Fitbit not syncing with Strava

[j-ftbt]

I followed the instructions in this comment by a moderator. Exercises in Fitbit are still not being transferred to Strava. Strava activities do appear in the Fitbit exercises. What further troubleshooting steps should I take to resolve this problem?

[Rich_Laue]

Hi @j-ftbt in the past, was Fitbit syncing to Strava? 

I just checked, yes my GPS recorded activities are syncing with Strava.. Please not, that only activities that are recorded with GPS enabled will sync. Currently I believe only Walk, Run, Hike, and Bicycle sync. I would like Kayak also. 

Normally when they're not syncing, we want to to disconnect then reconnect. 

Fitbit App: 

1. Open the Fitbit app.
2. Tap Today > your profile picture (or gear if you haven’t updated to a Google account) > Fitbit settings .
3. Tap Manage access to account > Manage connected apps.
4. Disconnect access to Strava

Strava App

1. Open the Strava app.
2. Tap You from the bottom menu.
3. Tap Settings ​on the top right
4. Tap Manage apps and devices.
5. Unselect Fitbit and follow the steps to Disconnect access to Fitbit

Once BOTH applications have been revoked respectively, restart the authorization process by referring to the steps below:

1. Visit strava.fitbit.com and click Connect.
2. Log in to your Strava account.
3. When prompted, authorize Fitbit and Strava to connect, then follow the on-screen prompts.

Strava App

1) You > Settings (gear icon)

2) 'Connect to an app or device'

3) 'Fitbit'

4) Follow instructions to authorize Fitbit and Strava to connect

[j-ftbt]

@Rich_Laue, thanks for the long response. Neither Walk nor Run exercises are syncing to Strava. The instructions you listed are the same that I linked to, and I have followed those instructions. I have followed them several times over the last week or so. Still, neither Walk nor Run exercises recorded on the Fitbit appear in Strava. I am assuming the connection is created correctly since Strava activities appear in Fitbit's UI. Are there any other troubleshooting steps I should take to determine what could be wrong?

[j-ftbt]

Sorry, to answer your question "was Fitbit syncing to Strava?". No, I have never seen Fitbit exercises appear in Strava.

[j-ftbt]

The Fitbit website shows that the device has GPS turned ON for Walk, Run, and Bike. I did not just turn those ON, they were already checked.

When I select "Export as TCX file" in the Fitbit mobile app the downloaded TCX file seems to essentially be empty as shown here:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<TrainingCenterDatabase xmlns="http://www.garmin.com/xmlschemas/TrainingCenterDatabase/v2">
<Activities>
<Activity Sport="Running">
<Id>[...a timestamp...]</Id>
<Creator xsi:type="Device_t" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<UnitId>0</UnitId>
<ProductID>0</ProductID>
</Creator>
</Activity>
</Activities>
</TrainingCenterDatabase>

 Hopefully, this additional information is helpful.

[Rich_Laue]

For you to see a TCX file, you would need to record your Fitbit exercise with GPS enabled, also only exercises with GPS map recorded will be spent to Strava. 

In Fitbit, do you see a map of your Walk, Run, or Bike ride? 

[j-ftbt]

In Fitbit, do you see a map of your Walk, Run, or Bike ride? 

---

No. However, GPS is turned on. So, maybe the problem is that Fitbit is not honoring the GPS setting in the Fitbit options?

[j-ftbt]

I have been back and forth about this with Fitbit and Strava.

Strava claims that Fitbit pushes Fitbit exercises to Strava; so the problem must be on the Fitbit side. This makes sense to me and aligns with how all API integrations I have used operate.

Fitbit claims Strava pulls Fitbit exercises from Fitbit; thus the problem must be on the Strava side. How Strava is supposed to know there is a Fitbit exercise to be pulled has not been explained.