Sense installs 3rd party clock faces by itself

[Sceleratis]

Hi, for months now I've been having an issue where the SPO2 clockface enters an error state and tells me to switch to a different clock face. I know many others have been having this issue but I'm making this post because of a very curious second problem with this I noticed: it's installing random third party/not Fitbit clockface... Ones that Ive never installed or seen before. At one point it installed some alternative version of the SPO2 clock face I've been using but it was developed by some dude instead of Fitbit, said something about testing or prerelease, and when it activated was basically broken. I've tried factory resetting my sense multiple times now, and recently even tested my entire phone (for an unrelated reason) yet this problem is still happening every day. It's very irritating waking up and finding my clock face has been replaced by either an error message or some third party face I never wanted telling me I need to pay to continue using it.

Also of note: the ECG app usually also disappears with it, and going to clock faces in the app presents me with a "finish installation" dialog.

Right now it's been replaced with some random guardians of the Galaxy looking thing. Very annoying. Fitbit please figure this out as this has been happening to me and other people for months now (tbh probably since the sp02 stuff for the sense came out now that I think about it)

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Sceleratis , welcome, This is not an issue I've come across before, I strongly recommend you talk to "Customer Support" here, use the chat facility or phone for a prompt response. If you can provide detailed information on the clock faces that are causing the problem along with the author's ID I'm sure that will assist. I'm going to flag your post for a moderator.

Cheers

[LizzyFitbit]

@Sceleratis It's good to see you here. @Gr4ndp4 Thanks for the heads up, and your great help!

@Sceleratis Thanks for bringing this to our attention and the steps tried on your own. There was a similar issue reported in the past when the Sense changed the clock face by itself, but it was always a Fitbit SpO2 clock face and it was resolved. However, your watch's behavior is unexpected and to look into this, may I know if this happens when using a specific clock face? If so, may I know the name and developer of that clock face?

In the meantime, please give a try to the following steps:

1. Forget your Sense from the Bluetooth settings.
2. Turn off other Bluetooth connections nearby.
3. Force quit the Fitbit app and reboot your phone.
4. Restart your watch to refresh its performance.
5. Open the Fitbit app, tap your profile picture > Set Up a Device.
6. Choose your Sense, tap Replace Device and follow the on-screen instructions.

Once this is done, make sure the SpO2 app and ECG app one more time, and let me know how it goes.

[Sceleratis]

Hi there and sorry for the extremely late reply, I've been busy and forgot to check up on this. It seems to happen consistently with the SpO2 Signature watchface from FitBit. Every time it happens the ECG app gets removed with it and a random watchface from the market gets installed. I had this happen again just now hence what made me think to come back and check if there were replies here.

I've tried resetting the watch multiple times, I've tried clearing my phones Bluetooth/network settings. I've reset the phone itself, I've re-setup the watch multiple times and no matter what I do it always comes back.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Sceleratis, thanks for the update, can you confirm you have completed the precise steps recommended by @LizzyFitbit ? I anticipate her further advice will depend on your answer and perhaps an indication of at what stage failure was evident. @LizzyFitbit is a very experienced moderator and certainly has much more experience and more resources than I do. Information will allow detective work to develop a way forward.

Cheers

[Sceleratis]

I've already tried everything mentioned multiple times (truly, I'm not just saying that, I've tried removing it and all that.) I think the issue might be caused by Fitbit syncing/trying to update stuff while my phone is connected to a VPN... Something Fitbit related getting blocked over the network? Noticed if I'm connected to a VPN or sometimes just using nextdns the Fitbit watchface marketplace fails to load, thinking maybe it tries to update stuff then fails because of that? Still don't know why it would decide an acceptable alternative is installing a random (different every time, truly random) third party watch face I've never even used, but maybe that can help as a starting point for whoever is reponsible for the technical side of investigating issues like this(?)

[Sceleratis]

Update: it has nothing to do with my VPN or custom DNS. I left my watch on the charger, had both custom DNS and VPN disabled, walked away with my phone and took a shower, came back and got hit with "Clock Error" which is going to turn into a random third party watchface the moment I sync. This is rediculous and I don't know what else I'm supposed to do as I've literally reset everything multiple times now.

It also always tells me an installation failed to finish when I open the clock faces and asks if I want to finish the installation now.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi there, @Sceleratis. @Gr4ndp4 Thanks for your suggestions.

@Sceleratis Thanks for getting and trying the suggestions shared in my post. I also appreciate the extra steps tried on your own. This is odd and I'm sorry this continues happening even after reconnecting your Sense to your account. Because the possible troubleshooting has been tried, I'd recommend contacting our Support team so they can further investigate what may be occurring and provide you with assistance. They're available via chat and phone, just click here to get connected with them and make sure to share the steps you've tried so far.

See you around.