Versa Lite music control

[aldobb]

i am having trouble getting the music controls working on my versa lite, my wife's versa lite work fine but it doesnt seem to work on mine.

i have unpaired and paired via the bluetooth setting on my phone and have removed and readded the tracker via the fitbit app and still nothing.

i have a pixel 3xl so not sure if it a phone problem or fitbit problem?

[N8teGee · Accepted solution]

Hi @aldobb, great to see you in the community.

Have you tried following the steps in the following help article? (here).

1. If you have an Android or Windows 10 phone, first turn on Bluetooth Classic to control music on your phone. If you have an iPhone, skip to step 2.
   1. Open the Settings app  on your Fitbit device > Bluetooth > Pair. 
   2. On your phone, navigate to the Bluetooth settings where paired devices are listed. Your phone will scan for available devices.
   3. When you see Classic next to your Fitbit device, tap it.
2. While music is playing on your phone, press and hold the back button and swipe right to the Music Controls screen. You may see the current track playing or the most recently played track. 
3. You may need to change the audio source to your phone if you previously listened to music stored on your watch. Tap the 3 dots, then tap the phone icon to change the audio source to your phone.

[sbehm1]

I'm experiencing the exact same issue. I have a "classic" bluetooth connection active, but the music controls screen won't display any actual controls. I even went so far as to do a factory reset of the watch, but the issue persists.

I have to re-pair the phone everytime, too. The watch won't allow itself to accept the "classic" connection. There has GOT to be a better way to implement music controls for Android users. Why not an app? Two bluetooth connections is ridiculous.

Versa Lite; Pixel 3

[Rich_Laue]

Hello @sbehm1 when you state that the watch will not accept,  what error do you see on your phone,  this is whe the user accepts connection. 

@N8teGee  in your step one,  bluetooth classic needs to be turned on on the Versa light, not the phone. 

[sbehm1]

I see the phone is connected, and the screen on the watch that should display media controls instead indicates controls will be displayed when music is playing. It does this while music is playing.

The whole thing is incredibly cumbersome. There has to be a better approach.

[N8teGee]

@Rich_Laue Is that not what the following is referring to? I took the steps directly from the Fitbit help article. I have to admit that i'm unfamiliar with the process having never tried it before.

Open the Settings app on your Fitbit device > Bluetooth > Pair.?

[Rich_Laue]

Ok I read you answer again. 

If you have an Android or Windows 10 phone, first turn on Bluetooth Classic to control music on your phone. 

The issue I have is,  not your fault,  I totally misread the paragraph and step one

[N8teGee]

@Rich_Laue Yes perhaps it could and should be clearer. I really should try setting this up on one of my devices to see if it works as it should for me, or if this is just a Pixel issue as the OP is experiencing.

[sbehm1]

The only way I'm getting it to work right now is to forget the "classic" device, set the versa lite to bt pairing, then pair it with my phone and play music. If I turn either device off, I have to follow these steps again. The watch will not reconnect to my phone on it's own. I have no issues with the connection managed through the app, but the music control is a disaster.

[Rich_Laue]

Yes of there is music, video, or camera app opened that can use the remote, then the controls may not be displayed. 

[sbehm1]

The experience is inconsistent whether anything is connected or not. It's truly horrible. I'd advise anyone banking on this functionality to choose a different product. I may still return mine.

[aldobb]

took a bit of working out @N8teGee but got what you meant in the end.

i had to completely remove the versa from both the phone and the fitbit app (so literally start again) with the bluetooth set to pair.

i now have music control and hopefully that will also resolve the logging issue i've noticed in another post relating to entering info in via the watch.

see what happens.

thanks for your help everyone

[SunsetRunner]

Do I always have to leave my versa lite in "Pair" mode to have controls? If I have it "On" my S10 will not connect. Tells me to try connecting from the device. 

I don't think it's working as intended. I shouldn't have to leave it in Pair mode to use it. 

[aldobb]

seemingly yes......i seems its an android phones issue as it works totally fine on the wife iphone.

beginning to appear that fitbit make sure their products work fine on apple but dont seems to do the same checks for android!!!

[Rich_Laue]

@SunsetRunner the pair mode is only used at the time the user pairs the tracker or any Bluetooth device to the phone. This process them makes the Bluetooth service a trusted device, and the user changes the Bluetooth setting in the tracker to On. 

When using the Music control option the tracker should connect to the phone as keyboard. 

Make sure that the music is playing before trying to control it. 

@aldobb as for iOS the Bluetooth option gets disabled since music uses the BTLE and not standard BT. 

[ChasingTeagan]

I am having the same issue, Versa Lite and Pixel 3 XL. The music controls will not stay connected. It only connects while in "pair" mode and disconnects again shortly after.

The solution provided is not new, its merely the same instructions the app provides to set up the music connection. When can we expect an actual solution?

[BekahM]

Not sure if I should be annoyed or glad to see so many people having this same issue.

Versa Lite w/ Galaxy S10 here.

I can successfully pair using the Classic option to play music. However, the devices will not stay paired to each other (for music). After a period of inactivity the little "SmartThings" pane on my phone's notification bar will disappear and the music pane on the FitBit will say that the phone is not paired. I have to re-pair every single time I want to play music. 

I have an old car so I play music from my phone through an aux adapter. I can't safely be on my phone while driving so I REALLY rely on the watch controls for the music! Never had this issue with my Garmin. It simply worked.

The thought of having to repair every single morning and afternoon before my commute is really really disappointing... All in all I am liking the FitBit better for the price but this is a really important feature that is really falling short right now.

[BekahM]

Sooo an update on my previous post. The devices actually won't even stay paired for more than a minute, as I discovered on my commute this morning. This is just all around non-functional. Bummer.

[Maverick117]

Same issue, I'm considering taking it back

[Rich_Laue]

I'm wondering if this is a Fitbit OS issue, my Versa 2 does not stay connected.