Charge 3 losing time overnight

[Joe002]

My new Charge 3 lost 10 minutes overnight. I synced it this morning and now it has the correct time. Why would it lose so much time? Is it defective?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[Cerizas]

I want to know too. If that happened with my Charge HR, it would be because it doesn't ed and needed to be charged.

[Joe002]

My battery is over 85%.

I lost about 30 seconds during the day today. I was not able to sync it during the day. Does the Charge 3 need to be continuously synced to keep the time accurate?

I reset my Charge 3 this evening and re-loaded it to my account to see if it makes things better tomorrow.

[DavideFitbit]

Hello @Joe002, it's good to see you around in the forums, and thanks for your help with this @Cerizas.

@Joe002, thank you for reporting this, if you haven't done so already, please try performing a restart on your Charge 3 device, and please confirm if you continue to experience the same thing in the following days. 

Please also make sure the time zone setting is correct, you can follow the instructions here.

Please keep me posted.  

[Joe002]

Hi, thanks for the reply and suggestions.

I did restart my Charge 3 and I also removed it from my profile and added it back in. It's the correct time zone (it's not a hour off but during the night lost 10 minutes).

Last night it lost 10 minutes again.

I'm going to return it and try a new one. Hopefully it was just a glitch in the hardware and the new one will work properly. I'll update this thread when I get the new one.

I lost about 30 seconds during the day today. I was not able to sync it during the day. Does the Charge 3 need to be continuously synced to keep the time accurate?

I reset my Charge 3 this evening and re-loaded it to my account to see if it makes things better tomorrow.

[MarreFitbit]

Hey there @Joe002, thanks for stopping by! Also, thanks for troubleshooting this inconvenience, nice way to go!

In order to solve this, please go to the Bluetooth settings on your phone and remove the tracker. In the list of Bluetooth devices you'll see the Charge 3 and next to it, this symbol "!". Hit the symbol and it will take you to the next step, once you're there select the option that says "Forget this device" for iOS and "Unpair" for Android.

Once you've made sure about that, go back to the Fitbit app, go to the "Account" option in the upper right corner and select "Set up a Device". This should start the setup process for your device. 

If you can't get started with your Fitbit device, usually a missing requirement is the cause. Carefully review the requirements below:

• Note that you can't set up your Fitbit device from your phone or tablet's Bluetooth screen; you must open the Fitbit app and follow the on-screen instructions.
• The software on your phone or tablet is up to date. 
• The Bluetooth setting on your phone or tablet is on.

If you're still unable to set up, try these troubleshooting steps:

1. Turn off Bluetooth on your phone; wait 10 seconds, and then turn it back on.
2. Try setting up your device again.
3. Restart your Charge 3 again.
4. Try setting up your device again.
5. If you can't set up after a restart, reboot your phone or tablet (turn it off and then back on).
6. Try setting up your device again.
7. If you can't set up after the reboot, try uninstalling and reinstalling the Fitbit app.

Note that if your tracker is not paired, it won't show the correct time as it grabs the time of your phone. Check this post in case the time keeps showing wrong.

Give this a go and let me know the outcome! 

[Joe002]

@MarreFitbit, That's for the additional feedback!

I did delete the tracker from my profile in the web dashboard (not a phone) and then setup a new device from a phone. Everything was up to date. The tracker paired correctly, but lost 10 minutes overnight.

I it makes any difference - I do have a One, which I've had/used for many years. The Charge 3 is supposed to be my "upgrade". I've never had time problems with the One. I just keeps on working but doesn't have the additional features of the Charge 3.

I just got the replacement Charge 3. I'll try it out and report back here.

[Joe002]

Got the replacement.

So far during the day it lost about 1 minute per hour. I'll see if it loses 10 minutes overnight - which is still around 1 minute per hour. :S

I see there is a firmware update, so I'm going to do that first.

[DavideFitbit]

Hello @Joe002, thank you for the update and letting us know what you experience with the replacement device. 

As you mentioned already, a new firmware update has been released for all Charge 3 users, this includes bug fixes and improvements, as you can see here. 

Please make sure to follow these steps to complete this update as soon as possible, and then confirm if you continue to experience any trouble with the time. 

Keep us posted. 

[seantnash]

@Joe002 does the device you sync your Fitbit with also lose time or is it just happening to the Fitbit?

[Joe002]

I finally got the new firmware loaded - it wasn't as smooth as the first update, but it did finally load.

I'm now watching the clock to see how it runs...

[Joe002]

@seantnash - I'm using my Windows computer to sync my Fitbit. The computer keeps time well, and is synced on the network with NTP. I also have a watch that syncs over the air once a day with an "atomic clock" that I'm now using to compare times of the Fitbit and computer.

I also have a One. It seems (it still works) to lose a few seconds or so a day - which is OK since I sync it once a day.

My fear is that the Charge 3 (at least the first one I got) keeps really bad time internally and relies on constant re-syncing with a phone/computer/etc. to keep the time accurate. I think most people keep their Charge 3 near their phone so they never see this problem. Unfortunately for me during the work week I can not keep a phone near my Fitbit to keep the time synced (work requirement), so the time drifts, and at night I don't have any sync device turned on so the Fitbit can't sync (and drifts). With my One I never really looked at the time (I just used my watch), but I got the Charge 3 to replace my watch so now I really want to time to be as accurate as my watch. We'll see if the new unit works better that the last...

[seantnash]

Yeah I’m able to sync with my phone regularly (and have all day sync on) so it’s definitely not something I’ve noticed.

I’ll turn my phone’s Bluetooth off overnight and see what the time is like on my Charge 3 in the morning.

[Joe002]

Thanks for offering to experiment with yours overnight.

[Joe002]

Sometime during the last two hours it lost 6 minutes. Very odd. I did not have the Fitbit app active anywhere near it to keep the time accurate. I just re-synced it with my computer and the time is once again good. I'm still planning to see how it does tonight.

[Joe002]

Just lost 6 more minutes. Re-synced and time good again. Will still test overnight, but will most likely return this one tomorrow. Not sure if I want to try another one.

[seantnash]

So I kept my Bluetooth off overnight as promised (in fact, I also turned my phone off) so my Fitbit hasn’t synced for around 10 hours now.

I have checked the time on it and it is absolutely bang on correct.

At the same time, it’s really odd you’ve had it happen on two devices not just one.

[Joe002]

Thanks for the test! Overnight a tablet was left on at the other side of the house and they synced about 4 hours before I woke up. When I woke up my C3 was off by 20 seconds.

I guess you can't tell by looking at the actual C3 when it was last synced, but on the dashboard it showed the last sync time.

Yeah, two with bad times is really odd. I can see (not like) drifting, but I can't explain the large jumps in lost time.

Years ago my wife and I bought One's. Mine worked from day one and it took 3 attempts to get one that worked for my wife. Maybe it will take 3 attempts for me this time?

Thanks again for running a test. I don't know about you, but I don't have the seconds displayed on my C3 so it's a bit of a pain to see how much time was lost.

FYI - I just lost another 14 seconds while typing in this information.

[Joe002]

Since @seantnash isn't even losing 1 second in 10 hours I'll assume I got another defective one (just like my wife's experience with the One), and give it one more shot with a replacement.

[Joe002]

Third time is a charm???