Current heart rate not being displayed in iOS app

[robsterc]

I've got all day sync activated and the app is current. If I quit the app and re-open it works for some time and then just shows resting heart rate.

It is recording heart rate as the graph over time updates. It just doesn't show current heart rate.

Any ideas?

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[robsterc]

@MrMarv 

I hadn’t thought about the potential negative of listing what’s fixed.

I’ve got hold of 3.25 now and as you say it doesn’t fix the syncing issue ☹️

[Midorinoji]

I was finally able to install 3.25 and for me too the problem went away for a few hours only.

@MrMarv 

I wanted to comment on your last post. These comments aren't directed at you but at Fitbit ... not that I expect them to be taken into consideration and maybe not even be read by anyone there 😉

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@MrMarv wrote:

It is commonly done for one, or more, of three reasons - 1) hackers target changes, as they are perceived as not being "bullet proof" yet, 2) the developers are not confident of the new enhancements/fixes and/or 3) management wants to hide embarrassing "things".

---

I am also from the (enterprise) software industry and am familiar with the reasons given for limiting information but as with anything which has pros and cons, compromise is needed.

1) Hackers target areas of the software which they think may be weak. This includes known bugs and in the case of Fitbit, many of these have already been made public through this community. Publicly announcing the bug has been fixed can reduce the risk of hackers wanting to spend time looking in that area. Not providing any information is an attempt at "security through obscurity" which is not an effective approach.

2) Developers not being confident a problem has been fully addressed is bound to apply to new features (especially if the QA process is not thorough) but in the case of Fitbit they are quick to announce new features, it is the bug fixes they do not want to talk about. I agree that for complex issues and particularly issues where the company have not been able to reproduce the problem, it can be difficult to know if the problem has been fixed but that does not cover all bugs. Particularly for iOS where the choice of hardware and supported OS versions is limited, reproducing the problem and testing the fix is easier so the level of confidence should be higher.

3) As for the embarrassment factor, surely the fact that the bug has been openly discussed in this Community means that hasn't been avoided. The only remaining embarrassment now is the length of time to provide a fix. My experience with Fitbit so far is that it will take a long time. So far none of the several bugs I've reported to them over the last 5 months have been fixed.

All of these risks can be mitigated with careful wording of the release notes. To get the trust of customers it has to be a balancing act. I certainly don't expect release notes as detailed as open source software but if it's public knowledge that customers are suffering from these problems mentioned in the community, it is not unreasonable to expect to be told when the bugs are fixed. If Fitbit want to keep secret other bugs which they don't think customers have spotted, that is an understandable commercial decision.

Consumers can't exert the same sort of pressure as enterprise customers, and I doubt that opinions like these are even brought to the attention of people able to influence decisions at Fitbit so hopes of their changing are slim. The number of bugs I've come across since buying my Inspire HR and more importantly the total lack of concern which Fitbit show customers who report bugs (I don't even bother attempting to contact support directly now) has led me to decide that when my tracker dies I will be looking at products from other companies.

[MrMarv]

@Midorinoji - 

First off, great post! And even without reading the warning, I would not have thought you were speaking "of" me.

Like you, Enterprise Computing was my life. Developer, Consultant, IT Director, VP Development and then, sick and tired of Corporate politics, back to Developer (VERY senior, but a just developer nonetheless). Only in my eight years as a Marine did I feel more satisfied.

I too, have considered going over to the "Other Side". I have owned four FitBit devices over the years, with the last three (technically four), Alta HR June 2017 when it looked like my heart had taken a viral attack (and it had), Charge 3 in October of 2018 because it had some functions I wished the Alta HR had, and when it "white-screened" on me in January of this year, a flawed Ionic that I returned the next day to be replaced locally with my Versa 2.

I almost bought a Series 5 at the same store, but it looked like I would have to get three, four or more apps to provide the services I was used to depending from my Charge 3 within the one FitBit app.

My Versa 2 has NEVER gotten a clean bluetooth pairing, and as such, I have lost at least 8 functions, many that I had used as arguments for not going over to Apple. And the subject of this thread is just icing on the cake.

I have an open ticket from February 7th, after a board monitor recommended that support contact me. I have lost count of how many iOS app releases and Versa 2 firmware releases have come through in those 159 days.

I'm sure glad the FitBit development team doesn't work for me. Can you imagine writing their yearly reviews? Assuming I was forced to keep them?

[robsterc]

I've been in touch with Fitbit support over chat today as we are all finding 3.25 doesn't help. 

The picture after this is clearer but not the outcome we would want.

Fitbit has removed all day sync and no longer supports it. This backs up those who say it has gone in their app. It's still there in mine but I haven't deleted my device recently. I presume if you delete a device and re-add it then you get no all day sync. If you have it now it may work intermittently (as we have experienced).

Fitbit say they have done this to "improve your experience with notifications, syncing, and firmware updates, we removed the option to turn off all-day sync from the Fitbit app". 

And that we still have the ability to " When your phone is near your Fitbit device with Bluetooth turned on, it periodically syncs with the Fitbit app to update your stats and download available firmware updates. More frequent syncing rarely, if ever, noticeably decreases your device’s battery life. "

I asked why it was removed and was told "this feature has been removed to decreases Fitbit device’s battery life" 

I fed back that I chose Charge 3 over Apple Watch based on the existing battery life with all day sync.

I was given this link for more info:

https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1877.htm

And this link to ask for them to put back this feature which was so useful to us:

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/idb-p/features

Very disappointed with Fitbit right now. Their lack of transparency is not good.

[MrMarv]

@robsterc - 

You know, that recent "trendy" phrase "transparency" meant to invoke trust in others by alluding that the individual in not hiding anything actually makes me want to turn in around and say...

"Yep - transparent. I can see right through you. And it looks like you only care for yourself".

Sorta like the phrase "Let me share with you...". Thought that was kinda self serving, as well.

The FitBit marketing/development teams are too busy trying new trendy things that they are breaking core elements of the system.

And they just don't seem to care.

And the scripted responses and boilerplate answers routinely given by support personnel doesn't help.

My bluetooth pairing ticket has been open since February 7th. Hundreds of posts on the three boards that I participate in point to bluetooth issues.

Moderator Edit: Personal info removed

[Midorinoji]

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@robsterc wrote:

I was given this link for more info:

https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1877.htm

And this link to ask for them to put back this feature which was so useful to us:

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/idb-p/features

Very disappointed with Fitbit right now. Their lack of transparency is not good.

---

If the reason for removal of the functionality was because it "decreases Fitbit device’s battery life" then this is not just lack of transparency, it is Fitbit trying to pull the wool over customers' eyes. The "release notes" if you can really call them that, say nothing more than "We fixed some bugs and made stability improvements"; there is no way that increasing battery life could be described as either a bug fix or a stability improvement.

It wouldn't surprise me if the problem with syncing and the heart rate not being displayed was caused by an incomplete attempt to remove this functionality in version 3.24.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi everyone. It's great to see you around the forums and I'm sorry for the delayed response.

Thanks for sharing detailed information about your phones, and the screenshots provided. I understand how important for you is to track your data and I'm sorry for the experience that you've had while troubleshooting the Fitbit app. Our team constantly visits the forums to take every feedback posted by our members into consideration to work and improve our products and services. Please know that your comments won't go unnoticed.

In regards to the current heart rate not being displayed even after updating the Fitbit app to 3.25, if you've not done so please provide me with the model of your phone and the iOS/software version.

I'll look forward to your response.

[MrMarv]

@LizzyFitbit -

Your development team can start with looking at support ticket- Versa 2 and iOS Bluetooth Pairing Failures - from February 7, 2020 a ticket that your attention to a board post helped to get booked.

The topic of this thread is one of the issues apparently being caused by weak/faulty bluetooth connections.

Not action after 164 days and counting, as well as numerous iOS app releases.

As I believe I said to you at the time, I made a conscious decision at the time to stay with FitBit when my Charge 3 "white-screened" on me and I then received a dead Ionic. 

As I said in another thread, it gets to be quite tiring. Especially when my son laughs and says he never has issues with his Series 5.

Be well, Ms Lizzy.

Moderator Edit: Personal info removed

[MrMarv]

Well, this wasn't fixed in release 3.25.1 which apparently came out on the 15th, according to the entry in the app store.

2:15 - Upgraded to 3.25.1 from 3.25

       Took app out of memory so ensure clean start and restarted

2:30 - App automatically sync'd which is what one hopes to see

2:35 - Started Treadmill Exercise 

2:40 - App freezes

2:55 = After waiting it out, restarted the app

2:58 - App freezes

2:58 - Restarted app

3:00 - Brought Music forward to select new playlist

3:01 - Brought app to foreground in a frozen state

3:01 - Restarted app

3:16 - App automatically sync'd

3:16 - Immediately froze when sync completed

3:16 - Heart rate display stayed static with the heart icon blinking

3:19 - Heart rate tile now displaying only resting heart rate

3:29 to 3:34 - Failed sync

3:35 to 3:39 - Failed sync

3:39 - Gave up monitoring

Has anyone else installed 3.25.1? And did it actually fix anything?

[Sharyn66]

I have an iPhone 8 plus and IOS 13.5.1

[SunsetRunner]

I have an iPhone 11 and iOS 13.5.1. I think the Fitbit app stopped showing current heart rate 2 versions ago - 3.24? It was about a month ago.

Sent from my iPhone

Moderator edit: personal info removed

[jillnicesteppin]

I have an iPhone 8 and iOS 13.5.1.

[Midorinoji]

---

@LizzyFitbit wrote:

Our team constantly visits the forums to take every feedback posted by our members into consideration to work and improve our products and services. Please know that your comments won't go unnoticed.

---

@LizzyFitbit Sorry to be a skeptic but I simply don't believe this. There never seems to be any specific answers to questions asked nor even statements with any real content.

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@LizzyFitbit wrote:

In regards to the current heart rate not being displayed even after updating the Fitbit app to 3.25, if you've not done so please provide me with the model of your phone and the iOS/software version.

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iOS 13.6. It was 13.5.1 when I upgraded to 3.25. The problems with the Fitbit app are the same with both OS versions. The hardware is iPhone 6s

After reading @MrMarv 's experience with 3.25.1 I will not be upgrading to that without at least further information from Fitbit. The effort of restoring the whole iPhone from backup to downgrade from a version of the app which seems to have got even worse is too much without being able to make a judgement on the risk. So I ask again:

1. Has the problem of the current heart rate not displaying been reproduced by Fitbit engineers? If not does this mean that the app is running without this problem on all of your test devices (or employees' devices)?

2. Does the development team feel that the changes from 3.24 to 3.25 or 3.25.1 have addressed that problem? (and assuming you have reproduced the problem, does QA testing show that in your test environment the problem is fixed?)

[ChasBFit]

@MrMarv @Midorinoji 

As a lifelong developer, I'll just pile on... because complaining is satisfying! 🙂

Like, honestly, do they even have a QA team? How many developers do they even employ? 3?

Many of the bugs I have seen over the past couple of years that I've been observing are of the smack-your-forehead stupid variety, for example https://community.fitbit.com/t5/iOS-App/Heart-rate-graph-no-longer-consistent-vertical-scale/m-p/353... . That's not some complicated must-to-scale-to-tens-of-millions-of-devices sort of thing; it's just correctly scaling a freaking graph.

And the idea of a professional software shop posting version updates with release notes that are almost literally: "1) Fixed one or more bugs. 2) Added one or more features." is astounding to me. Granted I've always been in a "boutique" software world with < 20 developers on the team; but still - I already expect a better breakdown from my plumber when they do a job.

Anyway, my conspiracy theory expert opinion is that Fitbit is a corporate shell hiding a cabal whose true goal is to develop the AI technology that powers the online persona we now know as " @LizzyFitbit "; but which is really just an alias for... @SkyNet!!!. 

Stay safe! Wear a mask! And keep your Fitbit in a foil lined bag!

(EDIT: Only last phrase meant ironically!)

[robsterc]

@LizzyFitbit 

I'm not sure that this information is going to help. Your colleague in support on the chat channel told me this is part of the removal of all-day sync. 

For what it is worth just in case she was wrong then my iPhone is an XS and the iOS has been 13.5.1 and now is 13.6 none has worked continually with heart rate.

Are you able to confirm is there is more investigation into this or is this parked and disabled as a feature as part of removal of all-day sync?

thanks

[MrMarv]

@LizzyFitbit - 

If I may add to @robsterc 's comment...

If it is a byproduct of the removal of all-day sync, then why is it so intermittent? Five minutes with active dynamic update to the app, then one and one-half hour the next, then ten minutes and then two hours. Or in yesterday's recap that I posted, 25 minutes, 3 minutes, 15 minutes and then 10 minutes.

And the all-day sync continues - every 15 minutes. As long as the app isn't frozen, the sync occurs. 

And the "All-day sync" option on my app finally disappeared at release 3.25.1 - but the every 15 minute sync continues.

I have heard of many explanations as to what is actually going on:

• All day sync is being removed to save device battery life
• All day sync is being removed to ensure routine update of the databases - HUH?
• All day sync is being removed to yada, yada, yada

All-day sync has always, in my understanding, meant that user data is sent to the FitBit servers on a regular basis. And since I started paying attention in the Summer of 2017 it has always happened every 15 minutes.

The All-day sync feature has not been removed, just the option to turn it off has been removed. 

It has nothing to do with the dynamic update of the local app's Today screen, or at least shouldn't.

I am in favor of removing the All-day sync option in the Account>device page. That would, in my opinion provide a service to the user - and I cannot see a sync every 15 minutes being that detrimental to battery usage.

But removing the dynamic update of the app's Today screen is a disservice and probably a byproduct of shoddy programming and Quality Assurance.

Sorry, but I have to say "Shame on you" to those attempting to cover up what surely is a bug with platitudes. As I have said before, I have been a developer for over 40 years, recently retiring, and I would be ashamed to be associated with some of the issues we have been seeing over the last six months.

[Shyam]

Hi all:
I am not as good as some of the other like Mr. Marv and Rob but this is the current situation with me.


1. I have a Charge 3 and the version is 3.24.1. When I click to Update, I get a message that my App is up-to-date.
2. I have an XR and my current version is 13.5.1 and have not updated to 13.6 as yet.
3. Once in a while I can see my Current Heart Rate on the dashboard and have followed the steps recommended by others. Current Heart Rate is there then but then disappears as mentioned by others.
4. It is definitely good to be able to see the Current Heart Rate on my Charge 3 Dashboard but it is not worth it to waste time following the steps outlined by Lizzy and others.
5. My All-Day sync is gone but this does not bother me.

Having said all that, I hope Fitbit can fix this problem as it helps a lot to be able to see the Current Heart Rate while exercising. I love my Fitbit and have had one for over four years now. I prefer this watch to the Apple watch I also have since I like all the info I can see on the Dashboard, especially my Heart rate.

Shyam

Get Outlook for iOS

[Shyam]

Get Outlook for iOS

[KateFitbit]

@robsterc thanks for this feedback, I will pass this along to the team. We are looking for feedback on live heart rate not being displayed and I don't see how all day sync being removed would cause this. 

[SunsetRunner]

Current heart rate disappeared before All Day Sync did, but toggling All Day Sync off and on made the current heart rate show up on the dashboard - once. But you had to toggle All Day Sync every time you wanted to see current heart rate.
If anyone from Fitbit was actually looking at this app, they would have seen this weeks ago and we wouldn’t have this long thread of complaints with no solution.

Sent from my iPhone

Moderator edit: personal info removed