Fitbit Ignoring App Timezone and using System Timezone

[vanmepper]

I have my fitbit app settings set to one timezone and my iphone set to another timezone. It seems to break everything.

Setup: 
Manually Set Fitbit Settings to one timezone (for me this is local time)

Manually Set Iphone to another timezone (another timezone)

Location Services Disabled

Example:

I did 4k steps last night. 8pm on my fitbit which was 1AM on my phones system settings. This morning i did 4k steps at 8AM and 1PM equivalent on my phones system setting. Fitbit app is saying I did 8k steps today already. I have disabled location services, and automatic timezone. Fitbit App is ignoring my wish and still persisting on showing everything in my phone time zone.

If I do steps at 8am on my fitbit settings, the fitbit app should not try to use my iphone timezone at all. Ignore it entirely. Show the gui as 8am even though my iphone says its 1PM. But it tries to correct the time with the GUI and when it does that, it also adjusts when I do my steps.

Anyone run into this issue?

[Julia_G]

Hi, @vanmepper , unfortunately you just can’t do that.  Your Fitbit has no ability to independently access the internet (and update its time) so it readjusts every time it connects to the app - on your iPhone on its timezone.  You will notice that if you never sync your Fitbit (supposing you are at sea with no internet access) your Fitbit will gradually lose time whatever zone it is connected to and eventually become useless at keeping time.

In this case every time it syncs to your phone it will reset itself.  Even though you *think* it should not try to use your iPhone timezone and to ignore it completely, that is *not* how it is designed.

To answer your question, yes, everyone has run into this issue.  That just isn’t the way it works.  Your Fitbit needs to connect to an external device.  In this case your only solution would be to have a separate phone, set to the same time zone as your Fitbit.  Your phone would need to be connected to the internet, but instructed not to update its time zone based on location. The phone would not necessarily need to be connected to cellular services but it would be need to be connected to the internet, presumably by WiFi.  That would work to do what you want to do.  You simply cannot do it with your current set up.

I am sorry not to have better news for you!