Versa 2 - Connected GPS not working when new Mindfulness is added in Fitbit app

[SunsetRunner]

Since a few days the new "Mindfulness" tile appeared in my Android app. I added it (not yet tried it though).

Since then, when I start an exercise with connected GPS (run, bike, walk) - the Versa 2 either never connects to the phone's GPS, or connects for a minute and then disconnects. I tried all troubleshooting steps - restarting Bluetooth, restarting phone, restarting app, restarting the Versa, nothing worked.

Then I contacted support and while I was chatting with them it occurred to me that this started happening when the Mindfulness tile appeared in my app. So, while chatting with support, I decided to remove the tile from the app and try again. Voilà! It worked! I am yet to try this on a full-blown exercise but it seems this resolves the issue.

So, seems that I have the workaround for the issue - but wanted to add this topic to see if there are other people affected, as well as to try and get Fitbit's attention on fixing this.

So, do you experience these issues? Have you found another workaround?  

[J-Bone · Accepted solution]

Hi SvetL,

I was getting similar problems after updating to Android 11.

The fix was to go to the Android permissions settings and reset everything to "allow all the time", as they had reverted to "only while app is in use" after the update.

[KLCWEST]

I have the very same problem, I just just removed the mindfulness tile, and am heading out for a run, hope it works!  thanks!

[SunsetRunner]

Ok, tested a bit today. Turned out that indeed the permissions for some reason changed to allow only while app is in use. 

With that and Mindfulness on, GPS never connects. With mindfulness removed, it may eventually connect but loses connection.

As J-Bone suggests, check the app's permissions - when I enabled location access all the time, it seems to always work.

So, all in all, nothing related to Mindfulness it seems, just app (or Android) changed permission settings at a certain point.

[denisedenhertog]

I had the same problem. When I changed the settings in the connection with Fitbit to "allow at all time" the problem was solved.

[denisedenhertog]

Disappointing that the Fitbit helpdesk couldn't help me to fix this problem. But very happy I found the solution here. Thank you!

[jmchin]

When I updated to Android 11, I found when starting an activity (run or bike) from the Fitbit device loses connectivity and therefore loses location when the screen is turned off. I have allowed Fitbit to use location all the time but I am still having issues.

[kaearr]

I had the same problem I have fought with for a month. My GPS was working on my Versa 2 when I went for a run, however stopped working after a year of use. I finally figured out that the New Mindfulness app was causing this. I disabled it and now the GPS is back working fine.

Thank you for noticing this issue as has been extremely irritating.