Difficulties to turn off alarms on Sense 2

[txnomads]

My alarm vibrates and the screen flashes on and off very quickly- it is VERY difficult to actually 'catch' the screen on to slide it to off (or snooze). Anyone else experience this? It didn't behave this way when I originally purchased it.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[SplatMatt]

This issue has been affecting me as wel; not just alarms but timers too. I have informed the moderator and filed a report discussing the issue. In the meantime, I discovered a temporary work-around: disable gesture wake-up by selecting button only mode for display wake.

From the clock screen swipe from the top down to bring up the controls,

then tap the middle bottom software button (of a watch icon) so the result says button only (as opposed to "Button & motion")

[txnomads]

Thanks,  I will try ty l that for now.  I have had this issue for about a month now.  Took me several weeks to realize it was the fitbit,  before that,  I thought I was just sleeping really heavy when the alarm went off, that I was just too out of it to figure out how to turn off.  Lol

[Guy_]

Hi @txnomads @SplatMatt  - it is not normal for the display to flash.

Sync the watch with the Fitbit App then do a Shutdown from the watch Settings menu. Wait at least 10 seconds before placing on the charger to restart it and charge it.

[txnomads]

The restart didn't work unfortunately 😕 

[Guy_]

@txnomads- odd, does the display look like this when the alarm triggers? Is that what flashes?

Also swipe the watch face down and disable all icons and see if it makes a difference.

[SplatMatt]

@Guy_  Restarts and factory resets do not resolve.

[Guy_]

@SplatMatt- can you confirm which firmware version and Brightness level the watch has please. Mine doesn't flash with the latest firmware and normal Brightness during the day.

You can try a factory reset but that's a lot of bother - I will test mine again at night and let you know the result.

You may find issues changing Brightness - it seems to have a mind of it's own.

[SplatMatt]

@Guy_ 

Current firmware (1.184.52)

Changing brightness (normally at dim) does not improve nor correct the issue.

If I turn off gesture wake the issue goes away.

[Guy_]

@SplatMatt - tried all possibilities, with wrist wake and without, with smart wake and without, can't get it to flash on a Versa 4 which should be the same as a Sense 2.

[SplatMatt]

@Guy_ as a programmer - firmware is different as the hardware while similar is different.  Unrelated hardware and code can result in errant issues. I know this all too well as a programmer. 

As mentioned previously I factory reset does not resolve.  I've reported the issue internally to CC and filled out an issue form directly with google.  

Thanks for sharing some perspective, trying to adjust the brightness was a good idea.

[Guy_]

@SplatMatt  - thanks for follow up and testing.

[SplatMatt · Accepted solution]

@txnomads @Guy_ 

So when the vibration is set to "strong" (light is default) the display act erratically (flashes) making it difficult to use the software screen buttons.  If the vibration is set to the default setting of "light" this issue seems to go away (even with gesture wake-up enabled). 

I will send an update to the report but would like to hear back from @txnomads if returning their vibration to setting to "light" resolves the issue (sort of).

-Matt

[Guy_]

@SplatMatt  - thanks for the workaround, on the Versa 4 which shares the same platform there is no flashing when the alarm reaches the end, with vibration set to strong or light.

[SplatMatt]

@Guy_ 

To clarify, software is different as hardware (while similar) is different. So, what may affect Sense 2 may not affect Versa 4 even if their platforms are very similar. 

The fact is the issue exists and is repeatable. Changing two separate software controls (individually) consistently seems to stop the issue (as a workaround)  This reinforces how small variations in hardware (added hardware features) can be affected even though platform is similar.

[JackieK1990]

This did not work for me. 

[SplatMatt]

Which did you try:

Turn vibrations from strong to light

or

Disable gesture screen wake up (wrist movement instead of button only)?

[JackieK1990]

I tried both. Changing from waking screen using button only didn’t help at all. Changing to light vibration also didn’t help. I did find that the flashing seems to slow down when the vibration is set to light and when I changed the brightness from “dim” to “regular”. Now it flashes every 2 seconds or so, enough for me to snooze or turn the alarm off. Still pretty frustrating that these settings can’t be used properly though. Any idea how long it usually takes Fitbit to fix these glitches? I just got this Sense 2 on Tuesday and I’m not thrilled that it’s so buggy. Thanks for the help. 

[SplatMatt]

I am forwarding your response to a Google team member, but I cannot relay how long it will take to be addressed/resolved.

Thank-you for the thoroughness of your reply. 

[JackieK1990]

Thanks so much!