I have a Fitbit Charge HR. It had previously connected to my old phone (a moto g stylus) just fine until the tracker itself died. After that point, the tracker simply refused to connect to my old phone. I tried every single possible troubleshooting step on that phone several different times. I ensured it was fully compatible, the device was fully charged, bluetooth had been reset, deleted and redownloaded the app, deleted the device from the app itself, reset the tracker, and reset the phone. Several times with absolutely no luck. I was always stuck on the dreaded purgatory of the "connecting" screen.
As you may have guessed, I have recently gotten a new phone. This wasn't connected to the fitbit issue, if I was going to spend a substantial amount of money on this issue I would have just gotten a newer fitbit (more on that later). This phone is a Galaxy s21 Ultra 5G; I did not pick it out but it is brand new, recently released, and more than compatible. And yet, it is having the same exact issues. I downloaded the fitbit app. I deleted the device from the app yet again. I ensured all bluetooth, permissions, compatibility etc was up to date. I restarted my fitbit again. I finally had gotten past the connecting loading screen and awaited a simple bluetooth connection with cautious excitement.
Another wall then faces me. The "Bluetooth Pairing and Linking Page". The woman on it may be smiling but her eyes are as void of hope as my own. She tells me there was an error trying to bluetooth pair my device. She asks if I would like to try again. I click the "try again" button. Simultaneously, I get two pop ups at the bottom of my page. One is from my device, notifying me of a bluetooth pairing request. It asks if I would like to pair with Charge HR, the two choices I am given are cancel and pair. Despite this, the fitbit app seems to follow a different narrative. This popup is simply informational: Couldn't pair with Charge HR, make sure that it's ready to pair. The message is gone within seconds, but my phone is still asking if I would like to pair. I select the pair option. The popup closes. The woman is still staring me down, her smile feeling more sinister than what the era of benevolent corporate graphics would ever intend. There was an error while trying to pair my device, would I like to try again?
I would like to try again. I get the same result every time.
One must be able to accept defeat, I go back to troubleshooting (bluetooth, location, resetting, I have done it all I truly promise). I get back to the woman and run in circles yet again as she watches intently. I eventually accept her ill intentions and exit the pairing process. A new page greets me, asking if I would like to update my device. Curiosity and hope spike through my nerves quickly followed by the fear, anxiety, and dread. Sure, I'll download the update. What else can I even do but call to complain to a service representative likely getting paid way too little that I can't even hear (being half deaf in a world where emails apparently don't exist anymore is so much fun!)? Complain via twitter? Talk to a bot that will condescendingly ask me if I've restarted XYZ 17 times even though I most certainly had?
I look back at my phone from writing my extensive monologue that will likely help no one outside of a small morality boost. The update has finished. It seems to have worked. I cautiously place the tracker on my wrist, trying to ignore how it makes me look like toddler playing dress up with daddy's watches. It seems to work. The time is correct and my heartrate is well over 100 bpm. My hands are shaking from the release of stress. In my mind I still worry, will I have to spend hours of my life desperately trying to troubleshoot if it dies again? What if it simply decides to die completely? What if the fitbit overlords decide to purposefully botch the technology supporting older devices in hopes to raise their profits?
I will never know. The outcome is bittersweet. I have successfully connected my device, but at what mental cost? I wish you all luck in your own attempts to brute force your way through difficult technology.
Moderator Edit: Clarified subject
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