My Versa GPS won't connect to Pixel3 XL

[SunsetRunner]

So, I am superfrustrated because my  Versa is in a constant state of "connecting" to my phone's GPS. I love to hike and I upgraded to the Versa from the Blaze because of the GPS feature. It would appear that this was a silly sales gimmick and after reading the boards, this is a huge problem! Come on Fitbit, figure it out and fix it please. I really don't want to have to go to Garmin to get a decent GPS tracker. 

I am running a Versa with Firmware version: 32.33.1.30, app version 2.84(201213341) on a Google Pixel 3XL.

Help please!

[Marrrmaduke]

@nicoleproudft so I tested and my GPS connection was killed immediately when the screen went off. I turned off Adaptive battery in Android battery settings and it worked. Try it out. 

ETA: If you think there might BT connectivity issues on Pixel's side, I would make sure there's only Versa paired with it. 🙁

[nicoleproudft]

@Marrrmaduke I turned adaptive battery off and it still didn't work. The watch sporadically connected to the phone but was not consistently connected. When i went to the app after finishing my run i again had an error that said "Bluetooth issues. If you are seeing this for the first time, click cancel.  If you continue to receive this message, press restart Bluetooth"

I don't have any other Bluetooth devices connected. 

I also tried tracking my run directly through the Strava app, to make sure that it wasn't something with the GPS, and it worked just fine. 

[Marrrmaduke]

@nicoleproudft I can confirm that. My GPS connection died on me today as well. It's not Android. It's Bluetooth as it showed the dreadful Bluetooth error as well. At this point, there's only one build that has ever worked with GPS for me and that's 2.74.2 (Fitbit mobile app), but I have never tried it on Pixel. You might wanna give it a try, but just a heads-up. You will not be able to use some features like logging water on your Versa and using custom emojis in quick replies. On the other hand, it supports notifications and sync way better than the latest versions. Let me know if you try it. You probably still need to turn off adaptive battery and optimization and have the widget running.

[nicoleproudft]

@Marrrmaduke I downgraded to app version 2.74.2 and the GPS/Bluetooth is staying connected now! It occasionally drops if the watch is paused for too long, bit other than that is working well. Very relieved! Thank you for your help!

[Marrrmaduke]

@nicoleproudft I'm glad. Same on my end, but I decided to go back to 2.84 as I am not overly concerned about GPS connectivity. 😛 I observed a weird behavior of the recent versions of fitbit app, though. Once started, the location services stay ON on the phone but the fitbit mobile app drops recording after a few minutes or so... This is weird. I would expect location services to get wiped, but it is not the case. This seems to be an issue with the recent fitbit app versions. For now, 2.74.2 it is then.

ETA: if you see it dropping the connection is usually due to bluetooth connectivity. 

[SEANSLOAN]

I have a Pixel 3 and have been encountering the same issues. It's a shame that the only options are too either downgrade to a previous app version or start using Strava  Hoping Fitbit will eventually put a fix in.