Charge 3 won't sync with my Samsung A20e

[Claire_1974]

I've had my charge 3 for a few months with no issues. My phone is a Samsung A20e (Android), running Android 10. 

In the last 2 days it has refused to sync. I have been through all recommended steps and the only way it will sync is to unpair and then re-pair the device. After this sync, it then will fail to sync again and just says "Gathering data" before failing. A message is displayed at the top of the screen: "Couldn't sync your charge 3". 

Everything on the phone is up to date. I have reinstalled the fitbit app. All other bluetooth devices are turned off. What do I do next?

This seems to have all happened since you changed the app recently (e.g. it didn't used to say "Gathering data" and there seem to be lots of new features, e.g. Health metrics).

Help!!

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[AlvaroFitbit]

@Claire_1974 I hope you're doing well!

Let me help you with your Charge 3 not syncing and thank you for troubleshooting this issue. I would like to suggest you clear the link between your phone and your tracker by doing the following (some troubleshoots may repeat from what you have already done but I ask you to repeat them in the following order):

1. Go to your phone's bluetooth settings and remove all devices listed there.
2. Restart your phone and restart your device. 
3. Check that no battery saving app/feature on your phone is affecting your Fitbit app.
4. Also, on an Android device, check that your app has the necessary permissions (settings > apps > Fitbit > permissions) and make sure bluetooth and location services (GPS) are on. 
5. You can find troubleshooting instructions here.

Let me know how it goes.

[JuanJoFitbit]

Hi @Claire_1974, it's great to see you in our Fitbit Community. I'm sorry to hear that your Charge 3 stopped syncing with your Samsung A20e. I totally understand how you feel about this and I appreciate the time spent trying to get this issue resolved before contacting our forums.

In order to avoid providing the same information, let me know what troubleshooting steps you have tried besides the re-pairing process.

In the meantime, try the troubleshooting steps that are listed in this help article. This article may contain steps that you already tried but you can skip them and proceed with the rest.

Keep me posted on the outcome.

[Claire_1974]

I'm afraid that I tried all if these steps to no avail. After unpairing the device, rebooting both phone and fitbit, doing the necessary checks, then attempting to pair again, I get the message "unable to pair. Make sure your charge 3 is in pairing mode". 

Any ideas?

Now if I were to delete the fitbit within the fitbit app and start from scratch, it *would* pair and sync one time, before failing again.  

[Claire_1974]

Hi JuanJo, I tried absolutely everything in the help article, in the right order, multiple times. Turned bluetooth on and off, rebooted both phone and fitbit, checked location services enabled for fitbit, checked no battery saving affecting fitbit, uninstalled and reinstalled fitbit app, checked phone has no updates pending, unpaired and attempted to re-pair fitbit (the re-pairing failed and I assume is the root cause of the issue). I am very fed up! Any other ideas?

As I said to your colleague above, the only way to get it to work is to delete the fitbit device from within the app and set the whole thing up from scratch as a 'new' device. It will then pair and sync, just the once, before failing again. 

Like I said, all this is new, since the latest fit it update I assume. Everything worked fine until 2 days ago. What has changed? Thanks for any help!! 

[Claire_1974]

Hi both, somehow it has just synced. Not sure what did it! I hope it lasts......will keep you posted :-). 

[Claire_1974]

Ohhh and we are back to not syncing again. Aaaarrrghhh.

[Claire_1974]

Final update for anyone with the same issue: nothing worked. Support are sending me a new one. I am not feeling optimistic about my long term partnership with the Charge 3 unfortunately given the issues that I'm reading about on this forum 😢.

[Aschehda]

Having all the same problems with my charge 3.  Nothing seems to work.  When attempting to pair my charge 3 on my galaxy 11, I  get the message " an app is needed to use this device".  Then it acts like it's pairing, only to fail.

[Cbreyno]

Mine also. This is my second charge 3. Only had thus one for a couple of months. So frustrated. 

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello everyone. @Aschehda, @Cbreyno Welcome to the community forums.

I'm sorry for the experience and thank you for your help in trying to resolve this matter. @Aschehda If you're trying to pair your Charge 3 with a new phone (galaxy 11), you will need to make sure that it mees the requirements listed here. In addition, you will need to remove the Bluetooth connection between your tracker and your old phone by following the steps below: 

*On your phone, tap Settings > then Bluetooth > the information icon next to the name of your Fitbit device > Forget This Device.
*Open the Fitbit app and set up the connection again. You should receive a message asking you to allow your Fitbit device to pair with your phone. Tap "Pair" to approve the request.

If you still experience any inconvenience, you can also refer to this help article: Why can't I set up my Fitbit device?

@Cbreyno I noticed that you contacted our Support Team and they were able to provide information and assistance. If you still have additional questions or inquiries about the out come of your case, I recommend replying back to them and they will be more than glad to continue assisting you. 

Lastly, please note that this thread is now closed and if you have any other questions, please post them in a new thread. 

See you around.