About JMark235

The Fitbit app version 4.08 for IOS was released on 08JAN2023. Note that there isn't a version 4.07 or 4.05. My initial assessment is that this is version brings some significant improvements. Overall the app is much faster, the long delays before doing something are largely gone and I haven't experience a lockup (screen freezes for an extended period of time) yet. On the exercise screen, the heart rate graph redraws immediately, you don't need to go into/out of edit (pencil) to get it to redraw and the time in each zone is now accurate. The pace times for walk/runs completed after the update is now accurate (was duplicating the last lap) but still duplicated for walks/runs completed before the update installation. The first sync of the day correctly displays 'Today' now rather than 'Yesterday'. Note that it doesn't appear that they have changed the Weight, Heart or all of the Health Metrics sections yet. Hopefully the changes for these sections will be less problematic than previous changes. It is really unfortunate that Fitbit (Google) doesn't have a web page that lists all of the open issues with work arounds if available and estimated resolution. ... View more

The v 4.06 app update released earlier this week has generally resolved the battery drain problem on my Versa 2 with the exception of 1 scenario that recently developed. I went for a walk yesterday AM, manually started the exercise tracking but then apparently forgot to stop the exercise when I finished. When I woke this AM there was a message on my watch asking if I wanted to end the exercise. After the walk I took the watch off due to doing a DYI project and didn't remember to put it back on until just before going to bed. During the hours that I wasn't wearing the watch the battery usage screen showed the app running 100% of the time in the background although the total time, pace and distance for the walk was correct. The app somehow determined accurately when I had stopped the walk at the time that I actually did stop the walk. The map of the walk was almost a solid black spaghetti bowl of lines. ---- Fitbit app freezes, I'm using a Versa 2 with an iPhone 13 mini running IOS 17.1.2 and v 4.06 of the Fitbit app. Especially since the v 4.06 app update (thanks for fixing the battery drain problem), I've noticed more frequent instances where the app appears to freeze and in some cases where the app actually does freeze. The freeze problem appears to only occur on the redesigned screens. I say appear to freeze because in some cases the information on the screen such as exercise heart rate or run/walk map will display after a really long wait of 30 seconds or more. In other cases the information will not display even if I wait longer but the app isn't frozen and I need to back out of the app page and then go back in to the page for the info to display. (10JAN24 - These freezes appear to have been fixed in v 4.08). ---- Yes, there is a problem with the redesigned exercise screens. I've noticed that the app frequently takes a long time to load the run/walk map or exercise heart rate graph and appears to have frozen. Fairly frequently the map and heart rate graph will load after 30 seconds or so but in some cases I need to back out of the exercise detail screen and then go back in for the info to display. (10JAN24 - These problems appear to have been fixed in v 4.08) ... View more

The v 4.06 app update has generally resolved the battery drain problem on my Versa 2 with the exception of 1 scenario that recently developed. I went for a walk yesterday AM, manually started the exercise tracking but then apparently forgot to stop the exercise when I finished. When I woke this AM there was a message on my watch asking if I wanted to end the exercise. After the walk I took the watch off due to doing a DYI project and didn't remember to put it back on until just before going to bed. During the hours that I wasn't wearing the watch the battery usage screen showed the app running 100% of the time in the background although the total time, pace and distance for the walk was correct. The app somehow determined accurately when I had stopped the walk at the time that I actually did stop the walk. The map of the walk was almost a solid black spaghetti bowl of lines. ... View more

Fitbit released v 4.06 of the app earlier this week which seems to have finally fixed the battery drain problem and also included a complete redesign of the exercise screens. Since you are on 4.04, I'd suggest updating the app to handle the battery drain problem. ... View more

I am using a Versa 2 on an iPhone 13 mini and v 4.06 of the Fitbit app and I am able to see exercise heart rate. I have noticed that the heart rate graph doesn't always load and then I have to back out of the individual exercise detail and then tap the exercise again that I want the detail on to get the graph and sometimes the graph is very slow to load. Like most of the new app screens, there is a lot of white space resulting in having to scroll quite a bit to get all of the info. (10JAN24 - This problem appears to have been fixed in v 4.08)   ... View more

Version 4.06 of the Fitbit app was released Monday night (04DEC23) at about 2100 EST and I have been running this 4.06 version on my iPhone 13 mini connected to my Versa 2 since then with the app open and background app refresh enabled. The Fitbit app battery usage has been minimal, possibly even less than with the 3.X version of the app. Even when actively using the Fitbit to track exercises at the gym there is minimal background time - about 2 minutes background for 1 hour of exercises. For the last 36 hours the Fitbit app has consistently been running about 1 minute per hour in background processing. Just in case some of you didn't realize it, on the IOS battery screen you can touch 1 of the bars to see what the app was using during the 1 hour period selected. In addition to the battery drain, 4.06 also has a completely redesigned activity section. Note that on the version history for the Fitbit app on Apple's app store there is not a v 4.05 listed. ... View more

Fitbit just released v 4.06 last night (04DEC23) and the exercise zones screens have been reworked. On my Versa 2 the zones are present. If you haven't already done so, you might upgrade to v 4.06 and let us know if your problem is fixed. As an FYI, my preliminary observations are that the battery drain problem also appears to have been fixed. Note that there never was a v 4.05 of the app released. ... View more

Fitbit v 4/04 was just released this AM (13nov2023). In this release; 1) The battery charge level is now back on the app's Today screen. 2) The BPM metric current heart rate in the Focus panel at the top of the Today screen has reappeared after disappearing in the v 4.03 release. 3) The illegible white font on the exercise screens is still there. 4) We should know in a couple of days whether the battery drain problem has also been fixed. 5) In the Focus metrics for Sleep on the Today screen, sleep duration is still the only sleep metric available. Sleep score was previously an option to display for the sleep metric rather than duration. Since I personally haven't experienced any problems posted by others such unreliable syncing I am/will be unable to comment on whether these problems have been fixed. If you posted a note on a problem you experienced that has been fixed then please edit your post indicating same. Thanks. ... View more

Fitbit app v 4.04 was just released this AM. In this release, the fitness watch battery charge level is now back on the app's Today screen and the BPM metric current heart rate in the Focus panel at the top of the Today screen has reappeared after disappearing in the v 4.03 release. The illegible while font on the exercise screens is still there. We should know in a couple of days whether the battery drain problem has also been fixed. Update 16NOV23 : The v 4.04 app update did not fix the battery drain on my iPhone 13 mini with IOS 17.1.1 connected to a Versa 2 with the latest firmware. Closing the app which isn't really that much of a hassle when not using remains the only way to prevent battery drain that I am aware of. ... View more

With the 4.02 version of the app, if you added sleep as 1 of the 4 focus areas you could elect to have either sleep duration or the sleep score displayed under the sleep icon. In version 4.03, the option to have the sleep score displayed is no longer available even though the screen prints in the Preview section of the Fitbit 4.03 app in Apple's app store show the sleep score displayed in the focus section (see pic below). Thanks MissyMyData for pointing this out. The option to display 'Sleep Score' in the app's edit focus for sleep is now missing (see pic below). I have an iPhone 13 mini running IOS 16.7 and a Fitbit Versa 2. PIC 1 - App store preview Pic 2 - App metric display option for sleep ---- Is this a problem that started with the new app? If so please provide details. ---- As far as auto recognizing exercises, have you verified that the auto recognize settings are still setup they way you wanted them? From the home screen, tap the gear icon in the upper right corner, tap "Activity & Wellness", tap "Exercise" and then verify the settings. ---- Did the missing data start with the new app or was it a problem previously? Usually the missing heart rate data is caused by the watch not being able to detect a heart rate in your wrist at which point the heart rate screen on the watch goes blank. If this happens then the heart rate data in the app will of course be missing. Assuming that there isn't a hardware problem with the heart rate sensor in the watch, the watch fails to detect heart rate and other metrics such as O2 if the watch band is holding the watch against your wrist too tightly or loosely or if the back cover of the watch needs to be cleaned. Try changing the tightness of the watch band and wet wipe the back of the watch. I also being older have a problem with my skin getting dry and more reflective and find that occasionally using a lotion on the back of my wrist improves sensor accuracy. ... View more

It is unfortunate that I don't have screen shots from earlier versions as I seem to remember that the sleep score was displayed in this area. This area is called the 'Focus', appears at the top of the screen and is limited to 4 metrics that can appear in this area. In 4.03, if you edit the focus, the only option available for Sleep is duration. I really can't remember whether sleep score was an option rather than sleep duration. In 4.03, underneath the focus section is 'Hide/Show Metrics' through which you can determine what metrics appear. Sleep Duration toggled to ON will show duration and score. If you are still on v 4.02, are you getting a sleep score in the Focus area or only duration? ... View more

Starting with v 4 of the Fitbit app, some of the exercise screens have white font on a light gray background and are virtually illegible as a results. I have an iPhone 13 mini running IOS 16.7 and a Fitbit Versa 2. ... View more

FIXED IN V4.04 RELEASED ON 13NOV2023   Starting in v 4.03 of the app, the heart rate no longer appears on the Focus screen when heart rate is selected as one of the 4 focus metrics. In versions 4.0, 4.01 and 4.02, the current BPM or the BPM range for the day (hi & low) would display and now just dashes appears above the label "bpm". I have an iPhone 13 mini running IOS 16.7 and a Fitbit Versa 2 ... View more

App draining the battery. Starting with version 4.0 of the app released in September 2023, the app started clocking hours of background activity and quickly ran down the iPhone's battery. A number of work arounds were suggested but the only work around that works is to close the Fitbit app when not using it. This problem still exists as of the date of this post in v 4.03 and has been reported on multiple Fitbit and iPhone model numbers. See this Fitbit Community topic  for more detail. ... View more

I installed the new 4.03 version of the app yesterday AM (30OCT) and can not see any improvement. The battery drain is still significant and the nearly illegible header fonts of white on light gray on some of the exercise screens are still there. Closing the app when not using is the only way to prevent the battery drain. ... View more

"Between a rock and a hard place" It is really amateurish that a company with the tech resources of Google can't even get the fonts fixed (white text on light gray background is illegible) much less a significant batter drain issue knowing that the discontent is driving loyal Fitbit users to search for alternatives. Additionally, I can almost guarantee that if this problem goes on much longer that Google will incur some additional expense to replace iPhone batteries or refund Fitbit purchases (Lizzy - I hope that this modified wording is acceptable). I know that hiring staff is particularly difficult now and getting expensive but seriously Google, did you need to hire the local jr high computer club to make the app changes? But I digress. Getting back to the rocks. I looked at the fitness tech on offer from some Fitbit competitors and didn't find anything that I would be happy with. I seriously considered Apple but all of their tech has really short battery life, in some cases less than a day. I don't want to constantly have to pay attention to tracker charge levels and I know that would periodically forget to charge the tracker and have my tracker die in the middle of a workout. My Versa 2 still holds a charge for over 7 days even when worn and used 7 by 24. Consequently, Apple is out. Apple and Fitbit are the only 2 options that have invested heavily in verifying the accuracy of their algorithms and are FDA cleared for the arrhythmia detection which is of special interest to me. I won't install an app from a no name tech company or a Chinese company which rules out a lot of the other competitors. The only remaining option was Garmin. I have had good experience with Garmin having owned one of their hand held GPS units when I used to sail. However, I realized that there is another deal breaker which is that I didn't want to lose my historical data or need to use 2 different apps for historical data from different time periods. So, I am stuck with Fitbit. Neither of the app updates have fixed any of the problems (font & battery) and none of the work-arounds  such as disabling motion and fitness tracking or turning off the Fitbit app background refresh have worked other than closing the app. The only work-around that has worked for me on my iPhone 13 mini with IOS 16.7 is to force close the app when not using and then there is 0 battery drain while not using the app. It only takes a second to close the app and now I do it automatically. To force close the app, on an iPhone with a physical home button such as the SE, double click the home button 2 times fast, slide the tiles for the open apps to the side until the Fitbit app is in the center of the screen and then slide the Fitbit tile up and off of the top of the screen. On all newer iPhones, from any screen, slide the black bar at the bottom of the screen up about an inch and then swipe to the side until the Fitbit app is centered and then slide the Fitbit tile off of the top of the screen. This method consistently works for me. I have an older iPhone with the v 3.8 version of the Fitbit app which offered an alternative option that I used for a while in a 2 phone tactic. The older phone had the Bluetooth connection to the Versa 2, I left it in a drawer and periodically synced it with the Versa 2, and then had both phones logged on to my Fitbit account. Both phones showed the same data in near real time. OK, my relationship with Fitbit has hit a rocky patch (No, I'm not a geologist) but I have hopes that the situation will improve so I'm not ready to dump the relationship yet because my Versa 2 really rocks." ... View more

I installed the v 4.0.2 Fitbit app update 3 days ago and still have the battery drain problem with Background App Refresh set to either On or Off. It is strange that after changing a setting or updating the app that the app seems to behave itself for a couple of hours but then reverts to drain issue. In fact, there is the possibility that the 4.0.2 update might have made things worse as my phone gets noticeably warm when I take the phone out of my pocket with the app left open. The only thing that works well and consistently in getting rid of the battery drain is to close the app when I'm done using it. I'm still PO'ed that I'm still getting Fitbit messages telling me to change my settings to "Always Allow" for advanced tracker functionality. The only thing that doing this would do, I believe, is to enable the Fitbit app, e.g. Google, to determine what I'm doing when using other apps. ... View more

I'm assuming that you are using an iPhone since you are posting on an iPhone thread. You would need to open Apple's App Store app and you should see the 4.02 Fitbit app update along with any updates for your other apps - same place you have seen the updates in the past. ... View more

Fitbit app v 4.02 this AM. ... View more

I have a Versa 2 with the app on an iPhone. I don't recall ever seeing an "all day sync" option. Do you recall where this option was? There is a "Background App Refresh" option but turning this off did not reduce the battery drain with my Versa with the v4.x app. On my Versa 2, with the 3.X version of the app, the Versa 2 would periodically sync but the battery drain was minimal. The 4.x version of the app is exhibiting characteristics that lead me to believe that the app is constantly asking the watch for an update (e.g. synch) which could indicate a problem with the app's task scheduler. ... View more

The only suggestion that seems to provide some significant reduction in battery use is to close the app when not using it. Otherwise the only real option is to wait until Google (Google bought FitBit) to fix the problem which they don't seem to be in a rush to do. ... View more

No. None of the fixes including the 4.01 update stopped the battery drain on my iPhone. I am running IOS 16.7, FitBit v 4.01 and Versa 2 firmware 35.72.1.23. It is possible that there is some combination of IOS, watch model and firmware that doesn't experience the battery drain but I don't have access to that info. ... View more

Lizzy, thanks for escalating the battery drain problem. I installed the v 4.01 app update yesterday and I'll post any info that I come up with. I am seeing what appears to be an anomaly with the iPhone battery use screen which is showing a lot of "Screen Off" battery drain but when I look at the detail for the individual apps, the background battery usage is minimal. The data in the graph doesn't look right so any assumptions that high off screen battery usage is caused by any particular app need to be questioned. The relevant data is the background time reported for an individual app. Even with the v 4.1, with the Fitbit app permission Background App Refresh = ON, I'm seeing about 3 minutes per hour of background app activity for the Fitbit app which, I think, is significant. More on this later. I'm still not seeing the permission for "Location Services" as a Fitbit permission which was there in the pre v4 update. I always kept the permission for my location set to "While using". I don't see how the app is calculating distance since the Versa 2 does not have an internal GPS, suspect that Fitbit is now using the phone's GPS but not showing that it is using it and therefor not permitting me to restrict use. In other words, I'm concerned that Google is tracking my location all of the time without my permission. I didn't think that Apple permitted this. I'd really like an answer to this. If you could, since I'm not sure where to report other app issues or bugs, perhaps you could forward the following to the appropriate group. I am using an iPhone 13 mini running IOS 16.7, using a Fitbit Versa 2 and am using the Fitbit app v 4.01 which I installed on 4OCT2023. There are still a few bugs that I'd like to report which are: 1) Some of the exercise detail screens use a white font on a light gray background in the header which makes part of the screen header and some controls. See pics below. 2) There appears to be a bug with the steps updating on the home screen. When I woke this AM, the steps count on the app today home screen read 7,266. I dragged the home screen down to sync and it still showed 7,266. I went into the steps detail for the day and it showed 278 steps for the day, back to the home screen and it still showed 7,266. From the home screen I went back to yesterday which showed a total of 7,266, then I went forward to Today and it showed the correct step count of 278 on the home screen. 3) I'm still not seeing the permission for "Location Services" as a Fitbit permission in Settings which was there in the pre v4 update. I always kept the permission for my location set to "While using". I don't see how the app is calculating distance since the Versa 2 does not have an internal GPS. I suspect that Fitbit is now using the phone's GPS but not showing that it is using it and therefor not permitting me to restrict use. In other words, I'm concerned that Google is tracking my location all of the time without my permission. I didn't think that Apple permitted this. I'd really like an answer to this. 4) I'm OK with the new GUI but would like to have the watch battery charge% show when synchronizing as it used to do. ... View more

Fitbit just released a new version for the iPhone, version 4.01. ... View more

The only change that I tested that appeared to get rid of the exorbitant amount of background battery usage was turning off Bluetooth. Deleting and reinstalling the Fitbit app, turning off Fitness Tracking, turning off the Fitbit app permissions for Siri and Background app refresh did little or nothing and rapid battery drain is still a problem. I just noticed that the Fitbit app v 3.88 had permissions for Location and Media & Apple Music that are no longer used in the v 4 of the app. See the screen prints below both of which are from 2 different iPhone 13 minis both of which are running IOS 16.7. How does the Fitbit app when paired with a Versa 2 that does not have an internal GPS determine location and speed? Does anyone with a Fitbit that has an internal GPS in the watch having background battery drain issues? Fitbit v 4.00 Fitbit v 3.88 ... View more

Did you just install the Fitbit v4 update at the end of your 29SEP and did you upgrade to IOS 17 or 16.7 at the same time? ... View more

How do you turn off  "Motion and Fitness" for the Fitbit app? There is an IOS Setting/Privacy & Security/Motion & Fitness/Fitness Tracking ON or OFF which is a global setting and not a Fitbit specific permission. If I turn this off, what else does it effect? Even if this does fix the problem, the problem started with the v4 Fitbit app update. It seems to me that the best fix would for Fitbit (Google) to fix the error created in their v4 update. ... View more

I use a Fitbit Versa 2 with an iPhone 13 mini and my phone's Fitbit app battery usage until recently had been consistent and negligible. I installed the Fitbit version 4 app update on Saturday 23,2023 and the Fitbit app background battery usage immediately sky rocketed and over the last 6 days the Fitbit app clocked over 90 hours of background activity. Note that the light blue stack in the battery screen shot below is the background battery usage. I have background processing for the app off and location services limited to when I am using the app. I have done a power cycle on the watch, logged out of and back in to the app and nothing has worked. ... View more

If your Fitbit stops responding a hard reboot will usually fix it. Depress the button on the side of the Versa 2 and keep the button pushed in for about 5 seconds until the screen on the watch goes black. When the screen is black the watch is off and will then automatically turn back on thereby completing the reboot. Let me know if this works for you. ... View more

The problem with going to the doc for an intermittent problem such as an occasional, significant spike in heart rate (HR) is that they probably won't do anything if they don't see the spike on their equipment during your appointment if you didn't have any symptoms such as being light headed. If you really had such a sudden, significant increase in HR you probably would have felt it. There are some heart issues such as aFib that can cause a rapid significant increase in HR but this feels more like a rapid flutter which again you would probably almost certainly notice. My personal opinion and I'm not a doc is that this type of reading is an erroneous reading but you should verify that it isn't accurate. I'd suggest getting a pulse oximeter (the thing that your doc clips on to your finger) which will quickly give you a fairly accurate HR reading. You can get a pulse/oximeter as cheap as $10 on Amazon. Especially with kids, you should have one of these anyway to measure SPO2 which will help you determine when a kid's respiratory illness reaches a point where an ER visit would be appropriate. I'd also suggest turning on the FitBit irregular rhythm notifications which, although it isn't as accurate as an EKG, probably would pickup & alert you if if you an episode of aFib (really unlikely. If you have any doubt about whether you might have a very fast, occasional heart beat then you should mention it to your doc at your next appointment.   ... View more

My HRV fluctuates significantly as indicated by the last 7 day's (11/6/2022 - 11/12/2022) data immediately below. Now, one of the things interesting about the chart (other than it is a typical sine wave) is that it fluctuates so regularly. My exercise routine is that I alternate days at the gym with days of a brisk 35 - 50 minute outside walk. My gym routine is always early AM and always heavy on the cardio. Each of the high HRV days are the night of an early AM gym session. In the chart above, as an example, the 12th which is Saturday 11/12/2022 is for sleep the previous night (Friday/Saturday) and Friday AM was a gym day.   Another interesting point is reflected in the chart below. Although I've always exercised, I was usually very light on the cardio. I started my gym & cardio routine in 9/2021 but didn't buy a Fitbit (I have the Versa 2) until 2/2022. My HRV trend has increased steadily and significantly over the last 10 months. I've always subscribed to the principle that a good goal needs to have measurable results else you need to redefine your goal.   Sorry for all the charts but I used to be an economist and whatever we don't assume we chart. Since HRV is to some extent a function of age and gender, I will note that I'm 69 and male. I've read that HRV declines with age and is slightly lower for females so consider the above data in relation to your experience accordingly.   I've also read that HRV is related to cardio fitness. For what it is worth, my Fitbit calculated cardio fitness score is 54 - 58. I thought that this was a good score but then Fitbit adds the notation to the score "Excellent for men of your age" so I'm not sure how good it is. ... View more

I've had this problem a couple of times. You might try cleaning the back of the watch where the sensors are with some mild soap, ensure that you don't have any lotion on your wrist where the watch makes contact and ensure that you are wearing the watch tight enough and about 1" above the wrist bone. In your problem description you state "although the lights aren't working anymore". Which lights are you referring to?   You probably should verify that sleep mode hasn't been turned off. Scroll down a few screens in the following link to see how to check. Fitbit Sleep Mode Explained (smartbodytouch.com) ... View more