Sense 2 starts exercise without waiting for GPS

[SpiritMommaLeah]

I go on a daily night walk with my husband. And with my Fitbit Sense it showed the GPS of where we were walking. I would hit walk and l would get a play button to set up GPS. With Sense 2 it just starts the walk. I figured it just skipped over the having to manually the GPS set feature but then while going through my workouts today I realized that it wasn't logging in any location. Does anyone know why? 

Could it be they're waiting till Google maps comes on? I like that feature and I'm a little upset it disappeared. The newer features are great but I don't want to loose all of this. I KNOW they already have the pixel watch coming out with integrated fitbit. I don't personally think they're going to try to get everyone to switch from their fitbits over to that. 

Anyways. Anyone know how to fix this? Or know why its happening? Does anyone else HAVE this happening? 

Thanks. 

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity.

[t.parker]

@sarah.jo I would contact customer support. I have no issues with the GPS connection on my Sense 2. There are occasionally issues with GPS quality although not more than I have experienced with other similar devices. Only the first day it took quite a long time to connect and now it connects within a few seconds (faster than the original Sense). The arrow you mentioned has no meaning, it's just an icon and it doesn't indicate where satellites are or anything else. If your watch can't connect but other devices you have (like mobile phone, other watches etc.) can acquire connection then there is a chance your unit is faulty. Now, if you are in the return window better to return the watch than replace it. Return and buy a new one yourself. Otherwise, the replacement may come as one of the refurbished units (from other returns) and the warranty counts from the day you purchased your Sense 2. The new purchase will provide you with a device and a new warranty. 

[sarah.jo]

Thanks, unfortunately Fitbit didn’t give me an option they just sent me a fpre-paid return label and the watch is only a week old so warranty timing not an issue really and unless others have already been returning their new Sense 2’s unlikely a refurbished one and I will cross that bridge when or if I receive one as under distance selling legislation in the UK I am entitled to a new one or refund if the unit is inherently faulty which since it never worked correctly out of the box it obviously is. 
Again many thanks 🙏 for your advise. 

[t.parker]

"(...)unless others have already been returning their new Sense 2’s(...)" - looking at the forum or Amazon reviews, this is happening quite a lot.

[sarah.jo]

We’ll see what they do, if needs be I can request a refund under distance selling regulations as it is inherently faulty. 

[BenSF]

@sarah.jo I also returned my Sense 2 and the customer support said that normally, I should receive a full refund. Today it should reach the Fitbit facility. I will keep you posted on the refund status.

[sarah.jo]

Many thanks 🙏 mine is in the post to Birmingham so will be advantageous to know how others are being treated. 

[sarah.jo]

On the watch - If you swipe from left you’ll get exercise, select all then your type of exercise,walk, run, bike etc, touch it then swipe up until you see GPS and select ON. 
hope this helps. 

[Statistician]

Yes I have same problem with sense 2. I start again and don't use shortcut but all exercises and then choose the exercise. The play button will then pop up like sense 1. Make sure it says connected before starting. It will record then. To me the numbers seem off compared with sense 1. On sense 1 a mile ride is .75 on sense 2 and the max speed is way off. I can't bike that fast. Anyway hope that helps

[GraceGFitbit]

Hey everyone!

Thanks for posting your inquiry here and for the time you've taken for troubleshooting this.

Here are some best practices to connect to GPS :

• Charge your device to at least 80%, as built-in GPS can cause the battery to drain more quickly.
• Go outside; then connect to GPS and start your exercise. To make sure the GPS connection is stable, you can wait up to 30 seconds after you see "Connected" on your device's screen to tap the play icon   and begin moving.
• Sync your device regularly with the Fitbit app (at least once every 24 hours) to reduce the time it takes for the built-in GPS sensors to connect to GPS satellites. Make sure the location permission for the Fitbit app on your phone is always allowed. For instructions, see the Apple help article or the Google (Android) help article.
• Check that GPS is turned on for the exercise. Note that only exercises where you cover physical distance use GPS. For more information, see How do I turn on GPS for an exercise on my Fitbit device?

If your device can’t connect to GPS satellites, or if gaps appear in the map of your route, try these tips:

• Follow the recommendations for wearing your device for exercise. For more information, see How do I wear my Fitbit device?
• Try loosening the band 1 notch.
• Make sure your device doesn't touch your wrist bone.
• Wait until GPS is connected to start the exercise.
• Note that if you’re using GPS for the first time in an area, connecting to GPS satellites might take several minutes. Heavily wooded areas and tall buildings can increase the time it takes to connect to GPS satellites.
• If GPS didn’t connect the first time, wait 5 minutes before you start the exercise again.
• To reduce the time it takes for your device to connect to GPS satellites, hold your arm parallel to your body near your head and at least 2 inches away from you when you connect to GPS and start an exercise.

Hope this helps! I'll be around if you need anything else. 

[sarah.jo]

Thanks Grace, I tried all these in different locations, even different towns!

Support after multiple attempts advised me to return the device to Fitbit which I did yesterday. 
I ordered a Charge 5 from Amazon to use as I’ve given my Versa 3 away already. 
Today once connected to my iPhone I went outside to the usual place I always successfully initiated the GPS on my Versa 3 I initiated the Charge 5 in less than a minute the first attempt. I think the Sense 2 GPS is definitely faulty. 
Thanks 🙏 for the additional advice Grace. 

[JohnC]

An easy fix is to select hike instead of walk.   It has the gps set to on.  

[sarah.jo]

Not if the GOS doesn’t connect to the satellite irrespective of what I tried, easiest setting tomorrow initiate GPS is Run but my Sense 2 after numerous attempts in different places failed to connect. 

[Hsieh]

Thanks and I finally got correct GPS routing this morning when biking. 

Yesterday the GPS routing shows I ran between buildings... apparently wrong. 

I hope it's at least some good start with Sense 2. 

Still looking forward to Google Assistant - at least for the users in countries who don't/can't use Amazon Alexa. 

[BenSF]

@sarah.jo As I promised, I returned with an update. Today I received an email that a refund was initiated for my returned Fitbit and it is the full amount that I payed. In my case the shipping was free, because at the time I placed the they had free shipping for orders of $50 or more. So I only payed for the watch and will get all the money back. 

[sarah.jo]

Glad you finally have success, thank you 🙏 for your cheerful update 😊

[sarah.jo]

So pleased for you, I’m hoping a similar outcome once my own is received back, it’s in the Birmingham Mail Centre as of this morning. 
in the interim I purchased a Fitbit Charge 5?to keep my training records up to date, it connected first time to the satellite. 

Many thanks 🙏 for your good news! 

[sarah.jo]

I was only offered a replacement product and they could not offer me the same colour option as I bought, they said no soft gold Sense 2’s available??? A replacement in another colour is not an option for me as I would not have bought the Sense 2 at all in either of the other colours. 
I’ve requested a refund as I can purchase my only colour option locally today. 
I’ll keep everyone appraised of any updates. 

[sarah.jo]

I did receive a full refund, thank you Fitbit, but instead of buying another Sense 2 I bought a Versa 4, previous Fitbit was a Sense 3. 
I went for a walk after setting it up and allowing the automatic update, my new Versa 4 logged onto the satellite in seconds where the Sense 2 had failed one day before and I went training from home today and it logged on in seconds where I’d tried everything Customer Services had suggested with the Sense 2. 
One difference I noted between the two models is that each time I rebooted the Sense 2 a large  :cross_mark: appeared on the screen and it did a quick restart. The Versa didn’t display the :cross_mark:, I hope this helps others. 
Sarah 😊

[sarah.jo]

Sorry previous model was a Versa 3 and the screen displayed a big Red X, posting system changed my red X emoji in previous post! 

[burning76]

Great temporary solution...thanks