Device inaccessible - BT, WiFi or USB

[kieppie]

I've had my Versa (G1) not for a while, and by & large it's pretty OK.

Running v.72.1.9

After my initial purchase & setup, I've really not had much cause/time to mess with it much, but there's some basic functionality that I need to alter/upgrade, particularly the apps I use.

I've tried resolving this issue before though preferred channels, but the p!$$-poor support I've received & the tools at my disposal to enable me to dig into the problem has put this in the "too hard" basket at the time.

Most of the "support" consists of - what I can only guess is - a pre-set auto-bot script of "reset the device, reinstall the app(s)" or "contact helpdesk so I can get upsold into buying the new model", aka. the "have you tried turning it off & on" IDGAF support-model.

Yes, I have... several times, across several host devices.

Basic gist & what I've tred incudes - after device factory reset & apps uninstall-flush-reinstall:

• log into app - Android & W10 apps
• pair with Versa - BT & BLE's
• Add device, sync, reprovision, etc
• Watch has connectivity via BT, WiFi & USB serial (can see it via serial terminal, only responding with "locked $"
• have loaded & connected via Fitbit Studio, to my mobile, desktop & watch, so I KNOW there's connectivity!

But regardless what I do, I simply cannot get past the "Oops, looks like there's no Internet connection", which is complete b/s!

Having the simple ability to connect - via USB cable - from my desktop app to the watch so that I can do some BASIC maintenance, i.e. remove what's unneeded and/or side-load & config apps because the mobile app and/or watch seems incapable of doing so itself, does not seem a tall ask.

No - I will NOT contact tech support again. They're not been helpful in the least in the past!

No - I will NOT buy a new model, as I've taken careful care of this multi-hundred dollar piece of kit that still functions just fine as a watch, despite the apparently horrendous code-quality & non-support. There's no guarantee a replacement model won't suffer the same "support" issues, so the smarter move would be to go with another vendor capable of providing support!

Device build-quality has been OK, but everything else around this experience has been abysmal.

[Rich_Laue]

Hi @kieppie can you describe the issue that you are having? 

Does your tracker sync it's data to the cloud? 

Your tracker does not communicate through USB. 

The fitbit app handles the BTLE connection, their is nothing the user can do here except to approve the apps request to pair the tracker. 

[kieppie]

Hi @Rich_Laue,

Does your tracker sync it's data to the cloud? 

What exactly do you mean here?

• EDIT: I periodically get "Tracker battery is running low; recharge" emails, so obviously the tracker is capable of communicating (directly or indirectly) with the vendor email gateway/service.
• Can I connect to the watch via (w10) Desktop app, (Android) Mobile app(s) over Bluetooth to poll it and pull logged data/metrics (battery status, firmware version) and see that reflected in the Fitbit Dashboard online? Yes
• Can I connect via aforementioned apps and specify the WiFi AP for it to connect to & see that it receives a LAN IP address? Yes
• Can I see the device connected in Fitbit Studio, as well as my mobile, desktop & Fitbit OS Simulator, and see packets & traffic transiting my gateway/firewall/router? Yes
• When connecting anything (desktop or mobile apps) to the device via BT, even via mobile data connection (so as to eliminate my LAN/wifi/network as a possible cause), I can't edit/config/add/remove my apps - appt-to-watch directly? NO, and this seems to be a common, recurring, seemingly typical issue for MANY users/owners, and the fact that this is such a frequent issue that rarely seems to get resolved, so I expect the issue not to be user-error, but poor design.
  "Oops, looks like there's no internet connection" is the most common state I've gotten used to for this device, with no resolution; even well within the warranty period, but going through your "support" (or lack thereof) channels had me run the clock out.

If there were more useful error codes or debugging resources available, there would be far less grappling in the dark.

Your tracker does not communicate through USB.

Well, no, actually it does, but the manufacturer chose not make that basic function accessible.

When plugging it into a PC, it registers as a pretty standard COM device:

• USB\VID_2687&PID_FD10&REV_0100&MI_00
• Can connect using a serial terminal (eg. Putty) over 115200 baud, but get "locked $"
• via POSIX I see: "2687:fd10 Fitbit Versa"

[ 4871.824363] usbcore: registered new interface driver cdc_acm
[ 4871.824365] cdc_acm: USB Abstract Control Model driver for USB modems and ISDN adapters
[ 4897.577909] usb 3-2: USB disconnect, device number 10
[ 4899.878003] usb 3-2: new full-speed USB device number 11 using xhci_hcd
[ 4900.032590] usb 3-2: New USB device found, idVendor=2687, idProduct=fd10, bcdDevice= 1.00
[ 4900.032595] usb 3-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 4900.032598] usb 3-2: Product: Versa
[ 4900.032600] usb 3-2: Manufacturer: Fitbit
[ 4900.032602] usb 3-2: SerialNumber: REDACTED
[ 4900.036686] cdc_acm 3-2:1.0: ttyACM0: USB ACM device

So no, the tracker IS capable of communicating through standard serial - even if some sort of "secret handshake" or key exchange is required to facilitate debugging/service between the desktop app & tracker - but this has been purposely disabled.

Again, the problem or agency is not with the customer/owner, but with the vendor that has chosen to lock owners out of their device, and therefore the only resolution need to be forthcoming from the party that has these keys and control - the vendor.

The fitbit app handles the BTLE connection, their is nothing the user can do here except to approve the apps request to pair the tracker.

Sure, whatever.

I've tried numerous times to unpair, reset, reload the tracker from the devices & have apps handle the re-pairing of the tracker - both BT & BLE - with the same results.  

No matter which way I dice this, I'm still unable to do some of the most basic functions with this stack, and considering the utter lack of control over my own piece of hardware I paid for and own, the responsibility to resolve this is not with me, but on the remote end.

Either resolve this issue, or provide us the means to do so ourselves!

I don't care about the warranty being voided - effectively a contract that implies "you will fix it if I don't break it" - since clearly is doesn't mean squat!

[Rich_Laue]

Are you trying to write a program to access your tracker directly, or asking for help with your tracker and the fitbit app? 

[kieppie]

The long response in the prior post is to provide sufficient information to any interested users that encounter this (common) issue on how to debug, given the limited access available.

Not trying to write an app - given this experience that's very much in the "too hard, life's too short"-basket - but simply trying to access the device from my mobile/desktop app(s) in order to add/update/config/remove apps & settings, i.e. the most basic of reasonably expected functionality.

I would like to install additional apps to make this device more useful, such as basic web-hooks/triggers, but that's simply not on the cards because of this issue.

I've also looked into other causes, and the one that's probably most applicable to me is DNS-blacklisting, ala Pi-Hole & Ad-blocking.

I've whitelisted as much as I could see on my gateway & tried various WAN connections (process-of-elimination variables including my own WAN & mobile connections), and alternative DNS servers, such as 1.1.1.1, 9.9.9.9, 8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4, etc

There is very little in the way of authoritative information on which IP's or DNS's to whitelist, so again this is grappling in the dark & hoping for the best, with absolutely no information - local or remote - I can use to debug this issue.

Maybe this can be a good starting-point:

• Provide a authoritative kb page/article indicating expected network behavior - have whitelisted api.fitbit.com, dev.fitbit.com & *.fitbit.com
  
• Other means of troubleshooting or debugging tracker, desktop & mobile app(s) - including means of pulling logs
• Serial tools - i.e. low-level mechanisms that do not rely (possibly buggy) radio stack as means of access