Zip won't sync

[jwnewman]

I posted this just a few minutes ago as a reply to another thread, and it mysteriously disappeared. For the moment, I will attribute it to a fat-finger error on my part while editing the post, rather then indulge in conspiratorial rants. 

My brand-new Zip won't sync unless I remove and re-install the battery. A Google search on "fitbit zip won't sync" returns 148,000 results. 

I -- and apparently hundreds, if not thousands, of others -- have followed all the recommended steps:

• Uninstall and reinstall app
• Turn bluetooth offf and back on

• Make sure there are no interfering devices
• Make sure the battery contacts actually contact the batter (but if that were a problem, the darn thing wouldn't work AT ALL, no?)
• Make sure app software is latest version
• Make sure Zip firmware is latest version
• Make sure "Alway connected" is enabled
• Make sure "Keep-Alive Widget" is enabled
• Remove and re-install the battery

Restarting, by removing and re-installing the battery, is the ONLY thing that will get the Zip to sync. And then the NEXT time you try to sync, you're back to Square Zero -- do not pass GO, do not collect $200, do not get your Zip sync'ed. You want to sync, then pop the battery out and back in.

This is clearly not a viable option, yet seems to be the only solution ever offered for YEARS. Is there really no better answer?

Experimenting further with the Android app and the desktop app, it very much looks like the problem is very simple to identify: the Zip is not returning to "discoverable" status on Bluetooth after synching. When you restart (i.e., initialize) the device, it makes itself discoverable; after synching, it "forgets" to do that again.

How hard can this possibly be to fix?

[gswoods]

We should make that at least 13 months now that Fitbit has been aware of this issue and it is still not fixed. I am still having the problem with my S9+ phone running Android 9. I have a temporary workaround to use my old Galaxy S6 phone with Android 7, just for Fitbit.

There is no excuse at all for something like this to have gone on so long. I don't care if they have discontinued the device, there are still a lot of Zips that people have already paid for still out there. This is either incompetence or Fitbit just doesn't care about their customers. Either way, is is COMPLETELY unacceptable. I have been a loyal Fitbit customer since they first started selling the One, but now I will NEVER buy another Fitbit product again.

[Zipdontsync]

Has anyone actually got a zip that syncs now, both my husband's and mine stopped 2 weeks ago, about time the problem was fixed we gave tried all the "fixes" and nothing works. 

[SLK15]

I gave up on mine and stopped trying to get it to sync. It's too bad because I really liked the clip-on option. 

[strider51]

My wife got me a Versa for my birthday (even though I had vowed to never
buy another Fitbit product) and I've had zero issues with it. I love the
Versa, although it has been an adjustment to have to charge it every 3 to 5
days. I threw the Zip in the trash.

[Cshenk]

I was told they r discontinuing the zip so they won't update it for it to
sync. I ended up buying a versa but don't like it. I still wear my zip and
I get way more steps on my zip than my versa. So frustrating. I hate thst I
have to charge it every few days. My zip wld go a long time!

[gswoods]

One thing that does work, at least for me, is to remove the cover and pop the battery out, then put it back in (i.e. reboot the Zip).  I do this while it is near my phone. This is certainly not a GOOD solution but it has worked for me; it doesn't seem to lose the step count when I reboot this way. Once I get it syncing with my old Galaxy S6, it will work for anywhere from just one successful sync to a couple of days, and then start failing again. Another reboot and it works again. Really stupid. No wonder I'm seeing old Fitbit One's being advertised online for 3 times their original $100 price. Syncing always worked perfectly with my One before I lost it.

--Greg

[feelingzippy]

If you want a clip on, look at the inspire. It has a clip option.

[Madeline2013]

Somewhere I read to sync your zip to your computer then after that it will sync to your phone.  Download the Fitbit app to your computer from the Microsoft store.  I did this and it works.  When my Zip won't sync to my phone, I sync it to the computer and then it will sync to my phone for a while.  It's cheaper than buying a new device which I was in the process of doing when I was told to try the above.