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...

[JHS88-92]

Hi Liz,

I bought a Garmin Forerunner 245 Music after I took my Chagre 4 back. I cannot stop raving about the Garmin. I have had it two weeks and cannot find a weak point. The GPS connects within 5 seconds, no matter what the conditions, and I get to listen to music on my runs without my phone as the songs/podcasts are downloaded to the watch. The watch Garmin cost me 100 dollars more than the Charge 4 but it was worth it.  Even my running partner who gas a Fitbit Ionic (which is Fitcbots official running watch) has to wait longer than I do to get a connection and he does not have music. 

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Steven 

[KLS14]

I bought the Viviosport. Similar price and while screen is a little smaller, it has worked perfectly so far! Highly recommend!!

[Lizzles71]

Thanks... I've just purchased a Garmin Forerunner 4plus after reading loads
of reviews and only £139.99 at Argos so really pleased. Just heading home
to charge it and then to test it out later 🙂

[Andrew_Goble]

The same issue here in London. I purchased the Charge 4 on the basis of built-in GPS thus negating the issue of running with my phone. The product is a failure, it doesn't provide the service it promotes itself for.

[Pesky]

Hello

try this as it does resolve on the issue 

on your charge 4 on your wrist so the actual device follow this 

swipe to settings 

scroll to GPS settings 

GPS Mode - should state built in GPS ( otherwise tap till it does )

GLONASS - should be ON

it should now work 

[adwriter]

If it's of any help, getting into 'Settings' then 'GPS' then choose GPS or
Glonass - go for Glonass.

Now, It does suck power, and on a run yesterday it ran flat just before the
end of a 5k race.

The other thing, on all my 5 and 120k races lately it records under the
actual mileage - only by 2%, but under all the same,

*Glenn Churches*
*LIVE ADVERTISING*

[Ros365]

Upgraded from C3 to C4 what a waste of money. Done all of the recommendations and not a sniff of a connection.

According to forums this has been a long term problem, why have you not fixed it.

Fitbit you have also not replied on forums as to what to do when all of your advice fails.

[KLS14]

Completely agree. I changed to Garmin. Best decision!! I can’t remember the last time I stressed if my watch was going to be able to accurately track my workouts or not.

[caliologist]

Got a fitbit charge 4 a few weeks ago and I have the same problem. My maps are showing up blank and I have tried all the things on the list but still nothing. What a joke! So disappointing that there seems to be no resolution to this after many months.

[Lizzles71]

Love my Garmin... No isuues to date.

🙂

[Daniel2020]

Many dropped the Fitbit. Some went Garmin; I went apple watch 5. No regrets. Garmin is very good but it is geared primarily to runners, hikers, cyclists; same as fitbit. My activities cover cycling, kayaking, snowshoeing, cross country skiing, ... Apple watch, although not perfect, was able to meet more of my requirements.

Envoyé de mon iPad

[SunsetRunner]

Hi there, 

my new Charge 4 out of the box also doesn't connect to built in GPS! So disappointing. Only bought it for that very feature so that I wouldn't have to run with my phone.

Please can you help!

[Pesky]

 

  screen shots of how to connect GPS when running , if you’re finding it drops out or just does not work 

[Pesky]

 

  

Good morning 

I did post this once before but follow these steps and it should work

on your actual charge 4 you need to swipe to 

settings 

scroll up to GPS settings 

GPS Mode - Built in GPS 

Glonass - On

Hope that helps and i have included photos 

[adwriter]

Hi, I'm actually having a good run with mine. I got into settings,
selected inbuilt GPS, and 'Glonass' and it's worked. But it does stop
working from time to time. Usually at a crucial time. So I do a complete
restart on the fitbit band itself, and it's back to normal again. Hope it
works for you.

*Glenn Churches*

[daveo555]

I've been doing pretty well with my Charge 4 GPS lately.  I don't even have it set to Glonass.  What seems to work for me is making sure that when the Fitbit is "connecting", I'm in a position where there are no forests, buildings, etc. blocking the Fitbit and the southern sky (where GPS satellites hang out).  Usually it will search for the GPS signal for a few seconds, as indicated by the dancing arrow, then it will connect.  Once it connects, I'll press the arrow icon to actually begin the activity.  That generally works, and continues to work as long as the Fitbit has a relatively clear view to the southern sky.  You also need to make sure there's a decent amount of charge in the Fitbit, otherwise it may run out of charge before the end of your activity, depending on how long you're out there.

[dmarsh99]

It still is ridiculous. I’ve gone on 2.5 hour bike rides in the wide open (no trees) and had my freshly charged Fitbit run out of battery. Poor design.

Dan
Sent from my iPhone

[adwriter]

Yes it is ridiculous isn't it? Mine ran out halfway through an hour and a
half run yesterday. Revies talk about the long battery life, obviously the
reviewers never used their fitbits to track their fitness,

*Glenn Churches*

[daveo555]

It has a long battery life, as long as you don't use the GPS feature.  I find that I need to have at least 50% battery charge before beginning any kind of GPS activity that's going to last more than an hour or so.  If I'm going to use the GPS for an activity that might last multiple hours, like a kayaking trip, I need to make sure it's charged to 100% beforehand.

[trinity2979]

So what do we do when we have tried to troubleshoot this and none of those suggestions work?  I switched from an Inspire HR2 because the GPS wouldn't stay connected even with my phone with me during a run.  I chose the Charge 4 because I thought you were able to exercise without having to connect through your phone's GPS.  I have the most up to date version of the app, no trees where I am, weather is sunny and either I can't connect or it disconnects within 10 minutes.  This is really frustrating as everyone has already encountered in this thread.  Also, you have to start your exercise completely over to try to reconnect to GPS - which is ridiculous in my opinion - it does not allow you to try to reconnect while you are exercising or does not reconnect automatically.  

Edited:  GPS settings = Built in GPS, GLONASS = On