changing time zones during a cruise

[azjerry]

I'll be going on a long cruise soon. During the cruise, there are stretches of multiple sea days in a row. During those sea days, the ship's time will change. Since my phone isn't connected to the internet while on-board, Fitbit syncing won't work. How do change the time displayed on my Fitbit?

[SunsetRunner]

My daughter takes cruises all the time and she has access to the Internet continually. We stay in constant touch that way. You do have to have Internet access to get to FitBit.com where the Time Zone setting is so, if no Internet access, no Time Zone change possible.

[azjerry]

I have "access" all the time as well, if I log in to the ship's internet from my phone and again from my wife's phone and I am willing to use the internet minutes I have to pay for. 

My main complaint is that, as you verified, my phone has to have an internet connection for any kind of syncing to occur. For a device that is intended to be used as a watch as well as a fitness tracker, that doesn't seem to be the smartest design decision. I was hoping there was some kind of work-around to at least, be able to update the time.

[SunsetRunner]

Syncing can occur without Internet access.  That uses Bluetooth and is a transfer of data between your tracker and your phone Fitbit App.  However, in order to make certain Setting changes, you have to go on the Internet to Fitbit.com.  Time Zone is one of the Setting changes requiring you go to Fitbit.com. After any Setting change, a sync must take place to Install that change.

EDIT:  I just checked and contrary to what I thought, even the Fitbit App requires WiFi connection in order for it to update the Dashboard at Fitbit.com.

[azjerry]

I can understand not updating what's at fitbit.com if there's no connection between the phone app and fitbit.com . Hopefully, the phone app is smart enough to hang onto the data until such time it can be uploaded.

I wasn't sure, however, that any kind of sync between the fitbit and the phone app could occur without a connection between the phone app and the actual internet. The one time I tried force a sync between my then Flex 2 and my phone, the sync failed and all data collected between the last successful sync and the failure was lost.

I have the same time zone problem with my phone. In that case, I can change the time zone setting of my phone as the ship sails. If the bluetooth sync does complete, maybe the phone's updated time will make it across as well?

[SunsetRunner · Accepted solution]

I was thinking similarly when I originally wrote my last answer to you.  It would make sense to let a sync between tracker and phone occur whether WiFi is available or not since it is done by Bluetooth.  And then, if there were no Internet connection for the App to sync with Fitbit.com, to hold that data until there was WiFi available.

I found out, however, that the App will refuse to sync if there is no WiFi available and that finding resulted in my EDIT to my previous post.  I certainly learned something new.  

[DarrenM.]

I was going to use my Charge2 as my main timepiece on our ocean and country port cruise, BUT if I have NO INTERNET, then my Charge2 is worthless for continually needing ship's time! A very thoughtless design in this traveling day-in-age. Guess I'll just leave it home.

[diga_Ottawa]

SunsetRunner, It cost money to have internet access on a cruise.  The issue is why can we change the time on a Fitbit watch.  The meat and potato of a watch is to tell correct time and Fitbit can't do that unless you connect to the net.  Fitbit is not likely going to fix this.  Time to move to another watch.  What a sad story.

[diga_Ottawa]

DarrenM, have you get an answer from Fitbit on this.  Fitbit, are you listening to us?  We are going to tell the world about this problem.  Do something.