Setting up Fitbit Sense in China

[Babsington]

Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can help me. My girlfriend sent the Fitbit Sense to her mom as a birthday gift. Her mom lives in mainland China - since fitbit devices are sold there we didn't anticipate running into problems. 

Her mom has downloaded the fitbit app on her Huawei P40 and we have tried to help her set up the device. They can connect to it, enter the numbers during setup, and connect to WiFi, but the screen to install updates (firmware) to the watch never pops up. Instead it goes straight to the tutorial on how to use the watch. We can go through the tutorial and the watch shows on the account, but the watch itself never changes from the initial setup mode. Is there any advice to deal with this? Thanks

Moderator edit:  updated subject for clarity

[Marrrmaduke]

@Babsington Just to make sure I understood you correctly - Sense is linked with the Fitbit account (can be seen in the Fitbit mobile app), but the Sense itself does not display any clockface just the setup/initial screen? If that's the case, have you tried rebooting sense by long pressing the button for 10 seconds or so until screen turns black and fitbit logo flashes? Also, I know there's some compatibility issues with certain Huawei P series phones. Please take a look at this help article to make sure you set up power management properly, do Fitbit mobile app doesn't get killed on Huawei phone.

[WilsonFitbit]

Hello @Babsington Welcome to the Community Forums! @Marrrmaduke Your input is very appreciated! 

@Babsington I appreciate the information and troubleshooting steps that you've followed. Huawei P40 is not fully supported by the Fitbit App. For a list of compatible devices, I recommend checking the following link: 

Which phones and tablets can I use with my Fitbit watch or tracker?

If you notice that the Sense is connected to the App, I recommend trying to restart it as @Marrrmaduke suggested and try to update the Firmware doing these steps: 

1. Make sure the Fitbit device is fully charged. Then with the Fitbit device nearby, open the Fitbit app.
2. Tap the Today tab > your profile picture > your device image.
3. Tap the pink Update button. NOTE: This option only appears if an update is available.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions and keep the device close to your phone, tablet, or computer during the update. After you start the update, a progress bar appears on your device and in the Fitbit app until the update is complete.

If this doesn't work, please note that it could be related to compatibility. 

Let me know how it goes. 

[Babsington]

Thank you both Marrrmaduke and WilsonFitbit. I will have her mom try those steps and update here. Please note that it is slow going since her parents are on a huge time difference in China and we cannot communicate with them too often. 

I mostly wanted to make sure that the app wasn't being blocked for some reason (because I'm not sure if the Sense is officially supported in China). These steps sound promising. Thanks!

[WilsonFitbit]

@Babsington Thanks for your reply! 

I hope your girlfriend's mom can setup her Fitbit device soon! As a reminder, compatibility issues may arise if her phone isn't fully compatible with the Fitbit App, but if she wants, she may still give it a try. In addition, please make sure she has downloaded the Fitbit App from one of the following app stores:

- 360 Assistant / 360手机助手
- Baidu Assistant / 百度手机助手
- 91 Assistant / 91助手
- HiMarket / 安卓市场
- Xiaomi MIUI / 小米应用商店
- Tencent MyApp / 腾讯应用宝
- Huawei App Market / 华为应用市场
- Anzhi / 安智市场
- Meizu / 魅族应用商店
- Sogou App / 搜狗市场

Keep me posted. 

[Babsington]

Thanks for your help. She was unable to set up the device with her Huawei P40 but was able to set it up with her previous phone, an iPhone 7.  It must just be the app compatibility between Huawei and Fitbit.

The device is working properly now. Thanks again!