GPS signal dropping on Sense

[dk1909]

The Sense has dropped GPS on a number of runs. No GPS Signal message is displayed on screen. It seems to recover but no further details are recorded on the run map. Distance seems to be correct though 

Moderator edit: format

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, it's good to see you around the Community forums @dk1909. I'll be glad to help you with this, sorry for the late response. 

Thank you for all the details that you've provided regarding the problem you've been experiencing with the GPS disconnecting constantly during your workout. 

I've sent your information to the Customer Support team for further assistance with this, but was informed that you already have a case created or that you already got in touch with them about this. 

Have a noce day, let me know if you have further questions. 

[SunsetRunner]

Hello community,

I have the same problem. GPS dropped on the last two runs around 7th-8th kilometer. it looks like the rest on the distance was estimated by the number of steps. Happened once in the town and once in a park "under clear sky". A garmin watch running in parallel had no problems whatsoever. Any idea if there is a SW update planned to fix the problem?

BR

Alina

[dk1909]

I did the following:

* Start an activity
* Wait until watch is GPS connected
* Leave watch in same position for 30 minutes
* Cancel activity

I did the above and haven't had an issue since.

I was advised to do this before for another GPS watch, I think the watch
loads position information from the GPS satellites.

[SunsetRunner]

Hi dk1909,

sounds interesting, I'll try it out. thanks!🙂

[DavideFitbit]

Hello @SunsetRunner, thank you for sharing this information about the trouble you've been having with the GPS. Sorry for the late response. 

If the GPS is getting disconnected during your running activity, the Sense may track different information for the the distance. Before considering other options, make sure to follow the steps suggested in this article. 

All devices with GPS sensors require a direct path to GPS satellites to calculate location. A weak GPS signal might affect the accuracy of your route and other activity data. Your device uses your step count to calculate distance until it finds a signal, so the total distance calculated for a workout may be slightly less accurate when GPS isn't available for the entire time. 

If you continue to see the same behavior and your GPS is not getting disconnected, make sure to try following these steps to complete a restart and check if you're still seeing the same behavior. 

In addition, please let me know if you were able to resolve with the steps @dk1909 mentioned earlier. 

Keep me posted on the outcome.

[SunsetRunner]

My sense wont connect to gps at all, its the same indoors and out doors

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, thank you for your reply @SunsetRunner.  

Thank you for confirming that your GPS is not working indoors and outdoors and that you've tried the suggested troubleshooting steps. 

I've gone ahead and sent your information to the Customer Support team for further assistance, so you should be getting a reply soon.

Please keep me posted.

[SunsetRunner]

I followed all the trouble shooting and nothing helps, not even the new update, GPS lost in the middle of the run. The worst part is and I don’t understand why, after GPS has been lost (I mean it happens to the car every time when I tunnel) why it doesn’t reconnect. And yes, I rebooted, the battery is charged and I have clear sky. Contacted the support because it can’t be that on half of the runs I get only half of the track, very disappointing.

br

Alina

[Fit058]

@SunsetRunner You are not the only facing to problems with the gps connectivity or even accuracy (just have a look into the other topics). Unfortunately the mods or the suuport are not really helfpul in this case, because they do not believe, that this is not the fault of the user, but their own. 😉

I am not sure, if it works better with the new update (just had one running activity yetserday), but maybe you will have some improvements on that after installing the latest update.

[SunsetRunner]

@Fit058 , thank you for the reply, this thread was started the beginning of October and since there hasn’t been much commenting I thought it only happens to few people. Yes, yesterday I did the update in the morning and ran in the evening, and go figure, somewhere at the 8th km - loss of signal with 90% battery charged. Have to take my old Garmin all the time with me to make sure I get the track, guess I’ll just go back to Garmin.

[Fit058]

Yeah, I am also more disappointed than happy with the performance regarding on that. I hoped, that the tracking is as much possible that I do not have to take my phone with me and track my activity via Runtastic ... but at the moment ... the discrepancy between the Sense and my phone is too big. If this will not get better in the future, than this was my first and last fitbit device - unfortunately, because my expectaions were positive.

[dk1909]

This has started happening to me again. 3 times in the last 7 days the signal has dropped 30-35 minutes into a run, the screen shows "GPS connecting" then "No GPS Signal". Clear view of the sky in all cases. On the 3rd time I stopped and saved the run and started another activity and then the GPS immediately reconnected.

[Bauer24]

I went for a SLOW WALK! Yea that’s right a walk!!! First five mins the gps didn’t even connect. When it finally connected what it covered was really poor. Some areas it showed I went through buildings -two streets down!!! Oh and of course it disconnected TWICE! Now if it did that on a slow walk... imagine how bad it would be on a run!

what’s even more worrying is.... based on my years of experience with Fitbit-Nothing will change!

we’ll just have to wait for them to release a new device and hope they’ve fixed it on that. 

[cmtika]

As a running watch Fitbit Sense is a joke until the GPS issue is fixed. My Polar Ignite, which I have been using for the past 4 years, never loses GPS connection. I wear both watches during my runs and Fitbit Sense loses connection 3 to 4 times on a 6+ mile run. In the end I get partial maps and estimated pace and distance. Very disappointing. 

[DavideFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community forums, @cmtika. 

Thank you for sharing that you've been experiencing the same inconvenience with your Sense watch. 

Before considering other options, could you please confirm if you already tried all the steps mentioned here earlier? They have been useful for other users experiencing similar problems. 

I'll be around. 

[cmtika]

My Sense at this point is that the GPS receiver chip on the Sense is inferior.  How else do you explain the Sense losing connection while the Polar Ignite doesn't? I wear both watches during my runs. Initially it was just so I can compare the two but now I have to have the Ignite on because I know the Sense will invariably lose connection 

Moderator edit: format

[Daveniv]

Just another annoying feature!!

one thing fixed and another goes pear shape

nothing worse than going for a run with the watch buzzing on your arm continuously even in the open with no trees or buildings

i am ready to hit this watch with a hammer!!

[cmtika]

Exactly! If you have any cloud cover at all you lose GPS tracking. Polar
Ignite is an entry level tracker in the Polar family but it never loses GPS
tracking.Additionally, it connects very fast. That's what leads me to think
Fitbit may be using an inferior GPS receiver. If it were a software issue
they would have fixed it a long time ago. I suspect there will be another
Fitbit Sense soon but those of us who bought the current version are
screwed because there won't be any recalls.

[DavideFitbit]

@cmtika @Daveniv Thank you for your reply and confirming that you already tried all the suggested troubleshooting steps. 

Other users have been experiencing this same inconvenience with the GPS connection being lost in the middle of your exercise. The team of developers is already aware of this and they continue to work to find a solution as soon as possible. 

Thank for taking the time to share your feedback. 

Have a great day.