Sense won't stay connected to my phone's Bluetooth

[Bvlenci]

My Sense drops the Bluetooth connection about once a day. I have a Google Pixel 7a with Android 14. This is a new phone. I didn't have this problem with my Xperia phone. I would expect a Google phone to have this kinks worked out with a Google watch.

When the connection drops, I don't get notifications of appointments and incoming messages. 

I can usually reconnect by restarting the phone, but sometimes I also have to restart the watch, which has become a big problem which I will address in another post.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Guy_ · Accepted solution]

Hi @Bvlenci - this can be related to your old phone make sure you remove the watch Bluetooth entries from it or turn it off.

It's not a good idea to have multiple devices running the Fitbit App, if that is the case.

However it can also be an issue with the V4 Fitbit App which can lose connection.

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there, @Bvlenci. Thanks for stopping by in the Fitbit Community Forums and for the troubleshooting steps you've tried. I'm sorry to hear that your Sense keeps disconnecting from your phone's Bluetooth. I understand where your concern is coming from, we're here to help you!

I agree with @Guy_.  As a first approach, I'd suggest making sure that your Sense is no longer connected to your old mobile device as this might be preventing your Fitbit device to receive notifications from your new phone. 

With that being said, please follow the steps below in the order listed:

• Unpair your Fitbit device from your old phone's Bluetooth and also from the new phone.
• Unpair other Bluetooth devices that you may also have paired to your phone's Bluetooth settings.
• Force quit the Fitbit app.
• Turn off other Bluetooth connections when not in use. This can help to prevent connectivity issues or Bluetooth interference.
• Shut off your phone and turn it on after 1-2 minutes.
• Turn on the Bluetooth on your new phone.
• Plug it into the charging cable and open the Fitbit app.
• Set up your Sense again.
• Set up notifications on your Fitbit device again.

With the steps above, what I want you to do is to pair your Sense first to your phone's Bluetooth settings before any other Bluetooth device is connected to your phone. 

[Bvlenci]

All that seems not to have been necessary. I merely uninstalled the Fitbit app on the old phone and the problem seems to have been resolved.

By the way, when I am in the midst of responding to a post, it's very annoying to be interrupted to ask if I'd like to take a survey when I'm finished. It's even more annoying when I reply, "Yes, when I'm finished", and have the survey immediately pop up when I'm in mid-sentence of the response.

[Bvlenci]

The best answer was by Guy, and I don't know why my post was tagged as the best answer.

[Guy_]

@Bvlenci- thanks for confirming what worked for you, removing the Fitbit app has the same effect of disabling the phone from connecting to the watch, best answer has been changed over.

Note: However if the old phone had the V3 version if you reinstall it on the phone again unfortunately you will only get the new version.

[Bvlenci]

Unfortunately, the problem keeps happening. Several days went by with no disconnecting, and I thought it was solved, because previously the Bluetooth connection was dropping almost daily. but now it's happened again several times, although only every second or third day. I can't figure out under what circumstances it happens. 

I'm getting very frustrated with this! The main thing I use my Sense for is notifications, and it seems totally unreliable for that.

I noticed an hour ago that my Sense was disconnected because I wanted to change a security setting in the Sense app. I saw that the last synchronization had happened 9 hours earlier, which would have been at 7 AM. I hadn't used any other Bluetooth device in those 9 hours, and I hadn't interacted with the Sense app before then. It seems I woke up in the morning and my Sense decided it wanted the day off. I am beyond frustrated. 

[Guy_]

@Bvlenci- there is no guarantee you can fix this problem which can come for various different reasons, such as running multiple devices with the Fitbit App running, bugs in different versions of the Fitbit App that may get installed, problems with the phone not reconnecting when separated from the watch, etc.

What you can do is run the SimpleCheckup app on your watch and then you can check any time if there is a syncing or connection issue and take remedial steps..

[Bvlenci]

I don't understand this "multiple devices" thing. Would this mean that my cordless headset and my watch can't be connected at the same time? I have numerous Bluetooth devices, as I think almost all of us have, and not being able to connect more than one at a time would be a major defect.

I installed the Simply Connect app on my phone, but I haven't found it useful. It tried for 10 seconds to find my phone but couldn't. At the time my phone was less than a meter away from the watch, Bluetooth was on, and the watch was connected.

[Guy_]

@Bvlenci - multiple phone devices. A phone can have multiple Bluetooth devices but a Fitbit watch can only have one phone connection.

If you installed the SimpleCheckUp app on your watch and it isn't able to connect after restarting the watch (if necessary) then the connection between watch and phone has broken since last sync, also shown by this watch app.

See more in Why won't my Fitbit device sync?

[Bvlenci]

There's something very wrong. 

To test Simply Check, I verified that my Sense showed as currently connected to Bluetooth. Then I used Simply Check to verify that. Once again, it couldn't find the phone. I rechecked the Bluetooth connection, and it stills shows Sense as currently connected.

BUT I am not getting notifications. I sent myself an email an hour ago, and the notification hasn't arrived to my phone yet. The Sense was synchronized 10 minutes ago. Several other messages, for example, from WhatsApp, also haven't arrived.

I used to be able to see in the Fitbit app which phone apps could send notifications, but I can't find that now. 

It feels like my Sense is nothing more that a fitness tracker now. I can get one of those for less than €50.

When I reinstalled the Fitbit app, earlier today, I was asked if I wanted to pass to Google or continue with Fitbit. I chose Google, since I now have a Google Pixel phone. Has this broken something?

Update: I see that all of my app notifications had been turned off, except SMS and email. I still should have got the email notification, which still hasn't arrived.

[Guy_]

@Bvlenci - there are numerous issues here, especially around Bluetooth.

Bluetooth is setup once when the watch is installed.

The watch can connect and sync (automatically or manually) and disconnect.

SimpleCheckUp app shows when it last synced and if it can connect still.

If you remedy the connection issue you need to restart the SimpleCheckUp app to get the new status, or restart the watch, to check again.

Only notifications that appear on the phone status bar can appear on the watch (if it has been setup correctly).

See these links for help with it.

How do I get notifications from my phone on my Fitbit device?

Why won't my Fitbit device sync?

You can always chat via the Fitbit App, Help & support section, Contact Customer support.

[Bvlenci]

Well about three hours ago I received a notification that you had replied. I hadn't changed anything. Your reply was sent 4 hours before the time I'm sending this. Since then I've received another notification. Also the Simple Check app now finds the phone. 

I can't understand how for eight hours my phone apparently had a working Bluetooth connection but the Sense watch was not receiving notifications. 

Of course the real problem is that the Bluetooth connection keeps dropping. 

[Guy_]

@Bvlenci - thanks, I'm glad it's working, the SimpleCheckUp app will allow you to check if there is no connection at anytime so you can  remedy it.

Others report similar problems with versions of the V4 Fitbit App which can be less reliable than the V3 release if everything is setup correctly.

It's possible it may work more consistently if the watch is always in close proximity to the phone.

[JuliaR81]

I have tried all recommendations from the first time I submitted a question about the Sense not staying connected to my phone until now. I’m unfortunately thinking that I should look into other smartwatches as I have noticed it’s not only the 2 I have purchased but every model. Really hoped Fitbit would make improvements.

[Clown11]

My issue is similar new pixel7a running android os, my old phone a BlackBerry, gone to recycle and approx once a week my Fitbit Sence drops off my phone. I then need to shut off Bluetooth and then restart. Also have to reboot my Fitbit. I know it’s a 1st world problem, but it’s annoying. I never had this problem with my BlackBerry or prior to the Google changeover. My watch is about 3 years old

[Guy_]

Hi @Clown11 - when you got your new phone did you install the new Fitbit App? If so please see earlier posts. 

[Bvlenci]

If only I didn't need to remedy it so often! I'm thoroughly fed up with this problem. At least once a day I have to restart my phone and restart the watch. Restarting the watch is a real nuisance, because pressing and holding on the left-hand side always brings up the vocal assistant and the least involuntary movement of the finger starts it over from scratch.

Today the connection dropped twice. Each time I lose notifications and each time I waste about fifteen minutes trying to get it reconnected. I'm about to throw this watch out. For months it was working fine. I don't know what happened. A new phone, a firmware update, and the arrival of Android 14 are all suspects. 

[Bvlenci]

Guy, this problem is serious. I have tried everything you suggested. It's time that Fitbit does something.

[Guy_]

@Bvlenci - the rewrite release of the V4 Fitbit App came in September 2023, that should have been enough time for them to get it fixed permanently for all phones.

I'm still using the V3 release without any issues so can't tell if toggling Bluetooth may also help get you connected, though it doesn't help with the loss of notifications every time there's a loss of connection with the app.