Steps disappear after syncing

[joyce73]

My steps disappear after syncing. Only show calories. I’ve tried all the suggestions. Fully charged Fitbit. Restarted Fitbit. Restarted iPhone. Deleted and reinstalled app. Steps are all missing from previous days, too. 

[MarcyBT]

Nope.  For me today’s steps show on the Fitbit and in the app after I sync it a few times.  But as soon as I close the app they disappear, so no history.

 I reinstalled the app today, so whatever version is in the Apple App Store still isn’t working.

[jsinnott]

Pointer to a community post I made on October 28 that describes this problem from a Web API perspective:

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Web-API-Development/Activities-steps-API-returning-0-steps-since-Aug...

A couple of notes that put this in a more "iOS app" context:

• My device is a Fitbit One
• My device shows step counts on it's LED display
• My device syncs sleep data correctly (i.e. sleep data displays in the iOS app and can be fetched through the web API)
• iOS app (and web API) show (what I believe to be) correct step count data on August 26, a likely incorrect value on August 27 (12 steps) and 0 stepss every day since
• The data for the following attributes (using their web API names) are also, I believe, incorrect since August 27-- my guess is that all of these are derived from step count data so it's all the same problem: [ activities_calories, activities_caloriesBMR, activities_steps, activities_distance, activities_floors, activities_elevation, activities_minutesSedentary, activities_minutesLightlyActive, activities_minutesFairlyActive, activities_minutesVeryActive ]
• Weirdly, the "activities_activityCalories" attribute still seems to be reasonable.

@LizzyFitbit  I hope this is useful and am grateful (assuming I understand you correctly) that a fix is coming soon. Can you share any information about whether that fix will restore the data that is currently incorrect-- that is, will the historical data that currently showing bad values (mostly 0) be corrected? Or will the fix only cause future data to be displayed (or returned by the Web API) correctly?

Thanks! 😄

[penny26]

@jsinnott I read your earlier (linked) post as well as this most recent one, and I believe you are 100% correct.  Fitbit/Google admitted to issues with their API in September, but they were supposedly fixed around September 20 (if I recall correctly), although many issues have persisted.  I am retired IT who dealt with system integrations and provided our Web API to third parties (not in the fitness industry).  I am wondering if Google is attempting to integrate Fitbit's systems into Google and has made changes to the original Fitbit API, which has resulted in this chaos.  It would certainly explain the malfunctions in the Fitbit app for both IOS and Android, the issues users are reporting with their other apps no longer playing nicely with Fitbit, and the posts I have seen on the developer boards asking about unexpected results and error messages from third party app developers that had been working just fine previously.

I also have a One, and my numbers are correct for August 26.  I have 211 steps for August 27.  I don't believe it is an error; I believe that is what was logged before Fitbit/Google made whatever changes that resulted in breaking the API.  Depending on your time zone and when the software changes were made, I would expect everyone to have different partial numbers in that time frame.  It also makes sense that we are still getting the weekly emails with the correct info, because that was uploaded directly from our devices to Fitbit's servers and likely didn't need to pass through the API (although I could be wrong about that.)  Anyway, just my theories, no insider knowledge here, but I am in agreement with you.  Seems like it should have been an easier fix than it has been.

Did you download your Fitbit historical data?  I would be curious to know if the field names in the Json files match what you have provided here and/or the Fitbit Web API?

[dwin]

@penny26  In looking at my historical data - there is no data after 12:30 pm on the 27th of August. This would fit with your theory of what happened. This also matches up with the numerous statements made about when historical data started to be missing in the app. Also, that it continues to be the API seems plausible given that the servers are clearly capturing the data as seen in the weekly progress report e-mails that have been received by many who have posted here. The data is there, the app just can't read it.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi everyone, and welcome to our new members.

Thanks for your continued reports, and the time taken while working on this matter. I understand how you're feeling and as I mentioned before, this issue was escalated to our team internally. While we don't have a time frame for the fix or further details, rest assured that our team is working hard on this matter.

In the meantime, please make sure to have the Fitbit app updated as this will ensure a constant connection between your Fitbit device and phone.

[jsinnott]

@penny26 : The attribute names I listed above (for example "activities_minutesSedentary") are identical to those used in the JSON returned by the web API except that I've changed "/" to "_". So the actual attribute name for "activities_minutesSedentary" is "activities/minutesSedentary".

[SunsetRunner]

That’s the same date mine ends as well - 8/27/24. 

[Dove1919]

I downloaded my Fitbit file.  Hard to make sense of them.  I did find the steps finally.  Stopped in August.  So another dead end.  The data exists somewhere because i'm still getting my weekly reports with the highest steps of the week.  Where is that data coming from?  I thought it would be in these files.

[SunsetRunner]

Honestly, I anticipate this issue will not be resolved. Google is known for killing products/services. The One hasn’t been sold in years, it generates no revenue for them. I’ll be shocked if this gets fixed. 

[bobthompson]

You’re probably right, but… it looks like this issue is broader than just the One? The Apple App Store has many complaints, including from other tracker models. Still an absurd failure to be without tracking for 2+ months, but maybe they’ll help all of us out?

---

I was able to get my current steps by downloading here: https://www.fitbit.com/settings/data/legacy-export

Had to do month-by-month, but had current steps (i.e., post Aug. 26). 

[desma24]

I am having exactly the same problem with my fitbit one. I have wasted so much time trying to get it working properly. Now I know it is an issue for lots of people I guess I will just have to wait until an update that includes a fix is released. Hopefully that happens soon!

[jsinnott]

Hi @LizzyFitbit --

Two weeks ago (November 4) you posted a super-helpful reply on this thread indicating that your colleagues were working on a fix for this problem (where "this problem" means "iOS app and web api report zero steps since August 28" 😄). Have you received any additional information since then? Anything you can share with us? I was heartened by the posting on this thread by @bobthompson on November 12 saying that up-to-date step data is available through the export facility (at https://www.fitbit.com/settings/data/legacy-export)-- to me this suggests that your colleague's fix might restore the visibility of historical step data. Anything you can share about that?

Again, thanks for the time you've devoted to this 😄

[CoDavis]

I just opened my app to sync my fitbit.  i've been walking like crazy all month!.  It started syncing and got the right steps down for the day, kept syncing and then all of a sudden ALL MY STEPS FOR THE MONTH DISAPPEARED on both my fitbit device and my app.  its like everything reset!  I get health benefits through work for steps taken.  All my steps for November are totally gone and I was almost at 200K  WTF GOOGLE!  People rely on this device to get healthcare at work.  FIX THIS ALREADY!!!

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi everyone, and a warm welcome to our new members.

Thanks for keeping me posted and for the steps that you've tried on your own. I'm sorry for the inconvenience this has caused. As you know, our team is aware of this situation and released a new version for the Fitbit app. With this in mind, could you check if there is a pending update on your App Store and install it if you see it available. Then reboot your phone and try syncing one more time to see if your steps appear again.

If the issue persists, please reply back with the model and OS version of your phone so I can forward your information to our team.

[jsinnott]

Hi @LizzyFitbit --

Thanks for this update. Here's (my version of) the information you requested:

• Fitbit iOS version: 4.30 (no update showing in the App Store)
• iPhone 13 Pro Max
• iOS 17.6.1

For what it's worth, as of this morning, the "activities/steps" resource api also still returns 0 steps for all days from August 28 through yesterday.

Thanks!

[S.Hff]

Same for me. I can‘t see any difference. iOS 17.6.1 on a iPhone 13 Pro.

[azdiaz]

I am still having the same problem everyone else on this post is having: missing data on the phone App and the FitBit One device since August 20024.

After another futile FitBit sync yesterday, I was prompted for a review of the App (cheeky, isn't it?). I posted a review and received and received a response from the App Developer, which I have transcribed below for reference. 

---

"Developer response:

Hi, Andres. We're sorry to hear this. Please make sure that your Fitbit app is updated with our guide here: https://support.google.com/fitbit/answer/14237011 If the issue persist, try to log out from the app, force quit the app, reboot your phone, and log back in. For more help, please contact our support team at: https://goo.gle/ContactFitbit"

[jmthoune]

It is still not working. I ensured I had the latest Fitbit app which was updated about 1 weeks ago per the app store. I also rebooted my phone. I have an Iphone Pro Max 13 and the OS is 18.1.1. It would be really really nice if this issue, starting in August, was resolved. Why don't the developers revert the code back to when it was working and then test their changes more thoroughly before pushing it to users?

[lisaintx]

Hi, the issue with the display of historical steps is not resolved. I am using a Fitbit One with the Fitbit 4.3 app (I like the new weight tracking charts though!) on a Samsung Galaxy 23 Ultra, UI 6.1, Android 14.

[ZNuts]

• iPhone 12
• IOS 18.1
• Fitbit app 4.4

No difference. Your post keep the hope alive but.. having worked in the industrial side of programming, don't you test in house to see if the problem is fixed?