GPS has become incredibly inaccurate.

[SunsetRunner]

After updating to the new firmware I suspected that the GPS tracking was not recording the distance correctly (mostly because I know what the distance I walked used to be prior to the update)

So today I decided to run an experiment just to see how far out the GPS is, and it is out by a lot.

I normally do a 6k (that's kilometer for you lot that don't measure things in normal measurements )

The last 2 times my versa seemed to be under reporting the distance traveled so today I decided to run concurrently the MapMyWalk app I used to use this in the past with my older fitbits that had no gps, connected or otherwise.

My Versa reported a walk distance of 3.03km yet MapMyWalk reported 6.18km. I cannot understand why there is such a discrepancy as both apps are using exactly the same GPS tracker on my phone at the same time. Why is the MapMyWalk app accurate yet the Versa (via the fitbit app) is way out. I know the correct distance as each lap is 1.01km long and so after six laps I should over the 6km mark yet fitbit is way off.

It used to record correctly, but lately the Fitbit app is really failing on the GPS.

I must point out that the Versa is still recording the correct (or close to) number of steps steps for my walk, but the GPS is no where near correct.

I don't really want to have to rely on another app on my phone to record the GPS, that's why I got the blaze (Ret), ionic (RIP) and Versa running both drains my phone battery too much, 100% down to 33% in just over an hour

This is on clear sunny days with little cloud. Please tweak the app to work with the GPS properly once more.

[Marrrmaduke]

@SunsetRunner What I noticed is that Fitbit app services get often killed by either Android itself or by processes designed by phone manufacturer to preserve battery by eliminating power hogs. Example bgdetect process on OP. So, I constantly see the Keep Alive widget jumping (kill, resume, kill, resume etc) in my Notification Bar, same happening when I'm running connected GPS. One way out of this is locking the app in the background. It can be done on both OP and Samsung devices. It does work for my OP3T, perhaps you could give it a try. I don't know if the inaccuracy is due to connected GPS/Fitbit mobile app getting killed, but knowing the resources and power consumption is quite probable Check my post here, and well if you want give it a shot and report back. Good luck!

[Tomtomato]

I have tried to lock the app so that it can't be closed/paused by Android on my Samsung S9, and it didn't seem to make much difference to "connected GPS". Still getting the "connecting..." message every few minutes on the Versa, meaning only a very partial route is recorded.

After having tried many suggestions (disabling wifi, reboots of phone and device, various settings), my conclusion is: "connected GPS" simply doesn't work reliably on the Versa...and I am using a very common, very standard phone (Samsung S9), not some obscure and niche Chinese model.

Google Map on my phone is recording my journeys fine, so it's not a phone or GPS issue.

I have contacted Fitbit support, and they have made pointless suggestions on the first four messages. Now asking for a full hard reset of the watch, which I have already done. I am going to ask for a replacement in case it's hardware specific (unlikely), and then a refund, as the product functionality doesn't work.

[Marrrmaduke]

@Tomtomato haven't tried with Samsung but might borrow one to fiddle with it. It really doesn't let me sleep that it would be so problematic with Samsung. I will ask silly questions - your keep alive widget, always connected and all day sync are enabled? Fitbit mobile app notifications are set as high priority in the Android Notofications settings? And, Fitbit mobile app is not being optimized by Android (Look for battery optimization in Android Settings)? Before starting a run/bike, you sync Versa without issues and it still does not connect to GPS?🙄

[Tomtomato]

Hi @Marrrmaduke

• Keep alive widget is on, and I can see in the notification panel all the time
• All day sync is enabled
• I have tried also "always connected", didn't make much difference
• Fitbit app is locked from being put to sleep (as per this post)
• Fitbit app is not optimised for battery savings
• I have tried disabling wifi before activating connected GPS
• I have tried rebooting both watch and phone before a ride

Before using connected GPS, Versa syncs fine with Samsung S9, and I also get notifications (WhatsApp, Gmail etc.) etc. When I use connected GPS (starting a bike ride), it connects within 15 seconds and vibrate to indicate GPS connection is on. But then, it's losing its connection quickly (within the first 5 minutes), and message "connecting..." on the Versa is displayed most of the time (and usually doesn't clear by itself).

Fitbit support is telling me that GPS on my phone probably doesn't work, but then Google Map tracks perfectly all my bike rides...I don't think it's an issue with my phone, and I had the same issue with my previous phone (Samsung S7 edge) and the Versa

[Marrrmaduke]

@Tomtomato I do not think there's an issue with your phone GPS. Since the tracker syncs just fine, and notifications are coming through, I don't think there's an interference from other BT devices. You can check that hypothesis by unpairing devices you linked with your phone, I guess. May I ask what was the earliest fitbit mobile app build (version) that you used? Perhaps installing an older version could help?