Issue with GPS Tracking on Fitbit iOS App

[user456w]

I wanted to bring up an issue I've been experiencing with the Fitbit iOS app recently, and I'm hoping someone here might have some insight or solutions.

It seems that the app is not marking all GPS points accurately during my activities, and at times, it's even skipping waypoints altogether (drawing lines over none pathways etc). This has made it impossible for me to trace and record my data accurately, which is incredibly frustrating as I rely on this information to track my progress and performance. mi pretty stable in my routes so I know what the data output should be.

I'm not sure if this is a widespread issue or if it's just affecting a few users like myself, but if anyone else has encountered similar problems or has any suggestions on how to fix it, I would greatly appreciate your input.

I've tried restarting my phone and reinstalling the app, disable/enable the location permission but unfortunately, the issue persists. If there are any troubleshooting steps I haven't tried yet, please let me know.

[slowg]

Having the exact same issue. The iOS app drops maybe half of my run (big chunks just missing) and draws straight lines right through blocks for other sections. My Fitbit device winds up showing a longer distance since it's using steps x stride length, but the app is all messed up, and that's what gets saved in the app. It's also showing all runs as walks, with no option to change that (also posted in the relevant thread). Restarted, reset, reinstalled, background refresh is on, no power saving, nothing seems to work. I've run the same few routes for several years with the same Fitbit device and app setup with no problem; it only stopped working within the last few weeks. If it doesn't get resolved soon I will change to a different device manufacturer and tracking app altogether.

[RBennie]

Has this been resolved yet?  I'm having the same issue.

[skywife]

Me too and it's a pain.    Hope it gets fixed soon!

[masommerfeld197]

Same here. I’ve rebooted, uninstalled, reinstalled, checked settings. Was working fine until update. Usually I walk 5mi in an hour. Now I am not even tracking a mile in that time. Says my pace is 57 minute mile. This is frustrating. Inspire 3 isn’t tracking much better but is tracking the steps just not the distance. I am about done with Fitbit. 

[GeorgeScott]

Still an issue as of 3/21.  Reduced a 5.5 mile walk into 2.09 miles of jaggy lines. 

BTW, I had switched some time ago from starting exercises from my Charge 5 to starting them on my iPhone because the Charge 5 GPS was struggling.  On two occasions in the past week, I checked the map after about a mile and after seeing bad tracking initiated an exercise from the watch itself.  As of the time I added the exercise (phone and watch running parallel exercises), the GPS seemed to track fairly normally for the phone-initiated exercise..  

Today I changed my GPS setting from Phone to Dynamic and but initiated my walk only from my phone, and the tracking was the worst yet. 

[masommerfeld197]

As of 3/21/2024 this is still an issue. I have iPhone 13 Pro with iOS 17.3.1

[65tibtifwen]

Definitely having the problem on my Sense. App on iPhone and running 14.12. Tried the background on and off but that did nothing. 

[umbrellaman]

Juan - Please don’t show this as “solved”.  It’s not solved. This is a big problem and we’re hearing nothing from Fitbit on a fix. 

Fitbit destroyed GPS tracking with an app update. This needs immediate attention and we’re getting nothing.

[KateQ]

Same issue here. Tried alllll the things mentioned and it’s still only pinging location when i check the screen  (sometimes) and is cutting the actual distance big time. Since I started tracking on this app in 2016, I have. pretty good idea of my pace, and it’s not 57 min miles! Help please!!!

[Mo_D_Allofone]

I have the same issue. To add some more detail so as to help with isolating and fixing the problem:

1. I have a Charge 5 and an iPhone 11. iOS is 17.4.1. App version is 4.13. Charge 5 FW is 194.91. Settings has Background App Refresh turned on. 
2. When starting a walk via the Charge 5, gps tracking works fine. I assume that this is because gps is via the device and not my iPhone this way. 
3. When starting a walk via the Fitbit app on my iPhone, gps tracking does not work properly.  I noticed that it will track correctly if I keep the display unlocked. As soon as I lock the screen, it appears to stop tracking. When I unlock the screen again, it immediately draws a straight line on the map between the current location and the last one when the display was unlocked, and it starts tracking correctly. 
4.  Checking back in my exercise history, I noticed that on Mar 5, I started a walk via the app and all was well, however a walk initiated via the app on Mar 7 resulted in the current issue. I believe this is the first time I experienced this issue. 
5. I checked my app update history and noticed I updated the app from 4.11 to 4.12 on Mar 6. 
6. Therefore, this issue must have been introduced in app version 4.12 and persists in version 4.13. 

Hope this helps. 

Cheers everyone!

[stuhuck]

I have an iPhone 13 ios 17.4.1.

Background refresh is on.

Issue began about the same time as everyone else.

[giugiubee]

I’m having the same problems but for me, and several friends, we only use the app (no watch). Historically the app was recording all my steps regardless of whether I initiated an exercise. But over the past month, when I start a WALK exercise, the app doesn’t record either the steps, the mileage, or the route. Nothing has changed in terms of process-it’s the same walk, with the start button pressed right after I’ve started walking. The app ends up just being a timer-it displays the duration only, then when I hit END, the app says “no activity was detected so nothing was recorded.” Makes zero sense. Nothing in the FAQs covers this issue. Seems like a wider issue as everyone I know who uses the app for this purpose has been frustrated because there is no solution. It’s certainly not making anyone want to buy a Fitbit, but is making me question, againnnn, why I even have a fitbit.

[JuanFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hi everybody ! Thank you for your reports and information.  

As mentioned our team is aware of this and is still investigating. Your information will help our team identify the issue at hand. 

Just to clarify. I mark the post as "Best Answers", so that other users know that we are working on this easier, not because the issue has been solved.  

[GeorgeScott]

Today I started a walk from the iPhone app and checked the tracking after a few hundred feet, and there was just a straight line from where I started to where I was.  I started a walk from the watch itself (Charge 5) and from that point on it tracked normally.  Interestingly, the app only registered one walk.  

From previous post:

BTW, I had switched some time ago from starting exercises from my Charge 5 to starting them on my iPhone because the Charge 5 GPS was struggling.  On two occasions in the past week, I checked the map after about a mile and after seeing bad tracking initiated an exercise from the watch itself.  As of the time I added the exercise (phone and watch running parallel exercises), the GPS seemed to track fairly normally for the phone-initiated exercise..  

Today I changed my GPS setting from Phone to Dynamic and but initiated my walk only from my phone, and the tracking was the worst yet. 

[mcw53]

Hey @GeorgeScott 

The only way I can get reliable and accurate GPS tracking is to start my activity (primarily walking) from the exercise app on my Charge4 with GPS configured to use my iPhone's GPS.

A while back I turned off automatic updates for the iOS fitbit app when it became apparent that each release introduced new problems. So I never implemented release v4.12, which introduced the GPS problems so many are experiencing.

[csnoozy]

Has this been resolved yet? I went for a new walk today and started exercise-walk-go and it only tracks steps and heart rate. I wanted to see the GPS map since it’s a new trail in the neighborhood. 

[Jen_E]

This did not correct the issue.  iOS 17.3.1

[Or0213]

Same here too… the Apple health app is not syncing correctly with Fitbit. Steps are off by at least half of the steps. 

[mhouse]

Background App Refresh was already on, and the tracking worked prior to the update.  iPhone 12, iOS 17.4.1

[BWM57]

I am having the same issue with my Sense and iPhone 15 Pro Max. GPS isn’t remotely close to correct now, it used to be tremendously accurate. 
Running Fitbit 4.13 and iOS 17.3.1.