Surge Not Syncing

[William.Howkins]

Recently i have found that my fitbit surge is not syncing to my computer (iMac) without a great number of attempts to sync it.

I do not have a mobile device such as an iPhone to sync it with - I only have the computer. 

 I have tried all the troubleshooting reccomendations and they have not speeded up/solved it. It would be appreciated if there could be a resoloution available to rectify this issue.

[EdsonFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @William.Howkins. It's great to have you here. Thank you for your efforts while trying to resolve this issue before contacting us. If you have tried the basic troubleshooting steps to resolve syncing issues as well as setting up your Surge as a replacement device, it could be a good idea contacting Customer Support. Let them know the workarounds you've performed so they can provide further assistance.

Keep up the super stepping. 

[koma]

Unfortunately I have exactly the same issue, after a month of trouble free use it has suddenly become very difficult to synch over the last week or so.  I had been using both the computer and my android phone to synch without a problem but now neither one will work first time although the band is supposedly conneted to one or the other but I cannot synch with either one.  I have restarted the band etc. and this worked until tonight when in spite of a number of restarts, and the computer and/or the phone showing the band as being connected it just will not synch. 

[RickyGoldsmith]

@koma I have been running into severe sync issues since the last FitBit Android update made on March 8th, 2016. It turns out that the problem may have more to do with Android M (That's what I'm using).

Perhaps what FitBit needs to do is declare and disclaim the list of supported devices and Android versions.

[koma]

Thank for the reply, yes you may be correct on that, that is about the time I started having all these troubles.  I did manage to synch again after I posted and it has been working since then, but, it takes a few attempts each time.

[eeefellow123]

The issue is same with me. After march 8th its not syncing. Have you sorted out thr problem. If yes please let me me knnow the solution. Tired though desktop also not syncing....

[RickyGoldsmith]

@eeefellow123 There's no straight answer I've come to conclusion with.

My initial thought was that the March 8th update broke compatibility with Android M. Because when I synced it through another phone (with KitKat), it worked in the very first attempt.

But then next day, the other phone too gave up. Then I read others trying repeatedly with some success. And to top that up, there are confirmations from users (including you) that the desktop client too does not work all the times. (I'm on Linux, so I wasn't aware of the Desktop Client).

As a Basis B1 user before, I have seen similar issues in early days when B1 Carbon Edition was launched. At least, Basis threw the actual error messaghe then. That helped determine the problem.

The problem wiht Fitbit is that it hides the error message. So we have no clue what the error message is. And turns out I've become too lazy to acquire the shell and read over logcat.

But looking at the following output, my guess is that (and I'm surprised too)  Fitbit is suffering the same problem that Basis had in the initial days. But this is pure speculation.

rrs@learner:/etc/dnsmasq.d$ host www.fitbit.com
www.fitbit.com is an alias for www.fitbit.com.cdn.cloudflare.net.
www.fitbit.com.cdn.cloudflare.net has address 104.16.65.50
www.fitbit.com.cdn.cloudflare.net has address 104.16.66.50
2016-03-20 / 23:15:39 ♒♒♒  ☺  

But if I'm correct, which I think I am (because now after pestering the app multiple times, it does go through), Fitbit may be quietly solving the problem in their backend. 🙂

Another point to consider is, if it was a bug that crept in with the March 8 update, it would have been just a matter of revert.

[RickyGoldsmith]

Just for the sake of completeness to my previous post, it shouldn't be concluded that Fitbit has only 2 servers. Those 2 are just mere hosting the Fitbit website. And behind the curtains, there will be more servers.

For example: And there must be more. 

rrs@learner:/etc/dnsmasq.d$ dig A fitbit.com

; <<>> DiG 9.9.5-12.1-Debian <<>> A fitbit.com
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 6818
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 8, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1

;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 1280
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;fitbit.com.			IN	A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
fitbit.com.		40	IN	A	54.230.25.49
fitbit.com.		40	IN	A	54.230.25.87
fitbit.com.		40	IN	A	54.230.25.227
fitbit.com.		40	IN	A	54.230.25.124
fitbit.com.		40	IN	A	54.230.25.72
fitbit.com.		40	IN	A	54.230.25.165
fitbit.com.		40	IN	A	54.230.25.76
fitbit.com.		40	IN	A	54.230.25.142

;; Query time: 0 msec
;; SERVER: 127.0.0.1#53(127.0.0.1)
;; WHEN: Sun Mar 20 23:26:55 IST 2016
;; MSG SIZE  rcvd: 167

2016-03-20 / 23:26:55 ♒♒♒  ☺  

[HATCOM]

I have an iphone and mac and will often (2-3 times a week) have a hard time syncing mine as well. Once I turn on the bluetooth it is often "looking" but won't ever connect. It won't begin connecting until I restart both devices. Fortuantely I have found how to make it sync, unfortunately it becomes a hastle after doing this few times a week. 

[kcdan1972]

How did you get it to sync?   My last sync was 3/7.   Honestly haven't tried until today and I can't get it to work.

[koma]

I wish I could tell you what changed to make it work but I honestly do not know exactly what it was. 
I did try to reset my Fitbit as described in some of the other posts but I did not see a difference.  The last step I took was to un-pair it from my computer,  and ever since that it has synched to my Android Phone (Samsung S3 Galaxy) running Android version 4.4.2. 

[ravichso]

I have had the synching problem in three Fitbit Surges . I purchased one in July 2015 from Amazon in India. Really helped meeting goals till Sept 2015 when it failed to synch completely. Got a replacement . That worked till Nov 2015 when it too failed. Got a replacement that was working till March 20th 2016. It stopped yesterday !.  My son purchased one in Singapore that apparently has been working with out problem ( he does not synch the watch with the iPhone as often as I do, if that matters).

I think Fitbit Surge has a production quality problem with synching over bluetooth. 

I have reported this to Fitbit support. I dont know what resolution they would offer me. 

I am quite fed up even though I cannot fault the immense value this watch gave me in progressively stretching my goals day by day. 

[eeefellow123]

Thanks for replying.i have purchased through snapdeal on dec 2015. It would be great if you guide
me how to get replacement .

Sent from my ASUS

[ravichso]

You should be able to contact contact.fitbit.com , with the purchase invoice copy and ask for a replacement. The support is quite responsive and courteous ( alas the product quality does not do justice to their excellence :-().  After verification a replacement is sent quite quickly, by their India stockists ( Ingram Micro) . Amazon or Sanpdeal  itself will not come into the picture unless their return policy window is active. 

[lilmssunshine08]

My Surge is no longer syncing.  It's paired, although even that seems to keep dropping now.  When I try to sync, even if it stays connected, it just keeps "looking..." and never syncs.  This is highly frustrating!  I've had it for almost a year and have never had an issue.  Coincidentally, I was just beginning to evaluate what my next fitness device option should be.  It's not looking good for fitbit at the moment.  I don't think it's a device issue; it appears more like an app / update issue.  

Any advice not already covered in troubleshooting?  

[eeefellow123]

I have received response from fitbut support team stating that i have break the band and take photo and send with only the photo so that they can start the replacement. Iam surprised about the process, sorry to bother uou again.let me know your advice on this

Sent from my ASUS

[ravichso]

If you had local support they would ask you to return the defective device and send a replacement . I guess this is their way of ensuring a dead brick of a Fitbit Surge is not used as a passive pedometer .
Pathetic actually - given they should be able to check if the same device ever resynchs with some account .
I had to do the same to get the replacement .
In all probability your replacement if it is from the same batch in India , will fail again .

I am now waiting with bated breath for their tech support to respond back with an offer of full refund 🙂 . I will die of cardiac arrest if they do .

Thanks and regards
Ravi

[ravichso]

If it shows connected to the device and the app shows steps and pulse updating as you move about , then your internet connection to Fitbit servers is probably flaky.
Check if you are able to access Fitbit.com website or other sites .
Good luck - you need it with Fitbit Surge.
Thanks and regards
Ravi

[VivisFitbit]

Hey there guys! I'm sorry to know about the syncing issues you're having. If you're still not able to sync you can try to forget your device by doing the following: 

1. On your mobile device, go to Settings > Bluetooth.
2. Tap your tracker and then tap Forget Device.
3. Log out of the Fitbit app.

After this proceed to restart your Surge: 

1. ress and hold the Home and Select buttons (left and bottom right) on your Fitbit Surge™ for 10 to 15 seconds, until you see the screen flash or start to dim.
2. Let go of the buttons.
3. After your screen turns completely off, wait 10 seconds and press the Home button to turn your Surge back on.

And try to set it up as a new device again: 

iOS: 

1. From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap the Account tab.
2. Tap Set Up a Device.
3. Choose your tracker and follow the onscreen instructions to continue

Android: 

1. From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap the menu icon in the top left corner.
2. Tap Devices.
3. Tap the + icon in the top right corner.
4. If you're replacing a tracker, tap the tracker you want to replace. If you're setting up a new tracker, tap Add a new Device.
5. Choose your tracker and follow the onscreen instructions to continue.

Keep me posted! 

[Marv13]

I am not able to sync my Surge to my Macbook.  Anyone else have this issue, and what did you do about it.