Alta Never Disconnects from Bluetooth

[DarkAthena]

My trusty FitBit One fell victim to the random restart problem, so after a frustrating conversation with Fitbit Support, I went and bought a new Alta. Possilby a mistake.

My new Alta never disconnects from Bluetooth, even when EVERY notification is turned off. Calls, texts, calendar events, remider to move notifications, etc. are all OFF. Alta still maintains constant contact with my iPhone bluetooth. Removing it from my Fitbit app and removing it from my Bluetooth settings make no difference. I turn Bluetooth back on and the Alta immediately reconnects without me pairing it.

Contacted FitBit support again and Liz gave me a song and dance about how it's working correctly and that I can just turn off Bluetooth on my phone when I'm not syncing my Alta. Because I want to make a bunch more work for myself, right? My old FitBit One connected to bluetooth, synced, and then disconnected.

Why can't the Alta do that? Why doesn't the Alta do that? I'm getting ready to get a Garmin, except my friends all have Fitbit. I'm frustrated as heck. Come on, Fitbit. Help, please!

[DarkAthena]

SOLVED!

Set up the Alta as a new device after removing it from your account. When you get the prompt to PAIR the device in order to receive notifications, DECLINE.

You won't get notifications for calls, texts, etc, but your bluetooth will disconnect properly.

I suggest a firmware update to make it so bluetooth disconnects properly if notifications are turned off, regardless of pairing status.

[SunsetRunner]

I'm an Android user but I'll give it a shot. In your phone's bluetooth settings if you highlight the Alta do you have an option to "forget" it?

[DarkAthena · Accepted solution]

Not always, no. I had to turn off Bluetooth and restart my phone. What causes the problem, I don't know. Sloppy firmware?

1. Remove Alta from FitBit App

2. Unpair or "forget" Alta from Bluetooth Settings, if possible. If not turn off Bluetooth and reboot phone

2. Open Bluetooth Settings and ensure Alta doesn't reconnect automatically. If it does, try to "forget" again and then reboot phone.

3. If Alta is NOT repaired automatically, DO NOT PAIR IT.

4. Open Fitbit App and set up the Alta as a new device.

5. Do not pair it or set up Call, Text, or Calendar Reminders. If your phone asks you to pair, decline. You will NOT receive Call, Text, or Calendar Reminders, but Bluetooth should connect and disconnect when you open and close the app now.

For whatever reason, you can't pair and then turn off notifications and have the Alta quit using Bluetooth. It doesn't happen. I tried all the things until I figured out Notifications were causing it. Fitbit support had no idea that it was notifications causing the constant Bluetooth usage, even though all notifications were OFF. It's the fact that you paired the Alta and your phone. It seems like an oversight to me in the software or firmware. Hopefully they'll fix it in the future.

[SantiR]

@DarkAthena I hope you're doing well! I'm glad to hear that you are back on track now. Thank you so much for sharing the workaround that worked for you. I'm pretty sure this will help a lot of users who are experiencing similar problems. Also, take a look at the Discussions Board as you will find a lot of interesting things there. Feel free to post on any thread you want!

@SunsetRunner Did the workaround worked for you as well?

Keep me posted!