Notifications won't clear, even after resets

[Kalnel]

Does anyone have any advice about getting notifications to clear permanently? I've tried restarting the watch, but within a few hours, I have them stacking up and unable to clear again. I've also tried uninstalling/reinstalling the Fitibit app, but that didn't seem to help. 

Sometimes the notifications just don't disappear from the stack, and other times I get an "Action Failed" message. 

I've noticed that it seems to work fine if I interact with every notification (either "Mark as read" or clear) before I interact with it on my phone or computer, but if I touch it on another device, it gets "stuck" on the Versa. 

[AlvaroFitbit]

@Kalnel Welcome to the Fitbit Community! It's great to have you here!  This is odd. Try refreshing the link between your phone and your watch by going to your phone's bluetooth settings and remove all devices listed there. Restart your phone and restart your device. After this try syncing them. Also, if you are using an Android device, check that your app has the necessary permissions (settings > apps > Fitbit > permissions) and make sure bluetooth and location services (GPS) are on. If the issue persist then please do a factory reset just be aware that you will need to setup your Versa again.

Let me know how it goes!

[Kalnel]

No luck with re-setting Bluetooth.

I'm very reluctant to move on to doing a factory reset my Versa. I had a syncing problem a couple of months ago, and doing a factory reset bricked it. (Fitbit replaced it.) I also don't want to have to reactivate all my credit cards, reinstall apps, etc. 

Any other ideas? Thanks in advance!

[Marrrmaduke]

@Kalnel the notifications are stuck in the Fitbit mobile app notification channel. Please reboot your phone as well, not only Versa.

[Kalnel]

Thanks @Marrrmaduke, but been there, done that, no luck. I even rebooted before and after reinstalling the Fitbit app to clear everything out. 

But, it's very interesting to know that the problem may be in the mobile app. Maybe I'll try keeping All Day Sync in tomorrow to see if that keeps the data flowing between the phone and the Versa. It seems clear that part of the problem is the phone and the Versa getting out of sync, so maybe that will help. 

Is there any way to see in the app what the notification queue looks like? 

[Marrrmaduke]

@Kalnel no, there's no such way. I wish we could. Other thing that comes to my mind is clearing the app cache. The same can be achieved by reinstalling the app. Of course that would clear only old notifications stuck before but anything that accumulates after and gets stuck would require another cache clearing. I'm not sure what phone and OS you're using but for me keeping a good BT connectivity indeed improved things. 

[Kalnel]

@Marrrmaduke Clearing the app cache is a good idea. I think I'll try that (and soft-resetting the Versa) first thing tomorrow to start "on empty" with All-Day Sync turned on. (I hate using that, since it kills my battery, but tomorrow is an easy day.)

The more I think about it, the more I wonder if intermittent syncing is the problem. If I read a notification the second it arrives, and hit "mark as read" or clear it immediately, it disappears. But, if I miss the notification on the Versa and read it on my phone or computer first, the notification (which would then be outdated) either gets stuck or throws the error message. I wonder if real-time (or close to it) syncing would overcome that. 

I've noticed the problem is mainly with email, text, Slack, and Facebook notifications all of which allow responses or status changes. Notifications from things like a news service sending an alert or the Roomba reporting that it has completed a job don't require/allow responses, and they never get stuck. 

[Marrrmaduke]

@Kalnel I agree with the sync part. I was not able to test notifications for the apps that do not allow quick replies as i do not use any. But, indeed my messaging apps dominate here ... Tho, it might be due to volume of messages.

[Kalnel]

Well, I will report back tomorrow to see if All-Day Sync makes a difference. (Of course, if it does work, then I have to decide whether I want to trade battery life for a clear notification drop-down.) 

Thanks for trading ideas with me @Marrrmaduke. You are always a big help, and I appreciate it!

[Marrrmaduke]

@Kalnel Thank you. It's always good to gather some information and do some brainstorming. 😊 

[Kalnel]

Just wanted to report back: After 24 hours with All-Day Sync turned on, not a single notification got stuck on the Versa. If Fitbit is reading this, I hope they'll take it as some feedback for addressing the problem. 

On the downside, my Samsung Galaxy S8 was down to 40% at 4PM -- about 25% lower than it normally is at that time of day. 

Also, I don't think I'll be clearing the cache again soon. It deleted all the info in the apps. For instance, I had to re-enter all my barcodes into the barcode app, my login into the Uber app, etc. Oh, well...

[Marrrmaduke]

@Kalnel yes and yes. Did you clear the cache after booting in recovery? No need to clear the cache for everything. Just Fitbit app (Settings>Apps>Fitbit>Clear Cache). Tho, back before Android Pie, I would clear the cache in recovery from time to time. 😊

[Kalnel]

@Marrrmaduke  I wasn't in recovery mode, but that is how I cleared the cache. I really just did it to give everything a clean slate before I tried using All Day Sync to solve the notifications problem. Clearing the cache knocked out all the settings in my apps and a few of the system settings. No biggie, though. 

BTW, I went through another day with zero problems about notifications getting stuck. I intentionally tried to get it out of sync by doing things like marking stuff as read on my desktop, then opening the notifications on the Versa, but everything stayed synced up. 

Keeping All-Day Sync on is taking a battery hit on the phone and the Versa, but it's not too bad. I charge the Versa every morning when I get dressed, and it is normally at about 82% when I start to charge it. Today, it was at 78%, so it's not a huge difference. 

[Marrrmaduke · Accepted solution]

@Kalnel pretty much what I observe. It just needs to sync. I unpair it from Bluetooth from time to time, reboot everything and let fitbit app facilitate pairing and sync. No issues then. It just needs a good quality BT connectivity and sync. Sighs.

[Kalnel]

@Marrrmaduke Well, yes and no. If the Fitbit app is set on All-Day Sync, the notifications sync without problems. But, if the app isn't on All-Day Sync, some notifications get outdated and/or stuck, and a forced sync does not clear them or fix the problem. 

I'm now on day 3 without any stuck notifications, thanks to All-Day Sync. 

[Marrrmaduke]

@Kalnel the way I see it All-day sync helps maintaining a stable sync. Does it work all the time? Probably not. But definitely helps and pretty much that's why I always recommend to have it on. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 

[Kalnel]

@Marrrmaduke I think you may be right. The notifications certainly work better, and I get the impression that the Versa doesn't struggle to sync the way it sometimes does when All-Day Sync is off. 

(It's going to be fun to look back on these discussions in a few years. We're still in the prehistoric era for trackers and smartwatches.)

[Marrrmaduke]

@Kalnel in a few years we will just have implants. 😋