Sense Controls keep disconnecting

[Lieke27]

Hi there,

I have just received my new Fitbit Sense. I worked through the entire set-up process succesfully.

Somehow my Sense Controls keep disconnecting from the bluetooth on my phone, I am not getting notifications on the Sense of any sort of messages from my phone.

I have reconnected the Sense Controls multiple times (by forgetting the Sense Controls device from my bluetooth and making a new connection) but after only a couple of seconds it disconnects again. 
It’s important to me that I can see notifications from my phone on my watch. How do I fix this? I have an Iphone 11

[Lieke27]

Update! I fixed it, it was something to due with enabling messages within the Fitbit app on my phone. 

[UrbanYoYo]

Hi there. 
Please could you share how you fixed this. 
No matter what I do it always returns to ‘Not connected’ after about 30 seconds. 
It’s really frustrating. It shouldn’t be this difficult. 

[GDiana]

Note that on the phone App if you go to the Fitbit Notifications option you can set

1. Calls
2. Text Messages
3. Calendar Events

But further down there is the App Notificationsoption which allows one to also select which phone apps may send notifications to your watch

[Guy_]

Hi @UrbanYoYo  - Sense Controls is normally disconnected - the app takes care of connecting with it when needed.

All you can do is configure it on for a short period. It is used by On-wrist calls and music when needed after that.

So this isn't an issue to be resolved.

[UrbanYoYo]

Hi. Thanks for responding. 

I’ve done all that. I’ve forgotten and reconnected, restarted, and even reset an number of times. Calendar reminders works. On wrist calls works (albeit that you can hardly hear the person on the other end). 
Texts however don’t work. Neither so connected apps like WhatsApp. 
Sense stays connected, but Sense controls always goes off after about 30 seconds. If that’s what’s needed for texts, WhatsApp, emails etc then I need to know why it isn’t staying  on. 🤔

Does yours stay on/connected?

[UrbanYoYo]

Hi @Guy_ 

Is that right?

So your text notifications/display, WhatsApp, emails etc don’t come through either?

If that is the case it’s blatant misrepresentation/mis-selling. 

[Guy_]

@UrbanYoYo  - Sense controls isn't needed for text notifications, as mentioned, and doesn't stay on.

If your issue is that you dont get text notifications but are getting calendar reminders it would mean that your watch is working normally and there is a phone setup issue or Fitbit App bug, as others seem to have the same problem if you look in the forums.

Normally text notifications come through fine, it is something specific to your particular phone and versions and configurations.

Have a look at How do I get notifications from my phone on my Fitbit device? 

[GDiana]

@UrbanYoYo  You must make sure that you have registered or set your Phone App to send notifications. There are 2 separate settings.

1. The one is within the FITBIT app to set and receive notifications between the app and WATCH
2. The other is to allow the phone to send notifications to the Phone App to send on to the watch.

INCOMING NOTIFICATIONS ----------------------------> PHONE NOTIFICATIONS SETTINGS ---- STEP 1 -----> FIT BIT APP ---------- STEP 2 ----------> WATCH

Each Phone APP requires STEP 1.

For the watch to receive NOTIFICATIONS from all apps which have been activated atSTEP 1 will be able to fwd their notifications to the FIT-BIT APP and to the watch. If you select multiple apps in the FTIBIT app to send notifications they will not be sent if STEP 1 has not been done.

STEP 1

On the iPhone go to Settings ----> Notifications and select the NOTIFICATION SYLE for each iPhone App, including the Fitbit App

STEP 2

Once you have done the iPhone Notification App settings in STEP 1 then go to the Fitbit App, go to Notifications and select what APPS you want fwded to your watch.

This is for iPhone but I presume other phones do/require the same.

[UrbanYoYo]

Hi @GDiana 

Thank you so much for taking the time to so thoroughly describe your process. As far as I can tell, and by using your steps to check, that is all done.

The way you describe it, you see an option in phone settings to push notifications to Fitbit from each app’s notification settings? That option isn’t there for me. When you say NOTIFICATION STYLE, do you mean the one stating Lock Screen, Notification Centre or Banners? Or do you mean ‘Banner style’ (Temporary or Permanent)?

Nothing has made a difference as yet…

[GDiana]

@UrbanYoYo 

I have an iPhone 12 and am not aware of what phone you have.

Once you have done all that you should reboot both phone and watch and my experience it can take up to 2 hrs for notifications to start coming thru from phone to watch.

On the iPhone one goes to the Settings Icon and then Select Notifications and one Option is the NOTIFICATION SETTINGS for each iPhone App as shown below.

This is the iPhone notifications settings for each iPhone app and which must be set for each app to allow notifications to be sent to the APP as I noted in STEP 1

Once you have done this then you must go to the FITBIT App itself and set the notifications for the App to send from iPhone to watch.

Here you can set what App may send notifications via the FITBIT iPhone app to the watch but only those set up as per STEP 1 will be able to do so.

 

Here you also have to select Fitbit to enable the apps to be sent to the phone as shown below.

Sorry, no can do as it will not allow more photos to be uploaded but is the same as the last on RHS except showing Fitbit App.

Hope this helps?

Otherwise, just skype me at gregory.diana and maybe we can sort out!

[pmhupman]

Why people keep giving this same answer. I think we all know that but it doesn't answer the questions being asked.

When we get an incoming call, we get notification on the watch, but controls always stop working after the first successful call.

You can "forget" the controls device and reconnect, then it works for another call then quits. 

A great feature, when it works, but It's become a huge annoyance to continually "forget and reconnect".

(for the record, iPhone 11 pro and currently IOS 15.3.1 (but it's been happening since I got the watch quite a few versions ago)

[Guy_]

@pmhupman  - do you have battery saving enabled for either Bluetooth or the Fitbit App?

Make sure it is enabled in the watch Settings, vibration & audio, music controls, Sense controls.

[YUster]

agreed.. same answers deviating from someone hopefully admitting that these controls are bugged and don't work 😕

[YUster]

actually this put me onto battersaving options and finding Fitbit app and turning on priority performance.

I think dependent on how aggressive your phones battery saving option is, it usually disconnects notifications from sense becsuse sense constantly checks and syncs from phone to watch and my phone simply disconnects it as a measure.

[wgolfguy]

Nope not right