Problem connecting Charge 2 with Windows 10 app using Bluetooth

[CDC1]

I have a Charge 2. It connects properly with one of my laptops running Windows 10 and my Android phone, in both cases via Bluetooth.

Unfortunately, it does not connect with my new laptop (also running Windows 10) via Bluetooth. I did some troubleshooting and I found out that it can connect if I disable Bluetooth and I plug a dongle. Removing the dongle and enabling Bluetooth only leads to failure.

I tried removing and reinstalling the App a couple of times. I also removed the dongle drivers before reinstalling. I looked for drivers updates, but apparently I have the latest (I never quite trusted Windows on that). I did verify that I have the latest firmware from the laptop manufacturer.

This leads me to think there is some sort of incompatibility between this particular Bluetooth drivers/device and my Charge 2 (The other computer has a different Bluetooth driver/device):

The Charge 2 has the latest firmware: 22.55.2
My Bluetooth device is a Realtek Bluetooth 4.2. There are some services/drivers that indicate this is a Bluetooth LE (for example: Bluetooth LE Generic Attribute Service)
I also happen to have a Bluetooth mouse, but I would find it very weird that this could cause issues

I am not sure what to try, and I am somewhat hesitant to start wildly removing/reinstalling drivers.

I am hoping anyone may have seen something similar.
My last idea is to keep searching for a new driver for the Bluetooth device.

I found many discussions about related issues, but the solutions did not help me.
This is the closest related topic I found, but there's no solution to the problem:
https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-2/Charge-2-connection-sync-issues-when-unable-to-use-a-dongle...

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

[AlvaroFitbit]

@CDC1 Welcome! It's nice to have you on board! Sorry to hear that your Charge 2 isn't syncing with your Windows 10 computer. Please follow these instructions to help troubleshoot this issue.

Let me know how it goes!

[CDC1]

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@AlvaroFitbit wrote:

@CDC1 Welcome! It's nice to have you on board! Sorry to hear that your Charge 2 isn't syncing with your Windows 10 computer. Please follow these instructions to help troubleshoot this issue.

Let me know how it goes!

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@AlvaroFitbitThank you for your prompt reply.
I already tried the options stated in that article. I will enumerate:
- I have the latest version of the app, I installed it a couple of days ago.
- I don't have Fitbit Connect (it does not show in the list of programs)
- Bluetooth is on. I have a Bluetooth mouse 🙂
- It works with the dongle, as previously stated.

This is interesting, though:
"From the Start menu go to Settings > Bluetooth. Make sure you see your device on the list with the word “Connected” below."
I do *not* see my device in the "failing" computer. In my other computer, it was showing. I did a little experiment and I removed it from that computer. I opened the Fitbit App (still in that same "working" computer) and I was still able to sync there. The device didn't show up there again, but that computer seems to sync fine.
I am not able to pair to the Charge 2 manually through Windows' Bluetooth options (Add device). My understanding is that such behavior is correct since all FitBit pairings should happen through the Fitbit App.

I also looked into the instructions I pasted below. I am not sure how they apply. They seem suitable for when your device was paired but it stops working. I have no device to "Remove". Also, pairing doesn't work as stated. I tested this step as well on the "working" computer (I mentioned that above) and Windows clearly refuses to pair the device.

> If your device isn't connected:

1. Tap or click the device name and choose Remove Device.
2. Make sure your device is nearby and wait for it to reappear in the devices list.
3. When it does, tap or click the device again and choose Pair. The pairing process can take several minutes but when it's done the Bluetooth status should change to “Connected.”

I reinstalled the App as well a few times.
I also removed the dongle drivers entirely.
I am suspecting it has something to do with the Realtek Bluetooth.

Any other ideas?

[CDC1]

I forgot to mention that I found an updated driver for Realtek here (in the Microsoft Update Catalog):
https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=VID_0BDA%26PID_B001
I am very hesitant to install that blindly, though.