Charge 4 won't connect to GPS

[Kcoston]

why won't my charge 4 connect to GPS? It just keeps on showing "connecting" but never does. Had no trouble with the Ionic GPS connecting...

[SunsetRunner]

I am experiencing the same problem. I bought this product so I didn’t have to bring my phone on runs and yet it seems like it is mandatory for the technology to work

[Gr4ndp4]

After the update, like many others, I found the "Dynamic" setting on GPS did not work. I've set my C4 GPS to use the built-in GPS and once connected it seems reliable. Inevitably it hogs battery capacity at about 40% for a 2-hour walk. I have not tried to use the phone GPS though might give it a try later.

Fitbit appears to be aware of the issues here but I think they will do themselves a favour by putting up a post admitting there is a problem, say what they hope to do to resolve it and give us a time frame.

Cheers

[Angela_RK]

I paid premium price for the built in GPS, but it is not working. It took 10 mins to connect then dropped. Very disappointed. If this issue is not resolved soon, I will ask for a refund.

[Pesky]

Me too , it’s advertised as a built in GPS , and therefore misleading and deceptive conduct if they’re are now stating you have to back up with a phone I can’t run with a phone and if is this the case I may as well not paid big $$$ for the charge 4 . But generally they’re pretty good so let’s hope it gets sorted 

[AKLDave]

I find some of your fix options ridiculous. I bought the Charge 4 so I did not need to rely upon and use my phone's GPS, said GPS which easily works on a cloudy day or amongst buildings like any decent GPS does. I can't believe with the number of devices Fitbit has made you still can't get this stuff right when your competitors and any phone maker can. 

My wife uses a Garmin and runs the same courses/events I do and her GPS never seems to fail due to any reason, especially "cloudcover". 

[Gr4ndp4]

AKL Dave - I'm no different to other posters here (I do not work for Fitbit) This is a relatively new device, it's just received an update that was supposed to deal with the battery drain of GPS, an issue that was quite widely discussed in early reviews. Following my earlier post today sod's law, I lost GPS while walking under trees and it did not reset when I reached the more open road. This is my third activity tracker and while not the most expensive it is the best, yes I might consider Garmin in the future but not at the moment. I quite like the C4, it automatically records my swimming and when the GPS works provides all I need for my walks and does not look like something Darth Vader would wear. The complaints in this forum about the GPS issue can't have gone unnoticed, indeed there are posts reporting chat conversations with Fitbit on this. I do think it is about time we saw some kind of formal post from them explaining where they are with a solution.

[Maírtín]

Gr4ndp4, good summary of where this thread has got to (and admire your positivity). I've nothing more to add as all the problems outlined are very familiar having used the Charge4 for the past 2 month, it has just come to a grinding halt on the GPS front.

So over to you Fitbit. Where are we with solution ???

[Lazydutch]

Today tried the recommended change in settings, including turning off dynamic gps (the feature they installed to cover the terrible performance of the actual gps). It actually connected after about five mins, but then lost signal for ten minute sections of my run, ultimately giving me about 20% coverage. Clearly firmware update made what was already marginal performing gps feature  nearly useless.  In advance of actually fixing it, couple other things that seem fairly straightforward- have the device assume you are always starting at home should make initial gps search faster and allow users to have several saved routes so even if the gps keeps sucking the pedometer pace and time can get a lot closer to reality. This would help for the intermittent failing or signal loss too. 

Really looking forward to official notice about the latest firmware gaffe and timeline to fix. 

[dmarsh99]

The GPS issues abound in this device.  Beyond ACTUAL GPS from satellites, the Charge 4 is supposed to selectively use the phone's cellular "GPS" if it can, which uses way less power.  Trust me, the phone is doing fine.  The built-in Apple Health app tracks my bike rides flawlessly.  Why isn't the Charge 4 opting to tap into the lower power and plentiful cellular data, so the battery doesn't wear out every 3 days?

I just reviewed the GPS options for the Charge 4.  Really?  The system only tries ONCE to connect to the phone.  If it doesn't work immediately, it's regular, power-hog GPS for the rest of your ride.  Also, "you have to be moving" for the Charge 4 to choose the phone GPS option?  If you're on a bike, are you supposed to bike no-handed and focus on your Fitbit, rather than the road in order to achieve this?  Somebody wasn't thinking.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[KelleyBenedict]

I just tried these and they worked for me too. First time it has connected quickly. Thanks!

Just found this on another post and it worked for me: On your watch change GPS settings to Built in GPS, GLONASS to On, and GPS Low Power Mode to Off. 

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Pesky]

Ok will try this it’s strange as it didn’t effect it before and if this is the way to fix etc Fit bit should put a notification up even a reminder would be ok , thankyou 

[Bluesky_liz]

Hi all, 

I recently received this reply from fitbit support showing they are aware of the issue and are working on a resolution.  I sincerely hope they also acknowledge this problem in these forums too provude an eta for the resolution.

......
Thank you for keeping in touch.

Upon further checking, our team is already aware of it and is 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.

[yhw22]

I got no problem with Dynamic GPS setting with GLONASS off and Low battery On on my 1st 2 walk 4th Jul and 18 Jul. But when I tried again on 31st Jul with the same setting, halfway around 10min the GPS got disconnected.

I got no issue when I changed to In-Phone GPS with GLONASS off and Low battery On.

On all occasion, the connection of GPS is very fast less than 30 sec as compared to previously firmware update which normally took more than a min to get connected to GPS. 

[Gr4ndp4]

@Bluesky_liz That's good to hear, patience is a virtue.

Cheers

[PF77]

The fix worked for me as well!  That suggests to me that it’s a software problem with the Dynamic setting rather than a hardware problem.  Hopefully they should be able to come up with an update to sort this out.


Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

[116397719]

The workaround work for me too.

Agreed with all the posts above, this is a firmware issue that Fitbit need to resolve quickly.

The GPS is the main reason I bought the charge 4 😞

[yhw22]

Don't think it is a firmware issue, likely it Fitbit app issue. As I got no issue with it after the firmware update. Only lately then I found an issue with Dynamic GPS setting.

[Monster_Lou]

I am having the same issue, recently started last week and I've never had a problem connecting before. Now I cannot connect my device to GPS for my daily walks/runs. Steps are being counted, but the distance is not accurate at all. Could this be a firmware issue? I feel that it could be because of all the other comments about this issue.

[dotface]

Mine would keep dropping until i set mine up with settings with GPS to "Built in GPS".  Now it works all the time!

[JakeOMite]

Per a comment by another user, I made the following changes on the watch. 1) I changed the GPS mode to "Built In GPS"   2)  I changed the GLONASS to "On"   3) I changed the GPS Low Power Mode to "Off".

I have no idea what these changes mean but so far on my first hike the GPS connected and worked throughout. Does anyone know the ramifications of these changes? And why they aren't the default? Am I setting myself up to drain my battery too quickly? Should I have done something different?