Sync Clock and Alarm using Bluetooth only - no need for Internet

[Bluetooth-Dave]

I notice that you need to have an internet connection and bluetooth in order to be able to change the time or enable or disable an alarm.

Very annoying especially if you travel a lot and want to change the time in an airplane (where Internet is not available or costs and arm and a leg!). I need this function as I normally adjust the time in the plane to match my destination time in order to eat, sleep and drink in the destination time zone and reduce jetlag as much as possible. (I know I could make the time change before I get in the plane...but most of the time I forget 😞

Simple change with big effect 😉

Please include in the next update.

Thanks

Moderator Edit: Added labels.

[afneill]

Why do I need to have a network connection on my phone to change the time on my Surge?

I work in remote areas where we don't always have phone or Wi-Fi coverage and I have just discovered that without either I can't change the time on my watch or even change the time of the alarms. Surely this is a simple fix.

It would seem the Surge want sync to my phone without network coverage either. All seems a little naive of the developers to think that we all live and work in urban areas; maybe they should follow their own advice and get out more.  

[cupholder]

When travelling it can often be some time before I get to sync my surge, therefore it's time can be wrong for quite a while.

Thinking about this more, right now I'm travelling on business, so I have my laptop with me and can then adjust the surge's time when I next get online, but in the future when I go on holiday I won't be taking my laptop with me therefore I won't be able to adjust my surge's time at all.

Or maybe build a feature into the web setting whereby you can make the surge adjust the time in the future? I don't know it this is possible but considering the surge is what you call a supper watch I do think you need to make it easier for people to make sure it states the correct time - which of course is the most basic feature of a watch!

[Adi_Pan]

Hi, 

Really needed feature for me.. Please respect our need and help us to enjoy the required minimal service level needed.

Thanks

Adi

[WShimet]

I just took two cruises to and from Europe.  I need to be able to change my Charge HR without    WIFI and also lets have the option of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) adjustments.  It would be simple to program.  Eastern Time Zone is GMT -5.  As we were traveling east I needed to adjust to GMT -4 hten GMT -3 etc.  This is an easy way to adjust the Fitbit clock as we need to.  Be able to do this via the Fitbit app which we have on our mobile devices.

[Alexz707]

Hi!

I just wanted to set my silent alarm for the next day when my internet connection wasn't available (on my phone) so the app tried to sync but failed. The alarm wasn't set so it would be great if I could set the alarm also if there is no connection to the fitbit api 😉

Thanks

[Knick]

being able to sync only when internet is available severely limits the usefullness of this device for me. Please add this feature.

[Bluetooth-Dave]

Need to be able to atleast sync the clock over bluetooth only over the mobile app, with no need for an internet connection.

Or somehow set the time on the watch itself.

Not only for the SURGE, but also for the CHARGE HR

[TheNinjaKiwi]

I love my Fitbit and maybe one thing to make it even better might be the ability to make a temporary one-time alarm that you can set offline. I love the silent alarm, but I am not able to get to my iPad all the time when I need an alarm. If you can find a way to get this, it would be so cool!

[SunsetRunner]

This is a great idea @Bluetooth-Dave! This will help users as you to set alarms and change the time in areas where internetisn't easily accessible. Thanks for sharing your idea. Please, feel free to keep sharing your thoughts in the Fitbit Community.

[Briant566]

 it should be simple as both Phone and Fitbit are connected via bluetooth

[Pilot123]

Support Staff,

I'm an airline pilot and would love to be able to use the silent alarm while in flight. Why can't I set my silent alarm while phone is not connected to internet?

Please allow to set silent alarm while phone is in airplane mode or no internet connection.

Thanks

[SunsetRunner]

This really should be a no-brainer.

The need for an internet connection for syncing to phone app is so wrong, especially for something as basic as setting the alarm.

[jfbird1986]

This is an extremely inconvenient issue.  I am in the Navy and spend most of my time out to sea where there is no WIFI.  Not being able to set the time when timezones change and not being able to use the alarm pretty much makes the clock feature on the device useless, meaning I will have to wear this, and another watch... which isn't allowed in uniform.  I honestly regret my purchase because of this.

[Kingdelos]

You really should allow alarms to be set and disabled independent of the Internet. Why not be able to set and disable alarms by mobile device connected by Bluetooth? I was hiking the Grand Canyon this weekend and could not do something as simple as setting an alarm to wake up because there is no internet service! Ugh.

[greaseswabber]

The ability to synch with Bluetooth only is my single biggest feature request. I have an Alta. I did not realize it has this limitation. I will not buy another Fitbit product until this is corrected.

[PerfectBlue]

This would be a big thing for me as well.

I've just come back from a long trip and I changed time zones 4 times. I had a phone and a tablet with Bluetooth, but no internet connection (I was outside of the EU, so nooooo intenatinoal data roaming). I wanted to change the timezone on my Fitbit Charge HR, and I wanted to set\change the alarm to wake me up at the correct time, but I coudn't do either because of the lack of an internet connection.

It should be simply to build some kind of offline mechanism into the official Fitbit app, or the Windows Desktop software that allows us to change settings.

[Eel1957]

Why can't I set the time zone on my Fitbit Blaze when there is no internet connection available?  I am a frequent cruiser and I recently did a long cruise with many time zone changes.  Since I do not generally have internet available while I am cruising I was unable to change the time on my Fitbit Blaze for many days.  Basically the device became useless because it did not show the correct time.  A timepiece that can't be set to the right time is not a well designed device. You can't assume the internet is always available.

[SunsetRunner]

---

@Eel1957 wrote:

  A timepiece that can't be set to the right time is not a well designed device. You can't assume the internet is always available.

---

you can assume a  device needing an internet connection needs to be connected, as it is well known and advertized.

[Eel1957]

Sorry, but I have never seen Fitbit advertise their devices as requiring an internet connection.  The Blaze requires a smartphone.  I can change the time on my smartphone without an internet connection.  Why can't the Blaze pick up the change from the smartphone?   

[JonPops]

The Fitbit charge HR I have is unable to set a silent alarm through the mobile app without an Internet connection. This is annoying when on foreign travel or camping. This can easily be done through Bluetooth without an Internet connection and should work independently of the Internet.

[AReasonableMan]

I was just on a cruise, without internet, and was amazed that the Blaze didn't allow me to set the time, either directly on the device, or via the mobile app (via Bluetooth).  I had to go around with the wrong time on my "watch" for days.

This is an embarrasingly awful design flaw, and will prevent me from recommending the device until it's fixed.

[jfbird1986]

I don't know about all of their products, but I bought a Garmin Vivosmart and you can manually change the time on the device and it is a great product. Still cannot sync without Internet to change the alarm which is annoying, but at least the device I wear around my wrist that tells the time is actually capable of displaying the correct time. My Fitbit has stayed in a drawer since then.

[greaseswabber]

I posted earlier in this thread. I have since returned my Flex and
purchased a withings Activite pop. Time and alarm can both be changed from
the phone app, with no internet connection required. I did it on several
airplane trips with no problem.

[SunsetRunner]

I strongly agree on this feature request.

I often have no internet connection on my phone at all and I'm not even able to set a fitbit alarm via bluetooth only!! There is no reason not to implement this feature very soon. For me it would be okay if I could sync my stats only with an active internet connection, but at least setting an alarm, changing reminders to move, or different clock faces etc. should be possible anytime as these features only require a communication between the wristband and the cell phone but not the fitbit servers.

[SunsetRunner]

I strongly agree on this feature request.

I often have no internet connection on my phone at all and I'm not even able to set a fitbit alarm via bluetooth only!! There is no reason not to implement this feature very soon. For me it would be okay if I could sync my stats only with an active internet connection, but at least setting an alarm, changing reminders to move, or different clock faces etc. should be possible anytime as these features only require a communication between the wristband and the cell phone but not the fitbit servers.

[JRandorff]

Being in the military, I often end up in places with no cellular service for months at a time. I also need to set alarms to wake up on time. Unfortunately, without a data connection on my phone, I cannot set, adjust, or turn on/off alarms on my Fitbit Blaze. (even though the device has the option to activate and deactivate existing alarms on the device, they don't work unless I activate them on my mobile device)

This seems like something that would be better controlled locally (via Bluetooth alone, or even directly on the device). Please consider this when you release another firmware update. Thanks!