Tired of syncing issues?

[tkalberg]

Is anyone else as tired as me of the constant sync problems? I've had nothing but problems since I got this thing and it's so frustrating to have to reset, restart, try this, try that... how about they just make their product work or return our money. Mine hardly ever works correctly and I've spent hour and hours messing with this thing. Currently it's been a week since I could get it to sync despite dozens of efforts. If I contact customer support I get the same tired links that I've tried over and over... and then suddenly it'll sync out of nowhere and they're all "glad you got it to work, thanks for contacting us". Then the next week it starts all over. It's absolutely shameful.

[SeaweedSausage]

I think there are a lot of people having issues and they do something that is just a small fix. What I am seeing is people need to do a full removal and re-add of their device and software. I have put together some good step by step instructions for what finally worked for me. (Phone: iPhone 6s, iOS 9.2.1; Computer: PC Windows 10, Charge HR v102)

1) Remove all devices from your account, to to your account tab and delete them all
2) remove/uninstall apps from computers and phones
3) turn off bluetooth from your phone and fully power down phone
4) connect fitbit to computer and do a restart of your device (while connected via USB to computer, hold button down for 10-12 seconds, screen will turn off and back on after a few seconds displaying the fitbit logo and version number, mine said v102)
5) unplug your device from your computer after the restart and turn your phone back on.
6) re-install the app on your phone, confirm no updates to the app are needed (for iOS you can go in the App Store, click updates in bottom right, click purchased apps and scroll to FitBit, my version says 2.19)
7) turn on bluetooth for the phone, login to the app on your phone, and go to the account tab
😎 add your correct device, it may ask to hold down the button for 3 seconds to pair but you may have to hold it down for a little longer. Enter in pairing code and press next until it gets to the "Finishing Up" stage. This may take 10 minutes to finish. Leave app open until all is finished.
9) you should be paired and syncing up now. Confirm by closing out of the app completely, and re-open the app to see the last sync time. You may also now have data from 1 previous day. 

(if this fixes your current issue please vote thumbs up on the comment so others may try as well, it is to be noted that some report they still have to re-add like this and resync every 2 weeks or so)

[Sapium]

I am also having trouble syncing and also updating my Charge HR.

I have tried everything I can find and am now ready to throw it in the bin.

The biggest issue is that it syncs intermittently and as we speak my fitbit says 5336 steps and my phone says 2272, not the best when I bought this thing to set some goals.

I agree absolutely shameful!!

[tkalberg]

Thanks for the advice but that is precisely my point. Why do I have to continually go through the process you suggest? BTW, it doesn't always work. Thanks anyway.

I kinda have to chuckle. As I was writing this post I got my fitbit to sync for the first time in a week. Then, suddenly, my phone says "syncing" again and now it's not synced. I check the website, also shows as not synced. Somehow, it unsynced itself. Amazing!!

Moderator edit: merged reply

[SeaweedSausage]

Correct, I don't agree that we should have to be  doing this over and over again, considering the device used to stay connected and sync perfectly fine without an issue, and now data is being lost left and right.

I just believe a few people are doing a small fix that might help them for a day or two, but it may need a bit more of a kick in the pants with a full wipe/re-install to fix an overall issue. 

[tkalberg]

Yeah, I'm sure that is the case sometimes. I do appreciate your suggestion. Thanks.

[RaviR]

I have been using Charge HR for the past 9 months and no issues.  I have bought an additional 3 Charge HRs for family members.

Once once we had synch issue when one member gave their Charge HR to another person.  We removed the device, deleted the app and reinstalled app and added the device. We all have iPhones; We never had Synching issues.

Another time we noticed Synch is when Bluetooth is turned off on iPhone;

[tkalberg]

You are very fortunate. I'm pretty tech savvy and I cannot get mine to work consistently. I do all the steps, resets, re-pairing, nothing makes it stay fixed. I'm not using an iphone... maybe that's the difference.

[Sapium]

I have just followed what you have said and I am now waiting for the Finishing Up stage.

ATM it is looking good.

Thank you for taking the time to try and help.

[Jonesy15]

You sweet angel. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! I haven't been able to sync in over a month no matter what I tried and I finally got it to cooperate. 

[Sapium]

Thanks SeaweedSausage,

I am now up and running thanks to you.

I am not tech savvy as far as this piece of technology goes but I followed your instructions to the letter and can now say that I am very happy with the result. Both my tracker and phone say exactly the same.

Thankyou 🙂

[tkalberg]

I'm glad some of you got your fitbit working. Be warned though... I have to "fix" mine every week or two.

Good job seaweed! You have helped some people. Glad something good came of this post.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[SeaweedSausage]

Well let's hope that FitBit gets this under control, it seems a lot of people like yourself still have to sync constantly. Just wondering is there any chance that saved data may still be on your phone after you removed the app and re-installed? iOS makes it super simple to remove apps completely, Andriod however have tendancies to keep cached data either on internal storage or SD Cards.

What type of phone and OS version are you having issues with each week? Also what version software is your device running?

[KrunkDaddy]

I too am experiencing sync issues.  I have glanced at the other posts and the real issue appears that FitBit is wanting us to treat the symptoms instead of FitBit fixing the problem.  In this case, the problem is our FitBits will not sync.  I do not want to go through a simple 9 step procedure to get my device to sync.  I want it do what it is supposed to do.  I hope that a "customer service" representative gets on this problem soon!!!

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@tkalberg wrote:

Good job seaweed! You have helped some people. Glad something good came of this post.

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[SeaweedSausage]

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@KrunkDaddy wrote:

I too am experiencing sync issues.  I have glanced at the other posts and the real issue appears that FitBit is wanting us to treat the symptoms instead of FitBit fixing the problem.  In this case, the problem is our FitBits will not sync.  I do not want to go through a simple 9 step procedure to get my device to sync.  I want it do what it is supposed to do.  I hope that a "customer service" representative gets on this problem soon!!!

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The only issue with holding the thought of "FitBit fix it on your end, it used to work for me" or something of that nature is that with tech updates that FitBit may have done on their end may not take effect until you reset your device completely with their systems/servers. Each of our devices while connected to our phones gets updated to FitBit servers and is logged to our account (they can see devices connect and dissaccociate with our accounts if we are connected to the web), hence why we can easily go from computer to phone with our account and stay connected to the device seamlessly (in theory).

So a restart on our end and following the steps may be needed to shock our devices to follow the new protocol FitBit may have put in place.

[doublel3390]

Seaweed after 20 minutes of effort, i think this might have worked! So far my fitbit now has the correct time and it has synced with my phone. I completely uninstalled both apps on my computer and phone. Restarted my phone. Restarted my fitbit. Re-installed the app on my phone. It took over 10 tries to sync my "new device" to my phone with the 4-digit code, but it FINALLY worked! I pray I won't have to do this for at least another week! 

[Mrmooseesq]

I've had the HR for three months with no problems. Then today it won't sync. I've tried all of the suggestions except actually removing the app from my iPhone. I never use it on the computer. I'll go ahead and do that. But this is my third such device to have problems. About ready to just get an Apple Watch.

[tkalberg]

Mine worked fine for the first month or two as well and then it spiraled into a never ending cycle of fixes. I'm exploring other options as well.

[Lmongo]

Ditto to absolutely every single word you have said in this entire thread.

[khardeman]

I tried those steps and it did not work for me. I have had my fitbit since Christmas and since then i have not been able to get it to sync to my phone.