Can’t activate camera’s flash

[ArvinDelgado]

After updating to iOS 13.1.3, the option to activate my phone’s (iPhone SE) camera flash to scan food bar codes is not working. No action occurs when I “click” the “flash” option. 

[ArvinDelgado]

When I experienced the problem it was with iOS 13.1.2, it started working again after I updated to iOS 13.1.3. Now, with 13.1.3, I have two new problems. The first is that the option to activate the flash of my phone’s camera when scanning bar codes doesn’t work. The second is that, once in a while, the Fitbit app screen goes blank (“white”).

[SunsetRunner]

Hello and welcome to the Fitbit Community @ArvinDelgado 

I see your having an issue with your phones camera flash to scan food bar codes. I do hope I understand your question correctly. Let’s check here to make sure your Fitbit Settings is correct.

Go to> iPhone settings> Fitbit> Ensure Camera is enabled

😃 Please let me know if I did indeed provide you with the solution to your question and if I did please tap the “best answer” box under this post. It really helps others who come here to the Fitbit Community find answers to questions similar to your own. I’d really appreciate it!

[ArvinDelgado]

MegaBite, thank you for replying and suggesting a solution. I checked the app’s settings and, in fact, the camera was already enabled, so I suppose that is not the issue. Could it be some change that they did to make the app work with the new iPhones? Maybe it created issues with older iPhone models?

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

Hello again @ArvinDelgado 

I tried activating my barcode scanner and it indeed brought me to the settings I described in my previous post to you.
let’s try this:

disable the camera mode first

then log out of your Fitbit App

Force Shut your app by swiping it up

shut your device down, wait 1-2 mins then turn your device back on

then log on to your Fitbit app again as you normally would

Now go to use your bar code again and this time it will ask you to go to settings

enable it again and see if that does the trick. 

😃 Keep me posted with the results 

[SunsetRunner]

Hello again @ArvinDelgado 

Just wanted to check back in with you to see if my last post resolved your issue? 😃 keep me posted 

[SunsetRunner]

@ArvinDelgado 

I moved the post you did yesterday to here since your exercise is no longer an issue as you stated in that post and now your experiencing a camera flash issue. I did this to keep the forum tidy and to avoid confusion with the other forum. It prevents the thread from splitting to two completely different topics. 😉

[ArvinDelgado]

Thank you for sending this possible solution. I just followed your instructions and, unfortunately, the issue is still there. I can’t activate the camera’s flash from the Fitbit app.

Sent from my iPhone

[LZeeW]

@ArvinDelgado   Your question made me look at my iPhone 6S and app -- I have not updated my OS and still use 12.4.1.  (I have learned from experience that a new OS can cause problems with the app.  The problem with Notifications was discovered before I was offered the update.  I am waiting for that to be solved).  Back to the point.  When I go to scan a food, that flash setting is OFF and can't be turned on.  I'm not sure that the new OS has anything to do with it.

Have you used the flash in the past?  Have you needed flash in the past?  I brought some foods into a room with pretty dim ambient light and the scanner worked.

[ArvinDelgado]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, I have used the flash in the past. Consistently until I updated to iOS 13.1.3. Truth be told, I didn’t use it on iOS 13.1.2; I didn’t have a need nor the opportunity in between the two iOS updates since they were so close to each other.

Sent from my iPhone

[mradamfox]

I use the flash religiously and had the last version of iOS on my new iPhone 11 Pro. Upgraded to latest iOS tonight and it still doesn’t work. Brutal!

[mradamfox]

Doesn’t work

[sew1der]

Ditto.  I used the light for scanning in low light  nearly every morning and night.  It is very inconvenient.  The light works with regular camera. 

[mradamfox]

So is this a widespread software issue? My camera works perfect just not
worth the Fitbit app
--
Moderator edit: Removed personal information

[SunsetRunner]

Hello @mradamfox, @ArvinDelgado and @sew1der ,

I wanted to clarify if the flash worked before the newest iOS update? According to @LZeeW (who has not updated yet) the flash is not a feature so it would appear that the flash not being a feature now is no change from how it was before. Was the flash ever a feature? I personally do not use the barcode for scanning food. I used the feature yesterday for the very first time to assist someone with a question. Turning the camera on was always a feature on my Fitbit settings since I’ve been using my Fitbit but I’ve never seen a flash mode with it. I did indeed scan a few food items without any issue yesterday. I didn’t require a flash and I was under fairly low light. 

[ArvinDelgado]

I just tried to use the flash with a CR code reader app, and it worked fine. The problem seems to be with the Fitbit app.

Sent from my iPhone

[ArvinDelgado]

Good morning. Yes, the flash is a feature I used it many times before the update. The feature is displayed after selecting the bar code scanner. It is in the top right corner of the screen, shown as a ‘lighting rod’ symbol next to the word “Off”. It is by default turned off. Before the update, clicking i that symbol activated the camera’s flash and the word on the symbol changed from “Off” to “On”.

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

Hello again @ArvinDelgado 

Thank you responding back. After reading your most recent post I went back to look at my barcode scanner through the Fitbit app and indeed you are correct there is a flash symbol clearly on the upper right corner of my screen. I completely missed that when I tried using the scanner for the first time yesterday. Thank you for pointing that out. I tried different settings (both in the Fitbit settings as well as the camera settings) but I was unable to enable the flash. I will let the Fitbit Team know about the issue and hopefully it can be addressed soon. I can not give you a timeframe at this time. I apologize for the inconvenience but that is all I am able to do at this time. If I’m made aware that the issue has been resolved I’ll be sure to pass this on. 😉

[ArvinDelgado]

Thank you for looking into it and providing a quick response.

Sent from my iPhone

[SilviaFitbit]

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delayed reply. 

Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with the barcode scanner. I've reported this to my team and they will investigate it, your patience is appreciated while I have more information about it. 

I appreciate the troubleshooting provided and for flagging it @SunsetRunner. 😀

Catch you later!