Connected GPS Run Inaccurate Distance (Screenshots)

[mynameisnick4]

I have done two runs with the Versa so far using the connected GPS to my phone and both runs have been extremely inaccurate. The first run was a 4 mile run, fitbit had it as a 3. The second run was another 4 mile run and at the half way point it had it at 1.4 miles instead of two.

I am coming from a Blaze and while it didn't match Google Fit 100% (normally off by .1 of a mile or so) it was never off by this much. Here are screenshots below showing it:

Completed run in Google Fit:

Complete run with Versa connected GPS:

The same run but with the Blaze and connected GPS:

And here today different location at the two mile mark in Google fit:

Versa connected GPS:

This is completely unacceptable. If this can't be permanently resolved (and I DO NOT considered constantly rebooting the device/my phone, pairing re-paring, etc a fix) then it will be going back. Add this to it deciding to give me an extra 3k steps while I was sitting on my computer doing nothing last night I am not that happy so far.

EDIT: Just noticed on today's run that the GPS line doesn't start until half way down the run but it was tracking from the start. Where it has the first mile marked isn't even a mile from the point the line starts. Just add it to the list I guess.

[kcronin]

So, in my frustration, I escalated this to Support. They had me perform many tests. I guess I should be happy that they made me push to exceed my exercise goal in the pursuit of a solution.  However, my 60 y.o. arthritic joints are not too happy with me. Long and short, they seemed convinced that this was a GPS/Phone issue. It's not. My phone stays connected to GPS consistently. It is clear that Fitbit calculates distance differently than other GPS tracking apps. Varies by about 10%. I could live with that.

So, this leaves the problem squarely with Versa/Phone BT connection as the root of the problem. Odd that while this does happen with other people, it's not everyone  Or, even everyone who has my same phone. Why? I don't understand how BT works but I wondered if each time a device is connected, is it on a different channel? Like my WiFi? I continue to play around with different variables. Of course, you can only change one at a time to get a good assessment. More exercise. Yea!

If I find something that consistantly works, I'll report. In the meantime I continue to hope that a FW update or app update will address this issue.

[Rachel-Fit]

I had a similar problem on my bike ride today. At no point did it say I was disconnected from gps, when I ended the workout from the watch it looked like it was still recording time and distance but looking back at the map it stopped tracking half way thorough.

I know that gps signal isn’t an issue on the route as Strava never has a problem staying connected. 

[kcronin]

I went for a long hike today with my husband.  I tracked on Strava with my phone and on my Versa.  I did not use any headphones since we planned to chat.  WiFi was off.  We hiked in a park that's very open with large ballfields, picnic grounds, soccer fields.  There were some trees but not at all "Forested".  The only buildings were 1 story comfort stations.

Result:  Versa would lose connection with my phone, say "connecting" repeatedly.  Distance was different by ~20%.  This has got to be a programming issue.  I feel like a pigeon in a Skinner box on a random reinforcement schedule!  (No one is going to get that analogy unless you were a Psych major  )

[Kozo]

Same problem here.  At first I thought it was because I had bluetooth headphones on and that the watch was not getting the information correctly from the app. (the app can record a walk using GPS) Comparing the Fitbit app walk and the Watch walk had 0.75 mile discrepency (shorter on watch) than on the app (which was correct compared to Tomtom).  Tried with regular headphones, same problem.  Tried without running apps in the background, same problem.  Tried it on the track at school-perfect!  Maybe it has something to do with elevation?  My normal 4 mile walk has several hills.  The track is obviously flat. Maybe the Fitbit folks could have a look???

[kcronin]

Well, as far as elevation goes, I live on Long Island in NY.  It's very flat here.  I'm 10 miles from the beach.  There are no hills to get in my way so I don't think that's an issue.

[kcronin]

As I have previously indicated I had called Support to see if they could help me with this issue.  My problem was given a Case # and I received emails from Support requesting that I perform several tests and report back to them with screen shots of my experience.  I complied and provided all that was requested and some additional detail that I had wondered might be relevant.

After several responses, they no longer respond.  The last email was for additional tests and screen shots which I provided and now................................Nothing.

*Heavy Sigh*

[AndyCyclist]

This is very frustrating. I've read through this whole thread. To summarize, in case the Fitbit developers read this:

1. This is not a GPS issue. People are able to simultaneously record good GPS tracks with other apps on the same phone.

2. This is not a fundamental phone Bluetooth issue. People are able to listen to music over Bluetooth from the same phone.

3. This is not an issue with the phone becoming too far from the watch. I can hold my phone an inch from the watch, and still the watch says "Connecting..."

4. Turning off Wifi on the phone may help but doesn't solve the problem.

5. Rebooting the watch and/or phone shortly before starting activity may help but doesn't solve the problem.

Something in the way the phone-to-Fitbit Bluetooth is implemented is flawed. My far cheaper headphones pair within a couple of seconds of powering on, there's no reason for "connecting" to take 30 seconds to a minute.

Beyond that, it's a fundamentally flawed design decision to record the GPS data as it is done currently.

1. Phone receives GPS data.

2. Phone sends GPS data over unreliable link to watch.

3. Watch records GPS data along with heart rate.

4. Watch calculates speed and distance for display.

4. At end of activity, watch sends merged data, which may have GPS gaps, back to the phone for upload.

Much more robust would be:

1. Phone receives GPS data.

2. Phone records GPS data to a local file.

3. Phone calculates speed and distance and sends to the watch for display.

4. Watch records heart rate.

5. At end of activity, watch sends timestamped heart rate data to phone.

6. Phone merges heart rate data with its GPS data, and uploads.

There are some details missing, like starts and stops could just be timestamps on the watch's recording, to be post-processed out of GPS data, again reducing reliance on a real-time link. Establishing an accurate timestamp between phone and watch is presumably easy, and may already be done. It only has to be within ±0.5 seconds or so.

[Samchimp]

Be grateful you got any GPS at all. My Versa stopped connecting to my phone's GPS after two days and none of the generic 'switch off and on again' advice from support has fixed it.

[kcronin]

Today I had a successful Connected GPS tracking.  I thought I would share the configuration that worked for me.  What I can't account for is whether Fitbit Central has made any changes as well.  The only app update I've received was pushed out in later April so there wasn't an sudden app update for me.

1.  I removed my Charge2 from my account and as a paired device with my phone.  I hope this isn't the root cause because I'd really like to have the two devices on my account.

2.  I removed an Animated Samsung Theme from my phone and replaced with a non-animated one.  My gut says this might be the critical cause but I haven't tested it specifically.

3.  I unpaired my BT headphones from my Versa.  I've previously tested without any BT headphones running and it didn't make a difference.

4.  My WiFi on my phone was on.  I actually forgot to turn it off but I would prefer to leave on since I've forgotten to turn it back on when I returned home and I've used more data than I would like.

5.  GPS setting in my phone is Phone Only and not High Accuracy.  I had already changed this but I share in case someone needs to know.

6.  Before my walk but after all these changes, I rebooted my phone and my Versa.

7.  I have a Samsung S7 running Android 7.0 on Verizon.

I chose to simultaneously run Strava on my phone.  Strava mapped the distance as 3.6 miles and my Versa as 3.53 miles. Woo-hoo!  That's a match in my book.

Of course, this needs to be repeatable, reliable and consistent to be a real win but I'll take this as a first step.  My plan is to add back in those things which I really want like my Charge2 and paired BT headphones with my Versa.  I can live without an animated Theme.  It was eating my battery anyway.

Good Luck to any still trying to get this to work.

[AndyCyclist]

Mine seemed better this morning, too, although my Versa had recently rebooted due to being frozen/hung when I went to put it back on after my shower. Could they have pushed a silent update?

It recorded 8.96 miles for a ride that normally records at 9.2-9.3. I never noticed it say "connecting..." when I looked occasionally mid-ride. I listened to music over Bluetooth the whole time.

[Pegasus1958]

You hit exactly the right point, this would be by far a better solution, and I hope FitBit will listen to this. Otherwise I am afraid that "connected GPS" will stay an unreliable solution dependant on unstable BT connection.

[fitnessrealist]

Same issue. Tried out the connected GPS on a run with Run Keeper also tracking. Run Keeper clocked the run at 4.36mi, versa at 3.13mi. It seems that even the 0.5mi lap times weren't correct either. Samsung Galaxy S7 up to date. Never had issues with anything GPS related before. I thought the versa would simply display what the phone GPS was measuring, but it's either calculating it's own distance based on its assumed stride length  (which I haven't adjusted yet and is definitely too short based on a treadmill run I did the other day) or it's disconnecting from Bluetooth. Fitbit needs to fix this fast, or at least in the mean time make it so I can edit the distance on the versa or in the app.

[kcronin]

Try in your Versa, Settings>Bluetooth Connection Options>Music Via Bluetooth Pair your phone if music control is not working>OFF. I'm finding this makes all the difference for me whether I'm using BT headphones or not. Don't know why. I'm Samsung S7 too. I got new Fitbit v2.71 but I have not received the new firmware update.

⁣Sent from BlueMail ​

[BamIAm]

Mine has been reliable lately. 

GPS on phone set to device only, wifi off, wifi, bluetooth scanning off.  Using wired headphone, not bluetooth.  Verify good GPS lock with GPS test app. Enable "always connected" and "keep alive widget" in the Fitbit app.   Verify Versa / phone connection by syncing, and waiting for real-time pulse in the app, then close it.  Fire up the walk exercise in the Versa, wait for the connection (15 secs. or so), and off I go. 

Still think they need to fix the "pause" bug in MobileRun but the connected GPS with the Versa is working fine for me now.  Tried it with my old Blaze as well and it also seems to be working OK.

[Likestoplay2]

I had the same problem with the Blaze so not surprised the Versa has this problem.  I finally gave up after going back and forth with customer service for several months and bought an Apple watch.

[kcronin]

   I continue to have success with Connected GPS so long as I have the setting under Bluetooth Connection Options > Music via Bluetooth toggled to OFF.  I don't know if it's a coincidence or not.  I suggest you try toggling this setting.  Three options ON/PAIR/OFF.  My distances are now correct and align with routes previously tracked with my Charge 2/Fitbit and with Strava app/Phone.

[SunsetRunner]

@kcronin Do you have "Always Connected" on? I just recently figured out the reason for the miles not being right is because the Versa is always "connecting" to the phone. When it's not "connected" and it's "connecting", it's not registering the miles you're walking or running or biking. I haven't done on a walk since I turned on "Always Connected", but I did walk around the house a few times to see if it would stay connected and it did. I just don't know if it will stay connected for a 3 + mile walk.

****UPDATE**** 5-6-18    8:06 EST

Just went for, what I know to be a 3 plus mile route, and turning on "Always Connected" did not help the connectivity issue. Versa only registered 2.6 miles when I walked over 3.  I cannot justify the $200 price tag for this item. I am going back to my Charge 2.

[kcronin]

@SunsetRunner  I have Always Connected on, Keep Alive on, All-Day Sync On, Wifi On (generally not recommended), Bluetooth (of course) On.  Gps is Phone Only.  I am Android.  I open the Fitbit app on my phone and initiate a sync waiting until that's complete before starting.  I close all other apps on my phone except whatever I'm listening to (usually Overdrive or Audible but might be a podcast).  I have that Bluetooth setting I previously described toggled to OFF but I've communicated with others that have found it works best with ON.  Might be different phones or different headphones.  I had to play around with it.  I start my Run on Versa indoors (who wants to stand around outside freezing waiting for it to connect).  When my Versa says "Connected" I mount my phone in an arm band and head outside.  I press the little forward triangle to "start" and head off.  I still check for "connecting" obsessively since I've had so many problems.  Even when I've seen "connecting" it was short and reconnected and my milage was right which is the most important part.  if the distance is wrong then the pace is wrong, the calories burned is wrong, split times are wrong.

[Runnerforlife]

Margo g I was hoping you could help me, I'm having the same problem. Just got my Versa yesterday and took it out for a run today.  With my phone Samsung S7 with running my Samsung Health app which showed my 5 mile run my Versa only showed 4. I have a Surge but the band is on its last leg. Reason I got the Versa . Please help. I would hate to have to send it back . 

[kcronin]

@SunsetRunner Did you go into the Bluetooth connection settings on your Versa like I described? I don't believe Always Connected has anything to do with a successful mapping. I probably did at least 15x 3.5 mile walks changing one variable at a time. I too liked my Charge2 but I really do love the Versa. This issue will be worked out. It's currently working for me. It can work for you too but maybe not tomorrow.