Music on my Versa sounds distorted through headphones

[JessicaMayGates]

Ok I have looked at various threads on this topic but not managed to fix mine with any of the “solutions” on them. 

I have a fitbit versa SE and the music quality through my Bluetooth headphones is absolutely appalling! The pitch is wrong and it’s fussy like a bad radio signal. 

This was a new set of headphones so first I though it must be the headphones so I tested with my phone but they worked perfect with my phone. I then got my phone to forget the headphones and tried repeatedly reset and unpairing and repairing my versa and headphones. I’ve tried having the receiver and watch on the same side and different sides. NOTHING I have read so far as a solution is working. I’ve even read on one thread that Fitbit were saying it wasn’t a watch problem it was just one of those things with Bluetooth. Which considering these headphones work perfect with my phone my son’s phone and my tablet it most certainly IS at Fitbit versa problem. Has anyone got any other fixes for this please?

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity 

[HeydyF]

Hey @JessicaMayGates, let me give you a warm welcome to the Community! I appreciate the time you have taken to try to fix this issue with the music on your Versa sounding distorting. Beside of the steps that you already tried, I suggest you to follow these: 

- Restart your Versa

- Reboot the Bluetooth on your phone

- Try to pair your headphones again

Let me know how it goes! 

[JessicaMayGates]

I have rebooted my versa about 11 times so far and the Bluetooth on my phone is sort of irrelevant when the headphones are supposed to be connecting to the Fitbit not the phone. So I’ve tried with the phones Bluetooth off and on. I even tried walking into the middle of a big field with only the headphones and my versa in case other tech was causing signal issues but it still didn’t fix it.

So am I to understand that there just isn’t a solution? And if it’s just a case of some headphones working and others not can anyone recommend a set of headphones that definitely work that are less that £50 available in the UK?

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Cerulebutterfly]

I've seen this advice everywhere for this issue. It does not work. Can fitbit please provide an honest answer or solution to this malfunction?

This solution to the problem does not work. Can fitbit please provide an honest answer or solution to this obvious bug on a brand new watch?

Moderator edit: merged reply

[JessicaMayGates]

Exactly! I have also tried everything I have read on this and it also seems to be luck on which headphones work as some say certain headphones work fine and others say they don’t. I’m guessing it means that there’s either some versas that have bad hardware for Bluetooth or something maybe?

[Kanesh]

I am trying to play the music from Versa through the Kitsound Boombar speaker – it is awful and I am getting constant crackling sound. I can pair other devices with the Kitsound Boombar speaker and they are fine. I feel the Versa is not fit for purpose in regards to Music.

[JessicaMayGates]

I don’t understand why so many people have this issue and yet Fitbit don’t even reply with anything that can fix it. It’s not like the Versa is a cheap fitness tracker. I loved the idea of being able to listen to music without taking my phone. Just me some fields to jog in and some music to listen to but I haven’t been able to do that and instead have to take my phone, pair the headphones to my phone (and obviously they work perfectly) to listen to music through that. The music option is definitely not fit for purpose and as if I’m going to even consider trying out deezer on my Versa when I cant listen to music on my Versa in the first place so why my Fitbit app and emails from Fitbit keep suggesting it is beyond me.

[Noddyboy]

I have the same issue. In January Fitbit told me they are aware of the problem and are working on a fix. As of February no fix. 

[AdamT87]

My sound is dreadful!  I've just bought a versa new and tried all the resetting turning off bluetooth etc.  Such poor quality.  PLEASE HELP FIX THIS FITBIT

[AdamT87]

Please can you explain what the problem is with the music?  It seems everyone is having this problem.  Restarting and unpairing repairing does not alter the super bad quality of music

[Cerulebutterfly]

It's a problem with the watch

[JessicaMayGates]

Three months this thread has been open and Fitbit only posted on here the once and haven’t responded since which is absolutely disgusting. 

[AlvaroFitbit]

@Noddyboy  @AdamT87  @Cerulebutterfly  Welcome! It's great to see you around! 

Everyone thank you for sharing your reports. Try cleaning the connection between your headphones and your phones by going to your phone's bluetooth settings and remove all devices listed there. Restart your phone and restart your device. After this pair your headphones to your Versa without connecting it to your phone and see how it behaves.

Let me know how it goes!

[Cerulebutterfly]

My fitbit and headphones where brand new. It's an issue with the fitbit

It's a brand new Fitbit and streams via my brand new headphones... the headphones have no issues on any other device.  Read the whole thread. It's a problem many people are having with their brand new Fitbit versa. Nothing fixes it

Yes. Terrible quality. Like it's a radio station out of tune and skips a lot. Nothing fixes it.

Fitbit doesn't know how to fix the issue apparently and advertises a function on the watch that isn't truly available. My husband and I both have the same issue on our brand new watches

As of March 2019 still no fix

Moderator edit: merged replies

[JessicaMayGates]

I have done this and it didn’t work. I have even removed all devices from everything and then gone and stood in the middle of a field away from any other interference and tried it but nope still sounds terrible!

[Cerulebutterfly]

Like I said. It's a problem with the Fitbit. Nothing works. My current
theory is that it's a hardware issue not a firmware issue. The quality of
bluetooth the Fitbit is installed with is not good. Bottom line. So not buy
a versa expecting to be able to use pandora as advertised

[Westerly]

It is a Bluetooth compatibility issue. The Bluetooth of the Versa watch that sends the audio is not compatible with the Bluetooth of the headphones. I have tested with Audiofly in-ear headphones that I bought. These have same problem that you describe. However, I tested with with my colleagues' buds and both the Plantronics and Apple devices worked perfectly. So, my conclusion is that the AudioFly Bluetooth 4.2 is not backward compatible with Versa Bluetooth 4.0. I have see other posts which mention Bluetooth Low Energy (LE) which is supported in 4.2 and suspect that this has something to do with it.

The solution is to try some different earphones to see which work. 

[Noddyboy]

Can FitBit comment on Westerly’s post?

[JessicaMayGates]

I have seen a few people that have had luck with different headphones but there doesn’t seem to be anything specific about which ones work. I have tried my Sony ones, my Picun ones and my friend So skullcandy ones and none have fixed this issue. I don’t want to just go around buying headphones with no guarantee that they will work. If Fitbit could confirm that the Versa only works with a specific type of Bluetooth headphones and release the specs that the headphones need to meet then people could try to find ones that work. The problem is I have also seen some people saying that a certain pair of headphones worked with their Versa and then someone else comment saying this set didn’t work for them and Fitbit aren’t saying anything much about the issue at all. Considering this is one of their higher end Fitbits it’s disappointing that they aren’t being my open and upfront about the issue. 

[Westerly]

Yes, I agree. This could all be cleared up quite simply if Fitbit made the detailed requirements available.