Fitbit Charge 4 GPS disconnecting

[KatieKaus]

The GPS on my charge 4 is now disconnecting EVERY SINGLE TIME I exercise. Around the 10-12 minute mark, I get a notification on my tracker saying it can't establish a GPS connection and it's now disconnected. This is ridiculous!

Yes, I make sure I'm connected to GPS before I start, I installed the lasted firmware update, I've restarted the Fitbit, no call/text notifications come through whilst I'm exercising, I exercise in a suburban area, no tall buildings or obstructions.........What is going on? Why is my GPS constantly dropping?

I bought the Charge 4 for this feature, which is now essentially useless. Please advise ASAP when this will be fixed. I can see from other posts, the issue is not unique to me. It's unacceptable.

Kate

[SunsetRunner]

I am sick of this. I ran a virtual race two days ago and the GPS dropped out half way round. So I did not qualify for a final time and medal. I am so angry with it. I have done everything suggested by fitbit and yet it still fails to track. A complete waste of money. I can not even return it as I threw the box out 😖

[Proflutzy]

I just returned mine and splashed out for a Garmin....I am done with Fitbit. At least for now!

[sheilab3]

I too have been having the GPS through iphone stop around 10 minutes into exercise; yesterday and today. Received last week, after the update finally came through, I changed GPS to phone only. It worked fine for 4 days then this problem. Today I stopped walk and started a new one, GPS was initially on but stopped suddenly at around same time; at this point I also started the app to track the rest of walk, worked fine with nice map.

I will try again tomorrow operating both ways to see if GPS is OK.

If I have to use the app to track to get GPS I am going back to charge 3 which still works. The charge 3 works fine with my phone.

[yhw22]

@sheilab3 Your GPS setting as Dynamic GPS, Built-In or In-phone? As last tried using Dynamic GPS on 30th Aug, I got no issue with it. There was an issue before that.

[Territorian]

But have they announced a date by when it will be fixed? This is extremely annoying and not delivering the service I was told I would get when I purchased the Charge 4 after a series of disasters with the Ionic which appears to have been discontinued, at least I Australia.

Hopefully, Google will put some effort into making the software and hardware work when it takes over as the features offered are just what I want and I like the app.

[KSadie]

I’m having the same issue! I’d like to know when this will be resolved. What a waste of money. 

[ASC369]

I was having issues with GPS about two weeks after receiving my FitBit, and now it seems to be working consistently again. Not sure if this will help anyone else, but these are a few of the things I've been doing, and I haven't lost GPS on my last few exercises (knock on wood):

• Every morning when I wake up, I actively sync my C4 with the Fitbit app on my phone.
• I set GPS for Dynamic mode (though I realize many users don't want to exercise with their phones, but what's important to me is to log the data from my runs/bike rides (more) accurately than I could on my phone. I don't mind having my phone on me, I just stick it in my running belt.)
• One of the Fitbit moderators commented in another thread to make sure Fitbit battery is charged to at least 80%, so I charge it regularly, even when the battery isn't super-low. It's a pain, but I try to do it when I'm sitting down to a meal or in the shower, so I don't lose steps counted.

Hope some of this might be helpful to others to maintain GPS.

[johnleandroc]

Using phone GPS doesn't solve the issue for me.

I put strava app to track and fitbit to track.

Strava did record the full track 7 hours. Fitbit recorded only 20 minutes.

The GPS in the charge 4 doesn't work. That's it!

[runorshine]

I just got a charge 4 for Christmas. Guess what?! It disconnected halfway through my run. I guess this issue is STILL not solved 😭

[DMCT]

Sadly it doesn’t surprise me. I got nowhere with customer services and have since purchased a Garmin.
My Fitbit was a total waste of money 🙄

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

My fitbit charge 4 randomly disconnects even when connected to my phone.  I can be on the same route and one day its fine the next it disconnects.  is there a fix yet?

[DMCT]

I’m guessing that’s still a ‘no’ then? Not good fitbit.

Sent from my iPad

[cpgreen]

I'm so glad I found this thread.  I've had tons of problems and thought about getting a charge 4 because of the gps.  Now I know better.

[DMCT]

Yes one word - don’t!

Sent from my iPad

[JonathanBarratt]

I only bought mine last October (2020) and use it for all outdoor activities.  The GPS tracker drops out at random in my case, whether its after only 10 minutes or an hour and 40 minutes, for example.  The Fitbit Charge 4 continues tracking step count, distance and heart.rate etc but the GPS track ALWAYS falls short someone on route however long or short it seems to be!

[DMCT]

Hi Jonathan
And that is why I thought it was not fit for purpose and said as such to Fitbit. I wanted a reliable watch that would record my training and race runs so that I didn’t have to carry my mobile with me each time. It could not be relied on and I had to stop using it. I have switched to a Garmin device and am annoyed that I wasted money on the Fitbit.

Sent from my iPhone

[JonathanBarratt]

I agree. As a 'fitness watch' it sucks. It records my "steps" simply from arm movement when I haven't walked a step for half an hour.  It records calories burned too high and loses GPS all the time so I only ever see part of a track.  I read great reviews about it buy I'm very disappointed.Sent from my Galaxy

[Mateo130]

I made a hike today, it was around 14km. The tracker lost it after the first km and I only noticed at half way through the hike. What is also ridiculous is that when it loses the signal it will never get it back. You have to stop the exercise and tart all over. I think it wasn't the case before but lately it is just useless.

[kojat]

I updated my Fitbit, changed to GLONASS, and turned off low power mode.  My issue is resolved. Hope this helps you.

[DerpMan28]

Well, I just restart the activity then turn on GPS again. That seems to work.🤔😶