GPS map not tracked on Fitbit app

[Lopaolo]

Between february 18 and march 16, fitbit app stopped registering gps position during walk. 
last time succesfully registered feb 18, first time not registered correctly march 16. 
I have a Versa4 and iphone 13 pro. 
I used to make long walk and trace my route. I start the walk in app. Then I switch off the screen and put my smartphone in the pocket. Until feb 18, everything was ok. 
the first time I saw it not happens anymore was on march 16. 
more precise: when I switch on the screen and open the app, the gps position is calculated in that moment and Fitbit app, create a straight line between the last acces to the app and now. So it’s not so accurate as before. 
The settings in iphone for the app is “always” access to gps antenna. 
rebooted, switched on-off the iphone, removed and reinstalled the app, nothing change. 
heeeelp!

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[Manneminer]

Same issue! App used to be super accurate and now grossly underestimating!

[Jonahman]

Same. Very frustrating. It now shows me walking across water and through houses. Ridiculous. 

[LZeeW]

@Lopaolo   I'm moving this thread to the iOS forum.  If you are starting your walk in the app, then this is an app issue, not a Versa 4 issue.  I know that others are having this same experience.

Personally, I don't use this feature, so I don't have any troubleshooting advice.

[Lopaolo]

New Fitbit app, new problem.
Today I’ve made a walk, finished at 19.00.
The walk is present in the app, but not the path on the map.
Worse than before.

During the walk, the app register a gps position sometime.
The localization was “always” on.

[Lopaolo]

Same exercise, different timeline, different data. GPS map of the path is missing again. I can see the path only during the Walk (Camminata in Italian). When I end the exercise, I can see the results in one page, with map, graph of level intensity. After closed, no more. The app is 80% unuseful.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi everyone, and welcome to our new members.

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, and sharing screenshots of the Fitbit app. I wanted to let you know that this issue with the GPS not showing up on the iOS app has been escalated to our team and they're currently working on this matter. I understand how frustrating this has been for you, and I'm sorry for the inconvenience.

While there isn't a time frame, rest assured I'll update this thread as soon as I have more information from them.

[OldishPhart]

Hi Lizzy,

The GPS tracking issue has several aspects: 1. The trace is not available after finishing the exercise; 2. lately, while it was still availble, the trace was subsampled causing gross underetimates of exercise distance (e.g. 7 miles versus the actual 8 miles on one of my favorite walks). The two points represent features that have been lost compared to pre-google times. 

I hope both can be resolved.Thanks for helping and for your kind moderation.

Robert

[fastfrank]

My GPS went haywire on June 11.  Showed the route trace, pace etc.  for Monday evening dog walk, but Tuesday AM it was no longer working and the walk stats were way off.  Still the same this morning, but EUREKA!!  I just got home from our evening walk and it worked correctly.

It's a bit frustrating when this kind of stuff happens, but it got fixed pretty quickly this time.  I remember a similar -- if not identical -- glitch back in March of 2020 that took something like 9 days to get fixed.

[OldishPhart]

I can confirm that the missing trace problem appears to have been resolved:
my morning walk is there. A second problem has not been fixed: the trace is
undersampled on irregularly spaced time points, many 5s apart. This has
consequences for the total distance traveled. Anyone: if you have noticed
that your reported distance is off, please pitch in?

[fastfrank]

Yes, Robert, since the major downgrade in March of this year, my distances are under-reported by about 7%.  Before that it had been very consistent for years.  Additionally, the audio call outs of pace (I have it set for every 0.5 miles) are different than what is shown on the display.  The pace reported by audio is always slower than shown on the display.  Also, if I hit the "pause" button while I clean up after my dog, the pace immediately jumps to a slower readout.  At the end of the walk when I hit the "finish" button, the pace jumps a bit slower again.  Finally, when I look at the pace shown permanently for the walk, it's all over the place, sometimes faster, sometimes slower.  Before March, everything was consistently in agreement with the pace shown on the display while walking.

That March update was a mess. It also goofed up the sleep stats display and the ability to rename an exercise.  Every time I mow the lawn the dimbulb thing thinks I'm riding a bike outdoors.

[fastfrank]

The GPS trace and the pace/distance info is still "buggy."  Of my last six walks, the GPS trace was accurate on four of them.  On the other two, I am magically walking through houses and a creek as it just shows a straight line home from the furthest corner of the walk. Of course, the distance/pace info for those two walks is ridiculously wrong.

I have no idea what Google's/Fitbit's agenda is regarding these issues.