Connected GPS is spotty without data/internet connection

[litetaker]

It seems strange to me that I am having a very bad time tracking my activity location with connected GPS when I have spotty internet connection. I went outdoors two days in a row this weekend, and both times there was absolutely no cellular network. However, when I used a GPS app on my phone it was able to get my location easily, which is what I would expect as it does not require data. So my assumption is that since the Fitbit Versa needs bluetooth to connect to the phone and GPS of the phone to get location, I should be able to easily track my location throughout the activity even without a good cellular network for data.

But both days, my Versa had a tough time staying connected to my phone. I was able to record the location data for only about a quarter of the activity, which lasted a few hours both times. Most of the time, I could see the Versa saying "connecting..."

Do I need a proper data connection for connected GPS to work well? If so, can this be improved in the future so that you don't need it? It is honestly not needed theoretically, so if this can be improved it will make the versa more versatile and reliable for location tracking without needing to spend more money on the ionic.

[AlvaroFitbit]

@litetaker Welcome to the Fitbit Community! It's great to have you here! I don't think it is the internet connection that may be influencing your GPS data recording. Remember that GPS depends on a clear connection between your phone's chip and the satellites in orbit. Things like tall buildings, trees or cloudy weather may interfere with the signal causing that your route isn't completely or correctly recorded. Make sure your phone has a strong GPS signal during your activity. You can also try restarting the GPS or the phone itself before recording the activity and see if this helps improve the data collection. Still you can also try checking for a strong internet connection (maybe try a different area for your next recording) to test this out.

Let me know how it goes!

[litetaker]

Thank you for the perfectly pointless canned response. If you read my message carefully you would have noted that I mentioned my phone was able to receive GPS location perfectly throughout my hike:

However, when I used a GPS app on my phone it was able to get my location easily, which is what I would expect as it does not require data.

---

So while my phone had absolutely no issue with getting GPS, the versa was completely in the dark. And please give us a more meaningful response or please escalate this issue to the engineers so that they may fix this flaw in the Versa. As I search these forums I see a lot of users complaining that the Versa is unable to get GPS so this seems like a fault of the Versa and not the phones themselves. Please stop deflecting the issue and investigate it!!!

This is a flagship device, a crown jewel of Fitbit so to speak. It should work as expected. And this is a very massive flaw in a fitness tracker - being unable to track location. Now it is just a fancy pedometer than a useful Fitness tracker.

P.S. Please stop "welcoming" me to the forums. I am not new here. I've been here for months and posted multiple posts. It is ridiculous to preface every bit of official/semi-official communication with that. Sounds more patronizing than helpful.

[litetaker]

Here are some examples of people with this issue:

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Versa/CONNECTED-GPS/m-p/2703556#M17968

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Versa/Will-Connected-GPS-track-w-poor-internet/m-p/2600494#M391

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Versa/Fitbit-App-crashing-using-connected-GPS-Versa/m-p/2649966#M619...

There are more complaints on other websites like Reddit if you search online. Please take this issue seriously! 

[Jayelo]

Yes, I would also very much like this connected gps issue solved. Everything works fine on my Versa except this. Every time I go on walks and use my connected gps, it can NEVER stay connected . It is constantly “connecting” throughout my walks. Weather and trees isnt the issue. Because of the constant “connecting” with the gps my stats that are recorded are very off. I lose accuracy because of this. 

[litetaker · Accepted solution]

Okay. So I did a more thorough test that will help prove to any Fitbit community council member or Fitbit forum moderator that this is infact the FAULT OF THE VERSA and not the phone!

So I compared the Fitbit Versa with my old trusty Fitbit Blaze on the same route to see if there is a difference. 

First* I took the Blaze on a small elliptical route near my home. It took merely 5-10 seconds for it to connect to my phone and get a lock on the GPS. Then throughout the 10 minute activity it did not lose connection with my phone, which happens to be a Google Pixel 2 running Android 8.1.0. Here is a screenshot for verification.

Clearly, it was a 0.90 km walk for about 10 minutes.

Next I tried the Versa. (*Note from earlier: I actually tried the Versa first and failed and gave up and used the Blaze. Then I tried the Versa again... and as you will see I again failed spectacularly)

I tried for a solid 10-15 minutes to get the GPS to work. Nope. Absolutely no use! You can see the Versa just stuck on "connecting..."  as seen in the picture below. Note that the Blaze worked flawlessly within 10 seconds, and WITH THE SAME PHONE!!!

The phone also showed me that connected GPS was infact indeed running, in my notifications.This is a screenshot from my phone.Anyway, here is the proof of the miserable failure!

As you can see there is no GPS data and so no map! BOO!

In Versa's miserable defense, earlier in the day, it did manage to get some GPS data. I walked for about 2.8 km, but instead of logging the GPS data for the whole walk, it only logged it for the first 1.3 km or so! And it took a lot of time to even get the GPS data connection to begin with! But halfway in the walk it lost the connection and never recovered. Take a look!At this point this Versa is beyond useless! See! At around the 1.27 km mark it promptly loses GPS connection. 

So the summary is:

1. This is NOT the fault of the phone or poor GPS signal.
2. The Blaze worked perfectly fine with the same exact phone at the same time on the same route!
3. The Versa is a half baked product not worthy of the price tag.
4. STOP GIVING US USELESS CANNED RESPONSES AND DO YOUR JOB AND ACTUALLY FIX THIS BLOODY ISSUE!
5. GIVE ME A REFUND!

I regret not testing my Versa more thoroughly when I first bought it. But I don't do GPS runs/activities too often and the few times I did try it, it miraculously worked ok. But that was likely because it was not a very long activity, and so I probably did not observe issues. But given that It is only about 9-10 days after the 30 day mark of receiving this product and given that this is a HUGE issue and flaw with this I really want a refund and I want to go back to using my fully functional, working as advertised Fitbit Blaze.

[Cyric]

Nice work and testing, I had a versa and I was never able to get the GPS to connect to it and in fact had many times that it would cause the watch to actually crash. I'm so disappointed in how the device worked. The Ionic's GPS worked pretty well, however my ionic died from water damage in a pool (Who would have thunk it)

[Dewk]

I wish i had read all of these before I purchased the versa.... middle of July 2019 and there are still connectivity issues and no one from Fitbit seems to know how to resolve this other than "restart phone" or restore to factory settings etc. How is every other brand able to connect to GPS without issues....yet fitbit can not. I would never have wasted my money on this useless watch if I knew about all the issues. 

[Hybridgreen]

My blaze battery stopped working in 3 years. They dont allow replacing batteries and want you to throw away your watch and buy a new one. Why buy a versa if many people say it fails to work properly out of the box? There are 50 dollar watches out there if expensive features don't work anyway..I think I'll get a Garmin this time

[Dewk]

Get the Garmin. You will save yourself months of irritation and issues. I have had non stop issues since purchasing the watch. Wish I had read all the comments on here before making the purchase. And of course they won't give you a refund.