as well.  The updates Fitbit are doing are not helping fix the issue.  It takes me multiple times to even sync till it even connects if at all.