App Is Back To A Buggy Synch and What I Do To Get Synch To Work

[BenBTizMe]

I used to have an issue with my Sense and the SpO2 synching when using the previous version of the Fitbit app. I was thrilled when, without changing anything, the SpO2 started to synch consistently using the app's previous version. No more having to shut down the Sense, go into my cell phone, clear the cache in the Fitbit app, restart the phone and then restart the Sense.

I'm not one of those users who doesn't like the look and feel of the newly updated app.  What I don't like is that I'm back to having to do the same old sequence to get the synch to work and this time its not just the SpO2, it's all my stats.  Seems like we're going backwards in terms of dependability.

Each day I wait, like I did with the previous version of the app, until my SpO2 shows up on my Sense and then I wait an hour more before attempting a synch on my Samsung S23+.  Lately it's been a fail and I'm back to doing the following to get everything from steps to heart rate to synch:

- Shut Down The Sense, go into my Samsung S23+ app settings to find the Fitbit app and clear the "cache" found in the Storage setting, do a restart on the S23+.  Wait for the S23+ to finish its housekeeping then restart the Sense. Then I do a synch.  Sometimes I have to close down the app and do another synch because I got all the stats except for one.

Just to be clear....like the app's previous version I didn't/haven't changed a thing and things just start to work differently and whether that is good or bad is decided by the Sense/App when they do their thing.

Hope this helps.....

[Jdsenter]

Sorry to hear about your syncing issues, I have read a lot of people with non Google devices have syncing issues. Most have been OnePlus or Nord, but seems you have it with Samsung. I have a Google Pixel device so never had an issue except when I was on a beta version of the OS , Bluetooth was very spotty. So what build of OS are you on Beta or Stable? Android version, play store security version? I may not be able to fix your issue but we might be able to spot trends. another question are you signed into another device?

For instance I have an Apple device as well as my Google device, both want to sync my Sense, so I had to disable my Apple's Bluetooth settings in the Fitbit app, as the iPhone wanted to steal the Sense from my Android device. Is there another device that is signed into your Fitbit account? 

[BenBTizMe]

Good Morning Jdsenter!

My Samsung S23+ is on the newest version/update that was installed on Oct. 13.  Build S916U1UES1AWIF, One UI version 5.1, Android version T(Android 13).  I am not signed into another device .... ever. Sense version 44.128.6.17, App version 4.03.fitbit-mobile- (I had the entire version entered but this forum required me to remove it saying its not permitted in this community) updated on 10/24.

For me its deja vu all over again since I had the same issue with the previous Fitbit version and SpO2. SpO2 stopped synching consistently and I'd have to execute the sequence described above occasionally. It would then work for a few days. I could see the SpO2 value on the watch but it wouldn't synch. I seem to be back to having to deal with inconsistent synching by executing the old sequence except this time its not synching any of the values shown on the Sense until I do.

This morning after waiting for the SpO2 to show on the phone and then waiting an additional hour everything synched. It's working similar to the way it was with SpO2.  Run the sequence above and it synchs fine again but after a few days it fails again.

[Scott337]

Try checking out these forum threads related to sync issues. 

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Sense/Sense-won-t-stay-connected-to-my-phone-s-Bluetooth/m-p/5495510...

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Sense/Sense-won-t-pair-anymore/m-p/5484206#M69100

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Sense/My-sense-won-t-sync/m-p/5496116#M69487

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Sense/Sense-not-syncing/m-p/5496344#M69497

[BenBTizMe]

Thanks Scott337 - Checked and read the links provided. Bluetooth isn't my issue and some of the other posts are just complaints or someone looking for a solution.

[Jdsenter]

@BenBTizMe , next question, is it just Spo2, or other stats? Does the watch not register Spo2, or just doesn't sync just that stat? 

So assuming your watch is on the wrist, it registers Spo2, but doesn't sync just that stat then it is software, now is it on the watch or the phone?

If it was me, I would test but that could be expensive, do you have another Sense or another Phone? If so you need to troubleshoot and start weeding out what does work or what doesn't work. You say it works if you remove this or that then resync, then there is something that is preventing the stat from updating in the database, might be permissions on the device (phone or watch), as I don't work for Fitbit or Samsung it might be hard, but if you could capture the packets between the devices. One with it syncing and one with it not syncing you could compare. In the PC world there are many packet capture tools, not sure in the mobile or Bluetooth stack. Debugging is the only way to solve this one. 

[BenBTizMe]

@Jdsenter - with the previous version of the App it was just SpO2 and there was plenty of users complaining about it.  With the new version of the App its ALL synch values, including steps through SpO2 that don't synch. Just to be clear the Sense has/had the values showing but they wouldn't synch to the App. I'm in IT and also don't work for Fitbit or Samsung so I'm not going to spend a bunch of time on this. Especially since I can run the sequence I documented above and get it to work again ... till it doesn't.  My gut tells me its the App.  I already verified it wasn't a Bluetooth connection issue but that's the extent of the debugging I plan on doing.

There's plenty of complaints about this in the Play Store reviews and elsewhere for the updated App. My hope is that, like last time with SpO2, there were so many specific complaints that "something" was fixed and it "just started working consistently" again. 

It should be noted that it wasn't a one and done fix for the SpO2 with the prior version of the App.  We were told it was fixed and it seemed that it was for a week or so and then it failed again.  Eventually the SpO2 synch was fixed.

[Jdsenter]

@BenBTizMe , yeah without packet traced it will be hard to figure out, you at least have a method to force a sync. Glad you have a solution, for now. 

[BenBTizMe]

As is customary..... after performing the steps I documented above to get synch to work for "all" my stats....synch worked flawlessly for over two weeks before some of my stats, including SpO2, stopped synching.  I performed the steps I documented and once again, synch worked. This never gets old.....not.

Anyway....here's the steps I perform to get it working again ... until it doesn't.

- Shut Down The Sense, go into my Samsung S23+ app settings to find the Fitbit app and clear the "cache" found in the Storage setting, do a restart on the S23+.  Wait for the S23+ to finish its housekeeping then restart the Sense. Then I do a synch.  Sometimes I have to close down the app and do another synch because I got all the stats except for one.