Charge 6 displays crossed-out phone symbol

[Tierry242]

Since an update of my Charge6 firmware, a symbol representing a crossed-out phone hides the heart rate on the watch. I read it means connexion with the phone is lost. It happens when the app is closed (iOS on iPhone), when the phone is on plane mode, or off, or too far. This update has not been an improvement to me.

It’s a nuisance because it hides the heart rate after a couple of seconds when checking the watch, and I use this feature multiple times a day even when no exercising. Most of the time it’s a useless information. Place the symbol elsewhere, or show it only when connexion is needed (exercice with GPS…), or have it optional.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[wanna.sites]

I’m having the same issue, and when I go into my settings it shows I am, in fact, connected. 

[LovetoRun]

I'm having the same issue, but I'm unable to connect to my phone at all. After contacting Fitbit they had me clear user data and reinstall the app. It worked for a day and now it's doing the same thing. I was told my case was "escalated to the proper team", but haven't got a response yet. I'm frustrated because my Fitbit is basically useless and I've only had it for 3 months.

[Gabkicks]

samne for me. i reset my fitbit, and the watch and phone eventually stop recognizing eachother completely. I have been having this issue ever since the update

[EstuardoFitbit]

Hello everyone, welcome to the Fitbit Community, especially to those who are new!

Please note that this issue has already been reported, and our specialist team is actively looking for a solution. Meanwhile, could you please confirm a few things for me?

First, could you share the iOS or Android version your phone or tablet is running? Also, I need to know if, besides this icon, you are experiencing syncing issues, or if everything else is working properly and the icon is still present?

Please reply to me and share this information; it would help us a lot.

[NavyDavy]

I am also having the same issue since the last update.  Also; the watch will not display by pressing on the button on the side.  Things were working fine until the last update.

[HoodieLife]

I'm having the same problem. My fitbit's only connected to my phone (Android 13) via Bluetooth.

It had that symbol and wouldn't sync this morning. I tried restarting both devices a couple times before following a suggestion on a different community thread to "forget" the fitbit from my BT devices.

Now the phone can't reconnect the BT connection at all, and that's if the fitbit shows on the list in the first place. 

[strawtrilby]

I fully agree - I have started experiencing this since the firmware update and it's a hindrance.

@EstuardoFitbit for me it happens when Bluetooth is turned off on my phone, so it is correct to say that the watch is disconnected, but pointless to display this especially when it hides useful information ! Using iOS 18.3.2 

[strawtrilby]

The workaround of turning off the status tray from display settings, which is highlighted in the other thread, seems to be working so far! 

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-6/Charge-6-showing-a-phone-disconnected-icon/td-p/5735610

[EstuardoFitbit]

Hello @HoodieLife @NavyDavy, thanks a lot for taking the time to share your findings and welcome to the Community! 

Since this issue has already been reported, it's just a matter of time until a solution is available. In the meantime, let me share some other troubleshooting steps for syncing issues:

1. Uninstall the Fitbit app on any other phones or tablets nearby.
2. Try to manually sync your Fitbit device.
3. Check your phone’s Bluetooth and internet access.

If all of these things are working properly, let's move on to the next step listed here.

[Acorn143]

I have tried all of the steps listed in the link and it still displays the icon and has issues connecting to my phone.  I bought a whole new device thinking my other one that I’ve only had for 4 months crapped out.  Do you guys have an ETA on a fix? What use is a fitness device if it can’t connect to a phone? 

[RiekoC]

Hello @Acorn143 

By any chance, do you have the Fitbit app Location permission set to "Only while using the app"?

A user on this thread on the same topic (<-- click link) discovered that the icon went away when he changed the Location permission for the Fitbit app to "Always".

Please let us know if you tried this and if it fixed the problem you're experiencing.

[Acorn143]

It is set to always. 

[RiekoC]

Hello @Acorn143 

Thanks for confirming that you have the Location permission set to Always.

In the thread that I linked, there's a workaround to turn off status bar in the Display settings. You can try using this workaround until a fix is rolled out.

[Rich_Laue]

@Tierry242 yes it if you close the Fitbit app, the Fitbit app is not running and your watch will not be able to communicate with the Fitbit app. 

The app needs to be running in the background. The background starts with the phone 

[VeMO]

Hello again. I've just fixed my problem thanks to the patience of Fitbit Support in X. This might help to all of you in case your "phone can't reconnect the BT connection at all":  To resolve this, try forgetting your Charge 6 device from your phone's Bluetooth list by going to your phone's settings. If that doesn't work, try force quitting the app on your phone, reboot your phone, and try to set up again your device.

"Forgetting" was the key to resolve my problem, and after that the BT connection found again my Charge 6 device and was able to connect again... and the phone disconnected icon disappeared from my Charge 6 screen. Hope it helps to all of you too!! 😊

[Tierry242]

@Rich_Laue , even when app is set at « running in background », the sign appears. The only time it doesn’t show is when the app is running. 
beside, I don’t need my watch to be connected 24/7 to my phone, and I certainly don’t want to be forced to have the app running constantly. I was perfectly fine before the update which brought the sign. 
the only way I found to get rid of it is going to the display setting of the watch, and disable the status tray. I lost the low battery sign, but it’s less bothering. 

[LovetoRun]

I've tried everything, including "Forgetting" the app, but nothing has worked. Fitbit first said to exchange my device, and now they're saying to patiently wait for the update to roll out. It's been 3 weeks so I'm hoping  it happens soon!

[EstuardoFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hey everyone,

Thanks a lot for all the updates you have shared with us so far; it is really appreciated!

Let me confirm that we are actively looking for a solution to this issue and looking forward to getting you all back on track. Since we are still looking into this issue, and as some of you have already found, there is a small workaround. Please do the following:

• Open the Settings app on your Fitbit device
• Look for the Display settings
• Go all the way to the last option, which should be "Status Indicators", and turn it off.

By doing this, your device might stop popping up this icon. I hope this is helpful for you while we work on getting an actual solution!

[plains]

iOS 18.3.2. Everything appears to be working well.

Moderator Edit: Formatting