Starting activities on watch or app

[Gazflo]

I'm new to Fitbit, but I'm an experienced user of both a Pebble and MiBand. By comparison, the Versa Lite is both confusing and frustrating. One of my major irks is that there appears to be different functionality depending on whether an exercise is started on the app or the watch.

Starting on the watch

Control the activity (pause/end) on my watch -  YES

See visual cues on my watch - YES

Get audio cues via my headphones - NO

Record my GPS track in the app - YES

Record my heart rate in the app - YES

Starting on the app

Control the activity (pause/end) on my watch -  NO

See visual cues on my watch - NO

Get audio cues via my headphones - YES

Record my GPS track in the app - YES

Record my heart rate in the app - NO

In my previous experience, once an activity was started in the app, the watch/band could be used to control the activity and record the heart rate. Am I missing something?

Watch: Versa Lite (firmware: 38.33.1.30)

Phone: Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (os: 8.0.0, app: 3.12.1)

P.S. I also have connectivity and music control issues that I will post about separately. 

[Heather-S]

@Gazflo If you want the most accurate data for your workout activities, you should always start the exercise from the Fitbit watch, not the app.

When I try to track an activity on the Fitbit app, I'm given the choice of Run, Walk, or Hike and I can pause the workout and see stats from the app.  I see nothing on my watch.  It does not look like heart rate data is recorded for the activity started from the app.

It's always better to track your workout from the watch.  

[Rich_Laue]

I'm not sure what question is being asked. 

When starting from the wrist. The controls are on the wrist. Cues will show up on the wrist. The versa does not have a speech generator. 

Starting from the phone, controls will be on the phone. 

[Gazflo]

I'm looking to achieve:

Audio cues in my headphones (via the Fitbit app)

AND

Visual tracking on the watch, with the ability to pause/start an exercise

This functionality was available on both the Pebble and MiBand. On the Fitbit, it appears you can only have one or the other (unless you record two activities, one on the watch, one in the app).

(I've since found it also mentioned here by @runninarun)

[Rich_Laue]

This is Fitbit, I've never had a pebble or MI band 

We are simply telling you the way Fitbit works. 

If a user uses the Mobile Run option on the phone, then the phone is doing the tracking. 

If the user uses the multisport mode on the tracker, then the tracker is doing the tracking. 

The two do not communicate with each other during the recording. 

I have found one suggestion

Voice cues directly from the watch

I can not find a suggestion to have the tracker trigger voice cues on the phone even though this subject comes up periodically in the last 5 years. 

You may want to add the suggestion and the advertise it in your signature. 

[Imaginty]

Sorry to jump on an old thread but I have this issue with my Inspire 2 and it's infuriating. Surely, the watch and app should be in sync?

Like Gazflo said, the benefit of starting the exercise on the app itself is that you get audio cues (which are essential for me) and the GPS is more accurate, however if you look at your watch during your exercise you get absolutely no data whatsoever. Even though the watch monitors your heart rate 24/7, if you start an exercise on the app, apparently it just stops monitoring it for that period of time.

If you start the exercise on the watch, of course you can see your exercise data on your wrist but you get no audio cues and I find my GPS is all over the place.

Like I said, accurate GPS and audio cues are essential for me, so at the moment there's virtually no point in me even using the watch at all.

If you can't start the exercise on both the watch and the app at the same time, then why don't they trigger each other? It seems like such basic functionality and something that all other competitors offer. Really disappointing. Definitely wouldn't have chosen a FitBit if I'd known this beforehand.

[Rich_Laue]

You can always start the exercise from both places, you will get 2 recordings of the exercise. 

When starting through the app, while it should be possible, your heart rate will not be added to the recording. 

Fitbit has not made it so that starting the exercise from one spot triggers the other. 

The idea is to use the app when you do not have the tracker with you. 

Starting from the tracker we still get cues, not audio. 

As for the gps, no matter where the exercise is started, the phones gps will be used. 

Maybe it should be synced better, after the event. 

You are asking to have an open connection to the app when starting an exercise from the wrist. This would require a major rewrite of the app and firmware.