Stop asking me to turn on GPS

[andrewinhouston]

I don't want to enable GPS.  I respond to the app to NOT turn it on.  And it still asks me at least once per day if I want it on.  Please, please, please remember my response.  I DO NOT WANT TO TURN ON GPS!  I work from home and my GPS is limited to a very small area.  All that turning it on will do is drain my battery faster.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @andrewinhouston. Welcome to the forums.

Thanks for letting me know that the Fitbit app keeps asking you to turn on your location settings. I understand your concern about this situation and to further investigate, may I know since when you started to have this issue? Have you made sure to update the Fitbit app to the latest version?

If you've not done so, please log out, force quit the Fitbit app, reboot your phone, open the Fitbit app, log back in and monitor its behavior on the next days.

Keep me posted.

[andrewinhouston · Accepted solution]

Hi Lizzy,
I have only had the Charge 3 for a few weeks now, and it has happened since
the first connection. The app is updated as of 24 January.
I'll let you know the status either way.
Thanks for the quick reply.
Andrew

[andrewinhouston]

It hasn't asked again since, so that seems to have taken care of it.  Thanks!

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @andrewinhouston. It's great to see you here again and I'm sorry for the delay.

I appreciate your efforts while working on this matter. I'm glad it was resolved and now you can continue checking the Fitbit app without worrying about this notification. In case you have some spare time, I’d like to invite you to visit our Discussion Board where you will find great tips and encouragement from other members.

Hope to see you around more often! 😊

[andrewinhouston]

A little update: Two weeks ago, almost every time I opened the app for three days, the Location Access & Bluetooth Sharing prompt came up again, asking me to enable the track with GPS.  But rather than having to click No Thanks every time, it self closed.  Then for about a week it stopped asking.  Now it is asking one, two or three times per day.  I've forced the app closed but have not restarted the phone.  That seems a bit old fashioned to me.  I would much rather the app accept that I've given my preference and not ask me again.  I promise I'll turn on the feature when I want to have an activity tracked with GPS.

In the meantime, if you or anyone has other suggestions on what I can do to stop this from asking, I would appreciate it greatly.

[LizzyFitbit]

Hi @andrewinhouston. Welcome back to the forums! I'm sorry for the delay.

Thanks for bringing this to my attention and for the steps tried prior posting. I totally understand how you're feeling about the ongoing message displayed on the Fitbit app. This shouldn't be happening after adjusting your settings and so I can further investigate on my end, please confirm your phone's model, OS version and Fitbit app version. Also, take a screenshot of that prompt and attach it in your reply by following the instructions posted here.

I'll look forward to your response.

[andrewinhouston]

Hi Lizzie,

The model is iPhone 8
OS version 12.4.1
Fitbit version 3.16.1

The screenshot will have to wait. I broke down and rebooted the iPhone.

Thanks,
Andrew

[SunsetRunner]

I’ve had the exact same problem for several months now. iPhone 11, latest version of iOS app and Fitbit Charge 3 firmware. Previously, I’ve been told that the current version of the app requires GPS to be on all the time for full functionality. I don’t need it and I don’t want it. If I’m moving, I get prompted to turn it on every single time I open the app, which is ridiculous. What’s worse is that since the latest app update, it fails to sync with my Fitbit almost every time. I can’t change my alarms as the app is constantly trying to sync. I’ve been a Fitbit user for several years and am at the point where I want to take a hammer to it and fork out for an Apple Watch. Fix your crappy app!

[andrewinhouston]

[andrewinhouston]

Okay Lizzie.  The screenshot was posted.  Please help to get this fixed.

[andrewinhouston]

PS:  I'll start calling you Lizzy rather than Lizzie 🙂

[andrewinhouston]

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that stopping the app and just starting it when I wanted to sync seemed to help.  It is even worse now.  Today, for example, except for the first time this morning, each time I've started the app to sync, it has asked again for my permission to allow access to my location.

@FitbitPLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, just update your app.  How hard can it possibly be to REMEMBER my decision?  I DO NOT WANT TO GIVE YOU ACCESS TO MY LOCATION!!!!  It does not benefit me in any way.  To continue to ask is intrusive and abusive.  Just stop!  How much would it cost for me to pay for the modification?

I have an average of 14,500+ steps per day, all within the confines of my home and yard.  What possible good will turning on GPS do?

As an alternative, you could just send me a new Fitbit One and I'll quit posting messages about the Charge 3.  Just sayin'

[SantaCruzLife]

Having the same issue with the Charge 4.  I don't want to use the GPS, honest.
Lizzy, if you're still there, make it stop.

[Rich_Laue]

The app does not ask you to turn on GPS, the user will never be able to turn on GPS. 

As the screen shot shows, the app is asking for permission to access location services for when it needs to. 

[andrewinhouston]

Hi Rich,

Thank you for the suggestion, but even if the permission to access the location services is given, Fitbit will continue to request permission as long as GPS is disabled.  And even if this were the way to address the problem, why did it take 2 years for anyone to make this suggestion?  Other threads are older, I believe going back at least 3 years.

When I run on a treadmill in my home, I have zero need for Fitbit or my phone to access my location.  i know where I am.

This cannot be a difficult thing to change, but Fitbit persists in ignoring the request.  If I am running in place on a treadmill, what possible reason would Fitbit "need" tor access location services?

[DotᚖMac]

Did not work for me. I get this message several times every day. iPhone 12, iOS 15.1.1, latest version of Fitbit app.  Updating through various iterations of the FB app did not help.  I have turned off every location/GPS option on the app and on my Charge 4, but this has happened since the day I got a Charge 4. 

Did this problem ever truly get solved by anyone?

[Rich_Laue]

My undersranding is that iOS finally fixed the BT vulnerability that Android fixed several years ago, and to sync, location services need to be enabled. 

[Reenrowan]

I get this exact same notification every time I open the app, even if it’s been running in the background. It’s driving me nuts. I also mostly stay at home and my Fitbit most specifically for tracking my sleep- which certainly does not involve changing location. This level of active location tracking would only drain my battery so fast that using my Fitbit would no longer be feasible. 
iPhone 8, Fitbit versa 2,  latest OS 15.0.2, latest firmware available for Versa 2

[Reenrowan]

Versa 2 software 3.51