Can I start a running app on my phone using Charge 2?

[BillEng]

I would like to use MapMyRun or other run tracker app on my Android Droid 2 phone and start it using the fitbit Charge 2. This and other apps are supposed to sync with FitBit but I don't see how to start the app by pushing the fitbit button. Is there a way to do this with MapMyRun or other run tracker? It is very inconvenient to to start and stop the phone app while strapped to my arm.  

I would just use the built-it FitBit running app, buy it tracks the run very poorly. Apparently is is not syncing well to update the GPS location. It shows crazy criss-cross lines or it stops before the end or even shows a starting location a few blocks from my real start. If I run the same route 5 days in a row it might show it right once. MapMyRun is perfect every time.

[Rich_Laue]

You can start a GPS run from the Charge 2 using the connected GPS on the phone. However this does not start the recording of your run using the Fitbit or any other app.

[BillEng]

I am no really sure what this means. I can start the FitBit run tracking app from the Charge 2, which uses the phone's GPS, but not the Phone app. The FitBit app does not track reliably, but the phone app does.. So far I can only start the phone app from the phone. I would like to be able start a phone app from the Charge 2. If you are saying that can be done, lease tell me how.

[RobertoME]

Hello @BillEng, welcome aboard to the Fitbit Community and allow me to step in! Like @Rich_Laue mentioned before is not possible to start any third party app from your Charge 2.

MapMyRun is indeed compatible, but only certain information is shared across your Fitbit account and MMR. 

• Data will sync from Fitbit to MapMyFitness programs (this includes MapMyRun). However MapMyRun activity doesn't sync to Fitbit.

What syncs you may wonder?

Fitbit > Distance > MapMyFitness apps

Fitbit > Calories > MapMyFitness apps

Now I would like to explain a little bit more about the option of GPS. Your Charge 2 has two options to track your exercise with GPS.

You have the option to use the connected GPS of your Charge 2, which is as you mentioned on your post. Is your tracker using the GPS feature of your phone without the need of the app and this can be started from your tracker. The other option is MobileRun that use the tracking option of the app along with your tracker. Is similar but this options is only available in the Fitbit app.

For more details please visit these posts:

- MobileRun & Your Device.

- Connected GPS Information Post.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have additional questions.

[BillEng]

Thanks for your reply. Pardon my being dense. I hadn't heard of MobileRun. However, I see it seems to be much like MapMyRun - it runs on the phone and is started and stopped on the phone. It does not start and stop using the button on my Charge 2, right? I have been looking for a way to start and stop a phone app using the Charge 2. I gather that capability does not exist. Perhaps I can switch questions. The reason I have tried to start and stop a phone app with the Charge 2 is because the GPS tracking is more reliable than what I get using the fitbit app started and stopped using the Charge 2. Perhaps there is a way to enhance the reliability of connected GPS tracking that can be started and stopped from my Charge 2.  I have read that the connected GPS works best if all apps are closed, even the fitbit app. I haven't tried this yet. Is this correct? I have been leaving the fitbit app one, thinking that was needed. Any other tips to improve syc reliability while running? My phone is a Droid Turbo 2.

[Rich_Laue]

@BillEng, we are yelling you that it cam not be done, if it could their would ne an option under your trackers settings for rhis. But you are more than welcome to continue to look, unless your good at hacking apps, it is not going to happen. You might also need to hack the tracker.

Yes Mobile run is controlled on the phone, the difference between mobile run and Mapmyrun is Mobilerun puts your event directly into your Fitbit account.

The best we can do is give you alternatives

[BillEng]

Well thank you for just saying it cant be done. Up to now I have been hearing about stuff it can do but is irrelevant.  I guess the answer is go with something else or just put up with starting an app from my phone. I don't need Fit Bit to do that. I don't need a calorie count. I just want an accurate run tracker. I thought my Charge 2 would do that , but apparently not. I have gotten no reply about how to improve the GPS tracking of my Charge 2. As it is, my charge 2 is useless for run tracking,  which is what I bought it for. If I wanted to start and stop and app from the phone I would not have bought the Charge 2.;

[BillEng · Accepted solution]

I solved my problem by closing all apps on my phone, including the Fitbit app, and carrying the phone in my left hand right next to the Charge 2 on today's run. Today the Charge 2 seemed to get the GPS data flawlessly and it tracked the run well. The route looks perfectly accurate now in my FitBit app when synced after the run. That is all I have been looking for. Tomorrow I will try carrying the phone in my right hand, as I had been doing, with all apps closed and see if the location makes any difference.

[Rich_Laue]

I'm happy,  i too noticed that if i don't have enough free memory my gps suffers. Sorry i d I didn't see any mention that this might be what you wanted.

[RobertoME]

Hello @BillEng thank you for keep us updated and thank you as well for your input @Rich_Laue.

As you may know, Connected GPS is the option that you control from your Charge 2. However the GPS features is provided by your phone, so there are different sources that can affect the accuracy of your running data. Additionally, the environment you are in can affect the signal strength of GPS. I have experienced this: since where I'm living is surrounded by threes and sometimes I have a  hard time trying to get a fix GPS location with my phone.

For example, if you are running in an urban environment with many tall buildings, it may take your phone several seconds to get a fix.

For Android platforms vary widely depending on the specific mobile device. If you're unsure how to verify anything mentioned, consult the instructions provided by your device manufacturer.

1. Make sure your phone can track your activity when you're out of Wi-Fi range. This is usually achieved by making sure Cellular Data is turned on.
2. Make sure GPS can continue tracking while your phone is locked.
3. Make sure your phone can identify your location.This is usually achieved by enabling Location Services within your privacy settings.

See you until the next time.

[Rich_Laue]

@RobertoME brings up some good points.

With Android phones there are several accuracy levels under location services.

Use only GPS - this actually is the least accurate of the three, Robert points out some of the downfalls.

High accuracy uses cell towers, and wifi hotspots to help locate the phone location. You know that Google car thatt drives around taking street view pictures, it also is recording the names and locations of any wifi spots it encounters. 

Now this is where knowing more about your phone is helpful. Many, not all, Android phones need to have wifi or cell data turned on in the radio settings to see this info. Location services simply turn on the receiver and listen withoit the transmitter. For cell towers it uses the phone channel, not the network. I have tried and have no problems with network off, other android users have reported that it needs to be turned on.

So why all these unrelated wifi, cell towers signals help. Simply because GPS alone, for non milatary use is not very accurate. To much of the environment affects its accuracy. When it comes to navagation in the car, your Tom-Tom has an advantage and assumes your still on the road.  Your cell phone needs some other stable referance point and thats where wifi and cell towers comes in. They are  used as secondary referance  points like Tom-Toms use known road locations.

Unfortunately woods usually lack wifi hotspots, and we are back to only cell towers and GPS, cloud cover and the tree canopy may affect the GPS signal. Just a microsecond slow down of the signal from one of tye satellites may throw your possition off by 50 feet or more. Radio waves travel at the speed of sound, and your phone is measuring the time it takes for the signal to travel from 3 satellites to you. After the signal travels thousands of miles you want it to tell me that im standing here and not 20 feet over there.  How fast does it take sound to travel 20 feet?

Fun fact, the whole GPS network was proven to be possible from simply observing the beep put out by Sputnik in the late 1950"s

[BillEng]

It looks like I spoke too soon. Not only did the tracking work poorly when I tried it twice holding my phone in my right hand (opposite the Charge 2), when I switched back to my left hand today, right next to the Charge 2, tracking was also poor. Both devices were charged and all apps on the phone were closed. This appears to be a communication problem between the Charge 2 and the phone. Although the discussion of possible things that can go wrong with GPS was mostly true (except that GPS communicates via radio waves at the speed of light, not sound), that is not the problem here. When I use a run tracking app on my phone, I get perfect GPS tracking. I run mostly off road in pretty open space, no buildings. The trails are on the maps. It appears that the Charge 2 is not getting regular enough updates from the phone to interpolate properly and gets confused. I suspect it tries to get updates regularly but the bluetooth connection fails often enough to leave big holes in the record. I can see why FitBit decided to put the GPS on the newer model device rather than rely on getting it from the phone. I will probably go back to using the run tracker on my phone.