Charge 3 losing 15 minutes overnight when not connected to the app (iOS 13.3)

[MAFFA]

Okay so before writing anything on here I read all the previous posts, tried all the troubleshooting (restart, disconnect Bluetooth etc...) & have spent over 35 mins on the phone to Fitbit customer services, which trust me is a battle because I don't think anyone there has the desire to actually give 'customer service'.

The issue I'm having & I see a number of other people are having is that up until maybe a week ago my Fitbit held its own time. Sometimes I wouldn't even synchronise between charges as I used it as a watch & it was fine. In the last week or so things have gone wrong & last night between 6:51pm & 6:45am my Charge 3 lost 14 minutes.

This is quite an issue as not everyone wants their phone connected to the app 24/7 constantly syncing as it drains battery.

So I just called customer services & was told they wanted to try some trouble shooting steps:

1) In the iPhone Fitbit settings turn on location sharing to ‘always’ rather than ‘while using the app’
2) In the Fitbit app turn on the All-Day Sync

Trust me it was like banging my head against a brick wall & kept being told that the Fitbit needs the app to sync constantly to tell the correct time! I was even told that because it’s digital it won’t hold time because it doesn’t have the mechanism of a normal watch!! OMG!!

A Fitbit (outside of all the steps etc…) is a digital watch & should, once synced, hold time on its own! No digital watch should lose 14 minutes in 24hrs!

Whether this is an issue since the last iOS 13.3 update I don’t know as that seems to have messed with everything?

I tried & tried to see how on earth you could get through to the right people to make the ‘actual’ issue be looked into but all they could do was ‘try’ & escalate it!

I’ve loved my Fitbit up until now & the customer service has just left a really bad taste in my mouth. Not been this frustrated since I had a Jawbone years ago!!

If this is not looked into & fixed soon then, even though I have 13 months of warranty left of my 24 months I will just ditch it for an apple watch or maybe a Garmin like my other half as this is ridiculous!

Good luck to anyone else who has the same problem 😞

[MAFFA]

So Fitbit replied with a really unhelpful message that again doesn’t address the recent issue. All it does is try & fob of yet another paying customer rather than admitting that something has gone wrong with their product!

My name is Alejandra and as one of the Fitbit customer support supervisors, your case was brought to my attention. It will be a pleasure to clarify and verify the entire interaction.

After checking on the case related to the Fitbit Charge 3 loosing time when not syncing, we're able to identify how all the procedures for this kind of behavior were properly performed for the customer support team. Furthemore the device is currently syncing. It is totally expected from time to time, to get the device loosing time when not syncing. We're aware that this is not exactly the way it was used to work before. 

To have the all day sync feature turned on is essencial for a proper communications between your Fitbit device and your iPhone.

Let us know if you have any questions and we would be more than glad to assist you.

Sincerely,

Allie CC and the Fitbit Team

So thanks Fitbit for absolutely nothing. A product that is in warranty but that is now defective & is good for nothing but the bin! It’s no wonder why people move to Apple watches or Garmin & I think I’ll do the same!

[MAFFA]

Okay so the latest suggestion is the following:

For us to further investigate, we recommend you to do the following:

1. In the Fitbit app, tap the "Today" tab your profile picture then tap "Advanced Settings".
2. Under Time Zone, turn off the "Set Automatically" option.
3. Tap "Time Zone" and select the correct time zone.
4. Sync your tracker.

Unfortunately my Fitbit will no longer sync. It’s not discovered by Bluetooth & I’ve restarted the app, Bluetooth & the Fitbit itself. Shocking piece of tech this & im about at my wits end with it

[MAFFA]

Then it was suggested:

Thank you for getting back to us and sorry to hear that your having difficulty on syncing your device.

Upon checking our system, we were able to confirm that your Charge 3's last successful sync was on January 4 at 4:47 PM using your iOS device.

We'd like to share with you that syncing difficulty is usually caused by a missing requirement. We recommend that you verify the list of requirement and tried the troubleshooting steps provided on this link: Why won't my Fitbit device sync?

We hope this gets you back on track. Feel free to ask questions if you have any

[MAFFA]

Then because my Fitbit Charge 3 synchronised once I got the standard “go away it must be working” email:

Thank you for reaching out back to us along with the photo and details you've shared with us. 

Upon checking, we can see that your Charge 3 last sync on the 7th of January at 10:08 AM using your iOS device. 

Since we can see that your tracker is syncing, may we confirm if the issues still persists?

We look forward to hearing from you. Should you have any questions, do not hesitate to let us know.

Unfortunately it wasn’t working & by the following morning it hadn’t synced again, not once, even though every setting was as suggested by Fitbit. 

[MAFFA]

Having now gone through every possible scenario with Fitbit, trying to explain the issues I was having I still don’t believe they really want to resolve them. It won’t sync & wont keep time at all losing an hour in every 12 at least. 

I then received the standard ‘holding’ email:

We appreciate you getting back to us with the photos and additional information.

We would like to thank you for letting us know that you're experiencing this issue. We’re aware of it and are working to identify a resolution as quickly as possible. 

We're sorry for any trouble. We appreciate your patience and look forward to getting you back on track.

Please let us know if there's anything we can do to assist you in the meantime.

Ive had enough now to be honest! It’s not even a year old & it’s not fit for purpose at all. If it’s not resolved by the end of this week I want to return this thing so I can get something that does what it’s supposed to! I can’t track sleep, steps, swimming etc... if it can’t tell what time they’re all happening at!

[MAFFA]

Finally 😊

Thank you for getting back to us.

Upon further review, we believe that your Charge 3 is already defective. For us to determine the options we can provide, may you confirm the retailer where you purchased your tracker?

We look forward to you response. If you have any other questions, let us know.

[MAFFA]

And they’re sending a replacement. About time to!

Thank you for getting back to us with the information that we requested.

Based on the details that we've gathered, we’re  delighted to inform you that your Charge 3 falls inside our limited warranty period of two years. With this, we sent a separate email with a form you can fill out to receive your replacement options. If you did not receive this email, be sure to check your spam and junk folders. 

Once your order ships, you will receive a separate email with a link for tracking your order's status from our order system. Your order should arrive within seven business days from the date of shipment. Note that business days excludes weekends. When you receive the replacement, recycle your defective tracker at an e-waste recycling facility.

When your replacement arrives, see How do I set up my Fitbit device? for set up instructions. Keep all the accessories such as charging cable and wireless dongle that came with your original tracker, since replacement packages usually include the tracker only.

We hope this will help. Should you have any other concerns, feel free to ask