Sense voice replies not working

[SquatchTime]

Anyone else having constant issues with voice dictation? I'm trying to respond to texts with text-to-speech and get all sorts of issues:

1. It will give a transcribing error and can't figure out my message.
2. It will do the listening animation, then send me right back to the screen to click voice again 
3. It says message on its way.....yet the message never gets delivered. 

Usually I have to shut down the Sense and power it back on and it kinds works for a little bit.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @SquatchTime. Welcome! It's good to see a new face around.

Thanks for sharing detailed information about the issues experienced with the voice replies on your Sense. Also for the troubleshooting steps tried on your own. Before anything else, may I know if this started after setting it up? Or was after doing an activity? I'm asking this as if you recently went swimming or got your watch wet, there might be water in the microphone. Wait a few minutes for the microphone to dry, then try one more time.

If this doesn't apply to you, please give a try to the following steps:

1. Go to the Bluetooth settings on your phone and remove the Sense from the list.
2. Turn off the Bluetooth and restart your watch.
3. Make sure the Fitbit app is allowed to run in the background.
4. Turn back on the Bluetooth only in your phone.
5. Open the Fitbit app and pull down on the screen to force a manual sync.
6. Set up the notifications one more time and try the voice replies.

I'll look forward to your reply.

[Varose]

I've tried lots of different things to get the microphone to synce/work. I've restarted, shut down both my watch and phone. Just tried the above and it didn't work either. Not sure where to go from here...aside from returning the watch. I've had several fitbits (all the Charge versions).  I've liked them all...until this one. 

[Michi_82]

I'm having the same problem. I just received my sense this weekend and have not been able to voice reply and it's been like this since setting it up. 

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @Varose and @Michi_82, welcome to the Community Forums.

Thanks for letting me know that you're having the same behavior with your watches and for trying the steps from my post. I'm sorry that you're not able to take advantage of the voice replies and to further investigate, may I know the model and OS/software version of your phone?

In the meantime, give one last try to the following:

1. Log out from the Fitbit app.
2. Check if the Fitbit app is updated.
3. On your phone settings, tap Apps > Fitbit > Storage > Clear Cache.
4. Go back one screen and tap Force Stop.
5. Reboot your phone and restart your watch.
6. Open the Fitbit app, log back in to your Fitbit account and test the notifications.

Look forward to your comments.

[Michi_82]

I just tried it and it didn't work. I have the Samsung Ultra, android version 10.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @Michi_82. It's nice to see you here again.

Thanks for your efforts while troubleshooting your Sense and for sharing your phone's details. Because the voice replies are not working correctly on your Sense, I've requested a case on your behalf so you can receive further assistance from our Support team. Please note that due to recent events affecting our operations there might be a delay in their reply, but they'll get in touch with you soon.

See you around.

[Djxlain]

I have followed all of these steps and am now worse off than I was before. Unboxed my Sense 2 days ago and have been troubleshooting it from day one. My phone is no longer able to pair with the sense via Bluetooth. Pixel 3aXL.

[Abo2]

Same problem here.

[Cksawyer]

Hi Lizzy Fitbit. I'm having a similar issue on my brand new sense. Actually I've had it for a couple of months. I just received a text, and when I try to respond by voice it simply says unavailable check your phone to see if bluetooth is on and then retry or cancel. I've gone through a number of troubleshooting steps outlined here. I disconnected from Sanz control reconnected made sure my phone function is on notifications are on correctly. I haven't gone so far as to completely disconnect my sense from my phone and redo the process. This is the first time I've received this notification.

[KDDC]

Same issue for me and it's been almost 5 months since this thread appeared. There are other threads that go back even further. 

Has fitbit done anything to ensure this works? It isn't feasible to always open the Fitbit app before responding (that's the only way I can get it to work consistently). I even have turned off battery optimization so it shouldn't be a background app issue. 

Really really disappointing that fitbit knows this functionality doesn't work but continues to sell the watch as if it does. 

[Wpov]

Just took mine out of the box yesterday. Can't get this to work at all. Tried clearing cache, restarting, etc etc. Pretty disappointing. Calls can be answered using watch but voice to text replies are nil

[KDDC]

Yes same, voice calls always work. Voice replies rarely ever.

[hemantborkar]

It's almost a year now however seems fitbit is not able to resolve this issue. I bought a sense 3 few days back and found the same issue. Is there a resolution for this. Have already tried all the troubleshooting steps mentioned here and on other communities but no luck.

[SunsetRunner]

Yo! Fitbit! What's going on with this? There appears to be no resolution to this issue and no recent support responses. I just got my Fitbit Sense and have this issue. If this is how Fitbit handles products issues, I guess I'll just return my device to Best Buy and leave a review to warn other people who may be considering the device.

[Wpov]

Yep I definitely should have done the same thing. I expected fitbit would
actually care enough to support the flagship device and fix it. The joke is
on me. Tbh every support interaction I've had with them has been bad at
best and downright infuriating at worst. My best advice to you is to run.

Half the time the watch/app/phone claim to not be able to communicate even
with the phone in direct line of sight to the watch. The best they will say
is to unpair device, remove from account, add it again. Their second rate
hacks. The device is nice... When it works... Which aside from fitness
tracking, is quite rarely. Even notifications are hit and miss. I can't
hear well enough to have a conversation using the inbuilt speaker either. A
$300+ piece of junk.

[Orangejuicebox]

That doesnt work i have a OnePlus 9pro that's used on TMobile/metro network. Can their be an update or did the watch leave the warehouse with issues?

[Thekneenies]

Same! I moved my versa but the Sense seems so glitchy 😕

[bumbleklutz]

Same problem here.  Not sure if it was caused by a recent update to android/one ui or caused by migrating my login from fitbit to google, but the problem started immediately after.

[yest]

Same to me, on versa 3.