Charge 3 disconnects during a run

[Corey.G]

This is extremely annoying. I'll start an exercise and begin a run, and periodically the Charge 3 will disconnect. So my mile measurements are often wrong, and my exercise map has gaps in it.  Also, during this time the watch will stop syncing with the app, and forcing a sync doesn't work.  Turning Bluetooth on and off doesn't work, there's no rhyme or reason behind when it works and when it doesn't.  

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[AlejandraFitbit]

It's great to see you around @Corey.G.

Thanks for troubleshooting this exercise by yourself. I would like to know if you have checked if the auto pause option is off? If you haven't, I recommend swiping to exercise, then go to "Run", swipe up and checked if this feature is off. If it isn't you can turn it off and test your Charge 3.

Hope to hear from you soon. 

[Corey.G]

Auto pause is set to Off under Run.  Generally, when I start an outside excursion I choose Walk (and just run occasionally during the walk).  Realizing now that the two different modes have actual different options that might have been better given at the beginning of troubleshooting.  

This is an intermittent issue that I'm unable to replicate on purpose. 

I will select Walk. Time Limit 15 minutes.  Head outside.  It will sync with my phone and say connected.  I'll start my walk, sometimes using my phone for something else, sometimes not.  The watch will then buzz me a few minutes in and say disconnected.  Then it sometimes reconnects and sometimes does not. Turning on and off the bluetooth during the exercise doesn't always fix it, neither does rebooting the phone.  I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S8+ with Android 8.0.0 on it.  During this time that I'm unable to sync, I cannot force the app to sync with the watch.  Eventually what happens is I will end my exercise and eventually the phone and watch sync to each other as expected. 

I have already rebooted the watch itself by plugging it into the charger and holding down the button.  I have disconnected the watch from my phone, unpaired it, and removed it from my FitBit app to add everything back to the app as normal.  I have also restarted the watch from the watch's menu. The issue seems to be repaired after I do that, but in practice, it seems like it's just a matter of time until it happens again. 

[Corey.G]

Today when attempting a walk the Fitbit wouldn't sync at any time during the walk. This occurred 4 times. 

[JEG62]

Try this it worked for me. Android uses aggressive battery optimisation  https://youtu.be/Z0iqx-l3cMg

[Corey.G]

My battery settings were already set to allow the Fitbit app all the resources it needed.  But just to be safe I went through and turned off all type of battery saving.  

After I did this the Fitbit still would not sync with the app, so I plugged it in and charged it, and reset it again while plugged in.  Then that day I took it out and started my general exercise routine.  Afterward, while resting, the Fitbit randomly turned itself off and back on, erasing my data and giving me the wrong time.  Fortunately, the app had synced with the server about an hour beforehand so eventually the app and the phone mirrored each other again, but I wound up losing about 1000 steps, and my daily activity for that day. 

Since this happened, I haven't had running sync issues, but would I say it's fixed?  No. 

[Corey.G]

Nope.  Still doing it. 

Just now, tonight, I tried to start a walk event.  Would not sync with my phone. It's been fine for the past 5 days since setting my phone to maximum performance mode.  I thought, maybe that was the issue for some reason, but nope.  No settings have changed throughout the week, the only thing that has happened is I have charged my watch up to full, did that last night.  It even tracked a workout earlier today, but for some reason tonight when beginning my walk/run it would not connect to my phone at all. Even as I type this and the exercise is over, and I try to sync all my steps up to my phone by manually going into the fitbit app and forcing a refresh nothing is happening. 

[moonburster]

Die you fix your problem already? I mailed them and they said they were working on it. But that was already a month ago and I am getting furious at this point. I bought this thing to monitor my runs!

I tried all of the stuff below and still I have to force close before I can get even a normal sync out of the thing

[Corey.G]

I've noticed the issue does seem to happen more when I set the notification option of the watch to off.  Sometimes I don't want my messages/calendar to bother me on my wrist, but I still want the bluetooth connectivity to my phone.  

[daleylife]

I've had a fitbit charge 3 since December 2018 and fairly soon after getting it, I too saw it lose connection during exercise. I've been in touch with support several times and after getting a new fitbit from them that still had the issue, they told me it was "a known problem" and "was being investigated." 

There was a recent firmware update, but the issue still persists. Contacted support and it was like starting all over, they're having me reset my tracker and so on... I'm quite frustrated. This is a fitness tracker that is having some kind of issue during exercise. Its main function... There's obviously a problem and why it's still not working properly nearly 6 months after it being reported is beyond me.  

[Alokpatel]

I m also facing this problem my outdoor  Bike after last update .

[Frogby]

My wife took the option to “upgrade” under warranty to a Charge3 when her Charge2 expired.

She is experiencing the same random disconnect but using an iPhone SE.  

It’s very frustrating as she monitors her running closely and is unable to get an accurate record of her km times.

FitBit App, iOS are all latest versions; batteries are both 75-95% charged.

She he had no similar issues with her Charge2.

[SassyR]

Did you get a fix? Mine does this all the time when running - on Sunday it was so bad I lost a kilometre and today I gained one with my timings so far off it’s ridiculous. Using an iPhone but my wrist is constantly buzzing that it’s disconnected or reconnected 

[Corey.G · Accepted solution]

It's still hit or miss, but I've noticed most often if you keep your notifications turned on (a setting on the watch) and set your app to All-Day Sync (in the settings of the watch in the app), it usually doesn't do the disconnect thing. If you have trouble beyond that try and turn the Bluetooth on and off, and then failing that plug in your watch and reboot it.

[Bdc232]

Mine does the same thing. I have found that it does it in both run and walk. It happens when my phone screen locks. When the Fitbit app is not open, no connection even when my phone is unlocked. It just started doing this over the last week. Phone and Fitbit are up to date.