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

[dz1234]

Same here. It drops pairing within minutes and I have to forget the device to get it back and can no longer find the silent alarms. Also, notifications on my charge 3 haven't worked in over a year.

I can't tell you how many times a feature on a fitbit that was once working just stopped working after an update.

[Soupiej]

Agreed they just do sloppy updates is all I can figure and then they never fix

Sent from my iPhone

[fritzmom]

I have had my Charge 3 for only 3 weeks. I have iPhone 7. Because of the iOS version on my phone, the fitbit app is NOT the most current version. However the older fitbit app version does work.

Bluetooth ... I do NOT have all-day sync on. Battery drainer. Sometimes when I manually sync from the app, the app says ‘device not found’ at the same time it’s actually syncing and updating the number of steps, etc. 

This Charge 3 was my first fitbit tracker.

[Jon2020]

After recieving my replacment charge 4 it hasnt dropped connection once. 
its updated to the new update and is working perfect. My other one was clearly faulty. 

[vmf]

Glad to hear you are having a good experience with your Charge 4. However, I have been using my Charge 3 only 7 months so I do not want to buy another device.

[anjijo]

Im having same issue with new charge 4 everyday  sometime mire than once in a day...frustrating!

[vmf]

Very frustrating! Fitbit needs to listen and make improvements to their customer service.

Sent from my iPad

[SuzeB]

Totally agree. It is so frustrating having to reset Bluetooth several times a day. We should get our money back as the Fitbit charge 3 is not fit for purpose.

[GemKahl]

I bought my Charge 3 in Feb 2020, and for the last 3 months or so it has been dropping connection with my Samsung S10. Like others in this thread, I have to unpair and repair the fitbit almost daily. Very frustrating! It drops out even when I havent connected to any other devices. Any suggestions from developers would be greatly received.

[Soupiej]

Right where is the technological help?

Sent from my iPhone

[dz1234]

Not sure if this will help you, but this is what seems to be working on my iPhone. When I open the app on my iPhone, it often requests pairing. If I accept that request, it paradoxically messes up my pairing. It turns out that I if I cancel the pairing request it stays paired. It is dumb and counter-intuitive and they need to fix it, but it has been working well for months now, since I figured out that little trick. 

[Soupiej]

Definitely counter intuitive
I’ll try it thanks!

Sent from my iPhone

[vmf]

What?? How crazy is that?? However, I will definitely try it.
Now, Fitbit needs to listen to their customers and put the silent alarms back on the app.
Also, if Fitbit decides to make another major change, they should communicate to everyone as to what to expect to be different!

Sent from my iPhone

[Soupiej]

And it should work

Sent from my iPhone

[BirrellAmey]

very very disappointed with my versa 3 fitbit, birthday present in October, but steadily harder and harder to connect with my phone, will never recommend fit bit to anyone again.

[Soupiej]

I know the feeling
I loved my Alta wore it all the time
Now it sits on nightstand fully charged but will not work on my wrist so frustrating that Fitbit will not address technical issues
I ended up buying versa lite it seems to be working ok but I prefer the Alta

Sent from my iPhone

[Schurrtd]

All up to date. Even removed versa and added back. Still happens ALOT 

It started after the last update to the Fitbit firmware.

[Schurrtd]

I use car and headphones but not often. This happens when I’m not using any other Bluetooth connection. I’m on the iPhone 12 and it started after the last update to the Fitbit Versa 2 firmware

[BrigittaH]

This is still happening to me. I have iPhone 8XS, surely this is compatible?! It’s been happening for far too long now at least as long as I’ve had the Charge 3 from when it first came out. It also keeps telling me that I need to keep running the app in the background, which is not efficient battery usage. Surely, these issues would have been  sorted by now? 

[Charnish]

Every version of fitbit I've had and every combination of phone I've had for the last 10 years,  this has been an issue and apparently they haven't fixed it yet.  My next watch will likely not be a fitbit.