Versa connected GPS simply does not work. Blaze's connected GPS works fine. Requesting a refund!

[litetaker]

My carefully crafted post on a different thread got marked as spam and removed! What nonsense! So please let me explain my findings again.

I did a more thorough test of the GPS issues on the Versa that will help prove to anyone that this is infact the FAULT OF THE VERSA and not the phone!

I compared the Fitbit Versa with my old trusty Fitbit Blaze on the same route to see if there is a difference. 

First, I took the Blaze on a small elliptical route near my home. It took merely 5-10 seconds for it to connect to my phone and get a lock on the GPS. Then throughout the 10 minute activity it did not lose connection with my phone, which happens to be a Google Pixel 2 running Android 8.1.0. Here is a screenshot for verification.

Clearly, it was a 0.90 km walk for about 10 minutes.

Next I tried the Versa. I tried for a solid 10-15 minutes to get the GPS to work. Nope. Absolutely no use! You can see the Versa just stuck on "connecting..."  as seen in the picture below. Note that the Blaze worked flawlessly within 10 seconds, and WITH THE SAME PHONE!!!

The phone also showed me that connected GPS was infact indeed running, in my notifications. Anyway, here is the proof of the failure! 

As you can see there is no GPS data and so no map!

In Versa's defense, earlier in the day, it did manage to get some GPS data. I walked for about 2.8 km, but instead of logging the GPS data for the whole walk, it only logged it for the first 1.3 km or so! And it took a lot of time to even get the GPS data connection to begin with! But halfway in the walk it lost the connection and never recovered. Take a look!

See! At around the 1.27 km mark it promptly loses GPS connection. Also it seems to think I can walk through solid buildings, based on the diagonal line across some blocks. Clearly there were more GPS tracking issues.

So the summary is:

1. This is NOT the fault of the phone or poor GPS signal.
2. The Blaze worked perfectly fine with the same exact phone at the same time on the same route!
3. The Versa is a half baked product not worthy of the price tag.
4. STOP GIVING US USELESS CANNED RESPONSES AND DO YOUR JOB AND ACTUALLY FIX THIS ISSUE!
5. GIVE ME A REFUND!

I regret not testing my Versa more thoroughly when I first bought it. But I don't do GPS runs/activities too often and the few times I did try it, it miraculously worked ok. But that was likely because it was not a very long activity, and so I probably did not observe issues. But given that It is only about 9-10 days after the 30 day mark of receiving this product and given that this is a HUGE issue and flaw with this I really want a refund and I want to go back to using my fully functional, working as advertised Fitbit Blaze.

[A7557]

Hello, I was having this problem too as it's the first time I tried it on my new (on 5/28/2018) Versa SE. Neither the Run nor the Bike Exercise could connect. It got stuck on "connecting..." I tried shutting down the Versa then turning it on again but that didn't help, so I just rode my bike home and let it record elapsed time.

After reading your post and reading Fitbit Help on this topic, which does say to reboot your mobile device in the Troubleshooting section, I decided to try turning off my phone and then on again, then making sure the Location Services (I have an iPhone 7) is "Always" on (which is what is was before but didn't work). This time it did work! I tested this several times and it always connected in about 8 seconds.

Maybe you can try it and hopefully it'll work for you. (The software version on my Versa SE is 32.32.10.15.)

[litetaker]

Thanks for the reply. I tried rebooting (i.e. turning off and turning back on again) my phone to see if that helps but unfortunately it didn't help much. It did improve things a little once but only for a few minutes. After that I lost GPS again. So once again it recorded GPS for a few minutes in an hour long hike.

I don't want to have to constantly troubleshoot this issue every day and hope that it works. I want to use a device that just works reliably and without much effort. That's why I've decided to return the Versa and go back to the Blaze which I know works and has worked in the past perfectly.

[SunsetRunner]

Same problem here - can't connect to my iPhone's GPS reliably - although mysteriously sometimes it does but never for long.

Has anyone called Fitbit on the phone to see what the support folks are saying about this?

Does anyone here have a Versa that stays connected to an iPhone GPS reliably during an exercise?

[Flora.mac]

Really fed up, I bought the new Versa specifically for the gps cycle tracking for my hubby. He has just been out on a 50 mile ride and no route data, just how long(time wise) the cycle was. Hoping to find a solution on this forum, sounds like a Fitbit issue rather than phone . 

[A7557]

Okay. Sorry to hear rebooting (and reconnecting the Fitbit app + Always on on Location Services) didn't fix the issue. Sounds like something else is going on. I can understand your frustration. I was considering returning my Versa had it not been for the phone reboot making it work again.

[A7557]

I was about to write a message to Fitbit about this issue, but rebooting my phone and reconnecting the Fitbit app and making sure Location Services on the Fitbit app is set to be Always on made it connect. I've had my Versa SE for only 3 days, so I haven't had much time yet to experience other issues. I rode my bike to work this morning and it stayed connected (to iPhone 7) for the entire duration, but it was only for 31 minutes and 3 seconds. I'll have to see if connected GPS will be reliable as I use it more.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @litetaker, if yu bought directly from Fitbit you have a 45 day return window.  However, you cannot get in touch with them via this forum.  Although moderators do keep an eye on things, this is mainly a peer to peer help forum.  For refund requests you will need to get in touch directoly with Fitbit Customer Support on contact.fitbit.com

[MarioDings]

Nice report. I’ve tested the gps assistance while using Wahoo. On Wahoo the tracking is fine. On Fitbit is was not. I think it might be a bad Bluetooth connection. 

I also think the gps data is sent to the watch, while it should be sent to the app on the phone. So it doesn’t work for me.