I cant get my versa to connect to GPS on my iPhone 8

[David1801]

I cant get my versa to connect to GPS on my iPhone 8 

Moderator Edit: Clarified Subject.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @David1801, thanks for joining the Fitbit Community, it's great to have you on board. 

Thanks for bringing this situation to my attention. First of all, in order for your Versa to work with connected GPS with the Fitbit app in your phone, check the following steps:

1. First, make sure your phone can track your location when you're out of Wi-Fi range:
   1. Open iOS Settings app and tap Cellular.
   2. Make sure Cellular Data is turned on.
2. Next, ensure that your GPS can continue tracking when your phone is locked:
   1. Open the iOS Settings app and tap General.
   2. Tap Background App Refresh, find the Fitbit app, and make sure it is turned on.
3. Lastly, make sure your phone can identify your location:
   1. Open the iOS Settings app and tap Privacy.
   2. Tap Location Services and make sure it’s turned on.
   3. Find Fitbit in the app list and make sure it's set to While Using the App or Always. 
4. If the Fitbit app doesn’t appear in the Location Services app list:
   1. From your Fitbit app dashboard, tap the Exercise tile.
   2. Tap the stopwatch icon in the top-right corner.
   3. When the window pops up asking for access to your location, tap the Allow button.
   4. Return to step 3 to make sure your phone can identify your location.

After having checked the previous steps, let's try using connected GPS with your Versa:

1. On your watch, open the Exercise app.
2. Swipe to find the exercise of your choice. 
3. Tap the exercise to select it. You’ll see the Let’s Go! screen. If you chose a GPS exercise, you’ll see a satellite icon in the top left as your watch tries to connect to a GPS signal (using the built-in GPS on Fitbit Ionic and connected GPS on Fitbit Versa). When your watch says “connected” and the watch vibrates, GPS is connected.
   
4. Tap the play icon or press the bottom button to begin tracking your exercise. Your watch shows 3 real-time stats of your choice. Swipe the middle stat to scroll through your real-time stats. You can adjust the stats you see in the settings for each exercise.
   
   
   Note: During exercise your progress toward your maximum heart rate is shown on an indicator next to the number of beats per minute. The heart-rate value appears gray if your watch is searching for a stronger reading.
   
5. When you’re done with your workout or want to pause, press the bottom button.
6. When prompted, confirm you want to end the workout.
7. Press the top button to see your workout summary.
   
8. Tap Done to close the summary screen. 

Sync your watch to store the workout in your exercise history. There you can find additional stats and see your route if you used GPS.

I hope this can be helpful, give it a try and keep me posted in case you need anything else. 

[David1801]

Thanks for replying.  I have already checked my phone settings and attempted to connect as per your instruction.  Problem is that it has only ever connected once and I have tried it almost daily since purchasing the Versa on the 12th of May. 

I notice that one of your sites mentions being able to get a refund within 45 days of purchase.  Can you please provide details of this.  

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @David1801, I hope you're doing well, thanks for taking the time to reply. 

I appreciate you have come back and let me know you have tried the instructions I've provided earlier. Please note that when you select a GPS exercise, Versa vibrates when your phone finds a GPS signal. If your phone doesn't find a signal immediately, keep in mind that environmental factors including tall buildings, dense forest, steep hills, and even thick cloud cover can interfere with your phone’s ability to connect to GPS satellites. 

For best results, wait for your phone to find the signal before you start your workout. However, if you don't want to wait you can start your workout and GPS tracking begins when your phone finds a signal. However, if your Versa is still not connecting with your phone's GPS, please check the following:

• Bluetooth is enabled on your phone and your watch is connected (paired) to the phone. To confirm, go into your phone's Bluetooth settings and make sure you see Versa on the list of devices.
• (Android only) The Fitbit app is allowed to run in the background on your phone. For more information, see Why is the Fitbit app sending a notification to my Android phone?
• Your phone is within about 30 feet of your tracker.
• Your phone can identify your location and can track your location when you're not using Wi-Fi. For more information on which phone settings you may need to adjust, see How do I use exercise apps and modes on my Fitbit device?

If your Versa is still having trouble, please try the following:

1. Open the Fitbit app to reestablish a connection with your tracker.
2. Reboot your mobile device.

Finally, if you're still want to return the Versa, please check this article: Return Policy & Warranty.

Thanks for your patience and understanding, if there's anything else I can do for you, please feel free to reply. 

[David1801]

I can get the versa to connect to my phone GPS intermittently.  The phone has never had any problem connecting to GPS and the Bluetooth connection has been connected each time I have checked.  It is very frustrating that when I go for a run I spend the first 5 minutes trying to get a connection or give up and use the phone.   On all runs I have done so far if it does not connect before I start it does not connect during the run.   Overall it is not a very useful device.   Your link on returns policy connects to a link of links to contact you and does not give any advice on returning the device.  Perhaps you can advise what the policy is?

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @David1801, I hope you're doing well, I appreciate you have taken the time to reply and sharing with me all the troubleshooting steps you've tried so far. 

When it comes to the return process, as mentioned in the article, return authorization must be requested from our customer service team within 45 days of your purchase date, this request has to be made through our Support Team so I've contacted our Support team on your behalf to look into this issue further and provide you with some options. Please keep an eye on your email inbox for further instructions.

In case you need anything else, please feel free to reply as well.

Happy stepping.

[fireman452]

I have the EXACT same problem with the EXACT same results following your guidance - NADA - 

Moderator Edit: Word Choice.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @fireman452, thanks for joining the conversation, it's a pleasure for me to welcome you to the Fitbit Community. 

I appreciate you have shared your experience with me and for trying the troubleshooting steps I've provided above. At this moment I would like to ask you to try the following:

• Turn off WiFi when you're about to start a connected GPS activity. If WiFi is on, your phone will actively look for a WiFi signal and will try to connect to it, making GPS tracking more difficult to connect.
• Go to your phone Settings > General > Restrictions and make sure they're set to OFF.
• Go to your phone Settings > Fitbit and check that Location is set to "Always"
• Restart your phone and open the Fitbit app, make sure the app is running in the background while tracking a GPS activity. 

I hope this can be helpful, give it a try and keep me updated! 

[GeoB777]

Try unpairing your phone and Versa.  Then, turn off Bluetooth on your phone.  Remove Mobile Tracker, if it is installed in your FitBit app.  Reset the Versa by holding the left and lower right button.  Then, pair up your bluetooth connection between your phone and watch again.  Hopefully this will do the trick - worked for me...

[andrewmcneilis]

liekwise i have tried all advicd and it just doesnt connect- the crappy thing about this is that itbit deliberately buried the lack of gps built in 

[fireman452]

I had the same problem and was able to get mine to work by going to bluetooth and telling it to forget the Versa, deleting everything running on my phone, rebooting the versa by holding the back button and the lower right button and then going into the fitbit software and moving the All Day Sync button to on (should be off after you turned off the connection on Bluetooth) then it will ask if you want to connect the Versa and once I reconnect it connects to my watch fine.  I know all of this is a PAIN and it should NOT have to be necessary but it works every time for me.  

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @fireman452, I hope you're doing well, thanks for taking the time to reply. It's nice to see you too @andrewmcneilis, thanks for joining the conversation. It's great to have you on board the Fitbit Community @GeoB777, thanks for all your help. 

At this moment, if you're still having trouble using connected GPS with your Versa, I would like to suggest you to go to your phone Settings > General  > Restrictions and make sure there are no restrictions in place as this might affect the GPS functionality between Versa and your phone. 

I hope this can be helpful, give it a try and keep me posted. 

[DEL1880]

Why does location have to be set to always instead of while using to work?

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @DEL1880, thanks for joining the Fitbit Community, it's great to have you on board. 

I appreciate your participation in the Forums and for posting your question. Please note that it's recommended to have the location set to "Always" because it's easier for the app to track your location with connected GPS when this setting is chosen as "While Using the App" has given problems in the past; additionally, the app will only connect when it's open, meaning that if you force-quit the app location will stop tracking as well. 

I hope this resolves your inquiry, if there's anything else I can do for you, please feel free to reply. 

[SunsetRunner]

I have this issue with my iPhone 6s. I have followed ALL the suggestions here, checked ALL the settings, and note the following:

I DON'T get a "satellite" icon - i get a green moving horizontal line. Makes no odds, it STILL wont connect, and if it does - usually only if I open the app on the phone - then it drops it again somewhere through the walk. My phone is within the "30 feet" - its on my belt, or in my pocket.

My FIRST versa was fine - this is a replacement because the first one suddenly crapped out. I'll give one more attempt, then contact the chat line and request ANOTHER replacement.

Incidentally I tried to "connect" before I started typing this - it still hasn't done it!

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @SunsetRunner, have a warm welcome to the Fitbit Community, it's great to have you on board. 

I appreciate you have joined the conversation and shared your experience with us. Thanks for providing many details about your situation. At this moment, I would like to suggest you to first, restart your Versa by pressing and holding the Back and Select buttons (left and bottom right) until you see the Fitbit logo on the screen. Then, open the Fitbit app in your phone and start the GPS activity from the watch. 

Note that the Fitbit app should be running in your phone for the watch to connect with GPS, once it connects, do not close it during the duration of exercise. Now, if this doesn't seem to work, please let us know so we can check this further. 

Thanks for your patience and understanding, we'll be waiting to hear from you. 

[SunsetRunner]

So you are saying that the Fitbit app has to be open when I want to track an exercise with my gps? I thought my phone didn’t even have to be with me to use this.

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello @SunsetRunner, I hope you're doing well, thanks for taking the time to reply. 

I appreciate you have come back to us. Indeed, the Fitbit Versa works with connected GPS, which means it needs to connect with the GPS on your phone in order to record a GPS path in a map and in order for the map to gets tracked, the Fitbit app should remain open or running on the background (while your phone is locked). 

To know more about connected GPS, please check the following article: What is connected GPS on my Fitbit device?

Thanks again for your participation in the Forums, if there's anything else we can do for you, please feel free to reply. 

[SunsetRunner]

The same thing is happening to me.  I keep the app on during the exercise but still it stops recording half way through my exercise.  I have the iphone XR and have followed all suggestions and still having issues.  I had no problem when I had a android phone.  I am guessing it is the compatibility Versa to Iphone more than the fitbit itself.  UGH.  so frustrating

[MarcoGFitbit]

Helo @SunsetRunner thanks for joining the conversation, it's great to have you on board the Fitbit Community. 

I appreciate you have joined us and let us know you're also experiencing this situation. Tell me, have you tried the troubleshooting steps listed on the link I've provided on my previous response? If so, would it be possible for you to reply to us with the following information?:

• OS version running on your iPhone XR
• App version installed in your phone (go to the App > Account > Help to get it)
• Versa version (go to the App > Account > Versa to get it)

Thanks for your patience and understanding, we'll be waiting to hear from you.