Run tracking - start from phone, watch duplicates separately

[kwatt718]

I only recently realized (through reading some of these) that to use voice cues while running with the Charge 3, you need to start the Track Exercise from the phone app rather than starting from the watch. I've been doing this on my recent runs, and have been getting voice cues successfully. But...

What I can't figure out is how to start the exercise from my phone and for the watch to show the same information. I start the exercise from my phone (in order to get voice cues) but then the watch just starts to auto-track the run separately, and it's not the same information as the phone. This is OK but not ideal - I do still see my live pace, which is a main reason I purchased Charge 3. Afterward, my fitbit app shows two exercises in the log (usually slightly diff dist, avg pace, etc), and I have been manually deleting the duplicated one from my watch.

Unlike when you start an exercise from your watch and then it shows it syncing to a phone, I don't see a "sync" option back to the watch when initiating from my phone. 

Any help?? I'd prefer to have phone and watch show the same thing, and for the exercise to only be tracked once. 

[sko_tang]

That is very strange.  Which version of iOS app and which Charge 3 firmware you have?

I am using app 2.95 (839) firmware 28.20001.60.39.  I have been refusing to update as the updates do not fix anything for me and there are so many horror stories about updates causing issues with sync, battery, blank screen etc.  I can live without those.

I just finished my walk starting the tracking via my iOS app to get the voice cues.  I only get my usual stats (I use Retro Double Stat) steps and HR.  I did not get any other metrics like distance and pace, for example, on the Charge 3.  I only can get that on the phone during my walk.  I understand this is not practical during a run.  But I can only get live distance and pace on the tracker if I start my walk via Exercise mode from Charge 3.  Plus I will get a summary when I start and end the exercise via Charge 3.

I checked my Charge 3 auto tracking setting: Account > GOALS > Auto Recognized Exercises > Walk.  It is set to Auto-recognize; Walk Longer Than 15 min.  So that means if I do not initiate tracking via phone app and not via Charge 3 exercise, then after 15 minutes walk the auto-recognize will kick in.  The auto-recognize should NOT start simultaneously as your run starts and your app is tracking.

Hope this helps.

[kwatt718]

Thanks for sharing. If I read that correctly, it sounds like you haven't found a better way than what I'm experiencing. The result I'm after is to start through phone app (to get voice cues) and then see that same synced information on my Charge 3, so as to see live pace, dist, HR while running and for everything I'm seeing to be tracked as the single run that it is. 

I hadn't figured out voice cues until recently, after the last time I updated, which was a few weeks back, so I'm not sure if this is a new problem due to an update or just a poor software/design issue that Charge 3 users have always dealt with (but that seems bad since GPS phone tracking and live pace is a big selling point of this model).

I'm on App 3.3.1 (857) on iPhone SE and Charge 3 version 20001.63.5. 

[kwatt718]

I found someone with what I think is the same problem (posted late 2018 though), and I replied to that post. 

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Charge-3/See-stats-on-Charge-3-while-using-Voice-cues/m-p/3667595#M8...