Sense is a ghost watch: Monday morning product!

[Mash284]

Since I received the Sense in May, there have been nothing but problems. Within 2 weeks I contacted  support about these problems. The only thing solveren after ap. 1 month were the notification problems (receveid no messages on the watch).

The PIN code that is installed is never requested. There are charging and synchronization problems - constantly the notification appears that charging is slow. After hours the watch is not charged. The connection is constantly broken between watch and phone. So it does not synchronised. The Find my phone function does not find my phone even when the watch is next to it. All the instructions that can be found online and which I have received from Fitbit support to fix the problems have been unsuccessful.It is now August 11, I tried everthing. This is a ghost watch- a Monday morning product. When does Fitbit accept that this watch can not be fixed! Normally I would have go back to the shop and returned the watch. I bought this in the online webshop of Fitbit. The help of the dutch support departement until today is worthless. They only came with repeated sugggestions which I have followed on and on. They have even closed the case without solving. Where do I get the right help?  Regards, Mariska 

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Mash284 welcome, let me see f I can offer you a way forward with some of your issues, I apologise in advance if you have already considered the points I make.

I'm please you were able to resolve the issue of the notifications, you may be interested in this article How do I get notifications from my phone on my Fitbit device? provides advice and background information.

What should I know about Fitbit Pay? has a section on the PIN settings, I use my "Sense" to make payments and occasionally need to set the PIN before swiping my "Sense" - it does not happen every time. I usually have to enter the PIN once in 24 hours (as per the setting) and when I change wrists, if I'm slow to do it I get a demand for the PIN if I swipe away from the clock screen. As you can see triggering a PIN demand is not quite straightforward but does provide the required security.

The charging cable problem is widely commented on in this forum, briefly check the 4 pins in the charging cable, they need to be slightly proud and free. If they are not, as your "Sense" is still in warranty, talk to "Customer Support" with a view to getting a replacement cable. You can also buy the at a modest cost on Amazon. Clean the back of your "Sense", I use rubbing alcohol and a cotton wool swab with a cotton bud to detail the little pits that locate the pins. You may also be interested in this article Why isn't my Fitbit device's battery charging?  which again provides advice and background.

The Syncing issue may be down to your battery-saving function on your mobile phone. You do not mention the make or model of your phone but broadly speaking go to the app tray on your mobile phone, open the Fitbit app>battery and make sure any battery-saving function is disabled for the Fitbit app (while you are there clear the cache). On an Android phone, you should look to set Battery Usage at "Unlimited". Some phones treat the Fitbit app as non-essential and put it to sleep where we need it to run constantly in the background. This setting, if limiting, will prevent the necessary Bluetooth link that "Find my Phone" depends on.

I hope this is all helpful.

Cheers

[Mash284]

Hello, Thanks for tour reply. 
The pincode question until now is only asked less than 10 times since I bought the watch in May 2022. The pincode is not asked when I do not wear it for a while and thema put it back on my wirst. Not asked once every 24 hrs and not when the watch is laying at the table and I touch the screen. Everyone how has my watch can enter/use it.

About the cable, yes I clean the cable pins and the back of the watch, i change the plugs and I try a different wall socket. The charge problem was not in begining but appears More often. Also today, and for the first the notification appeared the charging was to slowly and the advise to use another wall socket. I tried 2 different sockets and after a few hours it started to charge in one of this 3 sockets which earlier did not charge well … So the charge problem is getting worse in time. I also  bought a new cable but this cable was even more worse. So I sent it back.

i have iPhone 13 with the latest software. Also the sense has the latest update

The battery sage function is and was already off. 

[Mash284]

I also done several times back to fabric installing, removed the app from phone and in Bluetooth forget this device to renew the connection via the app. 

the find my phone function is also not working as it should: only once it found my phone since i bought it. Even if the watch and phone are together the watch can not find the phone. And dame problem with the connection. 

[Mash284]

I called support. And again the are sending my complaints to a higher level. Hopefully they do not give me the same advices again. And will my trust not damaged again.

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Mash284  I assume you have selected Today screen>touch your icon in the top left corner>Sense Tile>device lock>enabled (not enabled for Fitbit pay only)

Charging can be a bit touchy even when the contacts are clean, I sometimes need to give the connector a little wiggle to get rid of the "Slow charging" message and return to the state of charge value. Once it is charging properly lay it on its back gently so as not to disturb the connection.

Have you installed the "Tile" app on your phone? if not try it and see if that makes any difference to "Find my Phone". I'm sorry I can't be more detailed as I do not use apple products.

Let me know how you get on.

Cheers