Turning off bluetooth when not syncing

[Clamardo]

Hi. I just bought a fitbit sense and I am trying to find a way to turn off the Bluetooth. I plan to only turn it on when syncing. Also this will help save on battery life. For a almost $300 watch, I should at least find a feature like that on this watch otherwise will return in as fast as I bougth that. 

[SunsetRunner]

You can't turn off bluetooth on any tracker, Fitbit or otherwise. You have to turn it off on the phone.

[Clamardo]

Does not make any sense. I am returning it for a refund. Thanks for your input anyway. 

[Clamardo]

Just a quick update. I find out that on Garmin vivosmart you can turn off the device Bluetooth so your reply kinda misleading. Anyway have returned it and waiting for a refund. Very sad for something that easy to implement. 

[Rich_Laue]

@Clamardoin what way is it misleading, where you asking about Fitbit or Garmin. Did you want @SunsetRunner to explain the way Garmin works, or the way Fitbit works? 

The Bluetooth on the fitbit tracker is used for more than just a sync.

• Notifications. 
• The weather app
• Sense Controls
• Answer phone calls
• Use the tracker as a headphone to speak through durring calls. 
• Alexa and Google use Bluetooth. 
• Many of the apps, like the phone finder and maps

The good news is that Bluetooth is only listening and uses way less power then your display. 

[Dragonfly8]

Can't turn off Bluetooth on any fitness tracker? Except for Garmin, NIke, Microsoft, and others. So, Fitbit is lying when it says that a fitness tracker has to have Bluetooth on constantly in order to work. Don't fall for their lie. 

Here's a list of only a few of the many fitness trackers which work fine with Bluetooth OFF:

https://emfacademy.com/fitness-trackers-without-bluetooth/

[Dragonfly8]

...and some Fitbit trackers don't even have all of the functions you listed, and if Fitbit allowed us to turn off Bluetooth if and when we wanted to, obviously we would be happy to go without any of the features that require Bluetooth for the duration of the time we want to turn it off. Turning off Bluetooth is an option that Fitbit can and should give its customers. They are losing many potential paying customers by ignoring our requests to give us the option to turn off Bluetooth when we choose to do so. Other customers, who want their Fitbit's Bluetooth to be on all the time, could simply never use the option to turn it off, if Fitbit added that option to its settings.

[Pilotaras]

I cannot see any reason for not allowing users to turn off the bluetooth. 

I had a Samsung S3 Frontier and had this option. I was very happy with it. 

I think fitbit should definitely include this option ASAP. 

[JollyHolly07]

This is not accurate in the least. Several brands allow you to turn off Bluetooth. Samsung watches allows you to disable both Bluetooth and WiFi.

[Rich_Laue]

Do you still get the weather on the wrist? Text messages, the ability to answer the phone, remotely control the music or camera? How about updates to any challenges. 

I love how everyone is worried about the tiny amount of radiation in the fitbit, ignoring the radiation from the cell phone. Some people even use BT earphones. Even wired earphones give off EMF. 

[KB9WNS]

Most of us are not concerned about the EMF.  We just don't like having most retailers track our movement within their stores when shopping.  We also don't want to be exposed to stalkers and hackers.  Every Bluetooth device transmits a unique identifier known as an "advertiser" (not to be confused with paid advertisements) continuously to all devices not paired with it.  Bluetooth LE has a range of about 30 meters, however, with a proper high-gain yagi or dish antenna the range is about 1 kilometer or more.  Us HAM radio operators routinely see how far radio devices can go and this include WiFi (250 kilometers is the current record) , Bluetooth and others.  Having the ability to turn off all radios, i.e. "airplane mode", is a very useful security tool.

[Rich_Laue]

@KB9WNS if you really feel this strongly, have you added your vote and comment to the above mentioned suggestion? Rather than continue to discuss among your fellow users? 

Ability to disable Bluetooth in restricted areas

[KB9WNS]

Because that thread is closed.

[Sara_Cerennydd]

Yes you can turn Bluetooth off on some other trackers. Absolutely; I own a Garmin that works that way. 

[Sara_Cerennydd]

What was misleading is the person saying "cannot turn Bluetooth off on any tracker, FitBit or otherwise." Not accurate at all, so Clamardo was actually being tactful when he said it was "misleading." It's flat out not true.

. It's a pity Fit But keep rejecting this functionality. I've seen it requested many times over the years. Although most people want it always on, for some people that is not possible eg in certain security locations etc. Luckily, other trackers are happy to have this capacity.