Fitbit Not Syncing With Your Smartphone? Try These 7 Easy Fixes

In Summary

Fitbit smartwatches and trackers are popular among health and fitness enthusiasts.
Although these devices work well and offer pretty accurate data, they can sometimes run into issues.
A fairly common problem Fitbit users often face is with syncing, wherein the Fitbit would stop syncing with their smartphone. But thankfully, fixing it isn’t hard, and the fixes below should help you get around it.

Fitbit is a popular name among health and fitness enthusiasts. It has various options for smartwatches and trackers, and the devices generally offer accurate data.

However, just like any other device, Fitbits aren’t immune to issues either. A fairly common problem these devices often run into is syncing, wherein the device refuses to sync with the Fitbit app on your smartphone.

Thankfully, it’s easy to fix syncing issues on a Fitbit. Here are all the possible fixes you can try to troubleshoot your Fitbit smartwatch or tracker when it isn’t syncing with your smartphone.

Table of Contents

7 Ways to Fix the “Fitbit Not Syncing” Error

Close and Reopen the Fitbit App

Closing and reopening an app can fix a lot of issues. So if you’re having trouble syncing your Fitbit with the Fitbit app on your Android or iOS device, force closing it is the first thing you should try.

On Android

Access the Recents menu. If your device uses the gesture-based navigation system, swipe up from the bottom of the screen and hold. On a button-based system, tap the Overview button. Then, locate the Fitbit app card and swipe up on it to close it.

On iPhone

Swipe up from the bottom of the screen, find the Fitbit app in the menu, and swipe it up.

Once you’ve closed the app, open it and try syncing your Fitbit again. In most cases, this should fix the problem. But if it doesn’t, move to the next fix.

Check Bluetooth Connection

At times, something as trivial as a connection issue can prevent your Fitbit device from syncing with your smartphone. You can find out if this is an issue from the Fitbit app. Simply go into the app, and if there’s a problem with the Bluetooth connection, it’ll inform you about the same on the home screen.

An easy fix in such a situation is to reconnect the device to your smartphone.

On Android

Open Settings.
Go to the Bluetooth settings.
Toggle off the switch for Bluetooth to turn it off.
Toggle it again to enable Bluetooth.
Connect to the Fitbit device.

On iPhone

Launch Settings.
Select Bluetooth and flip the switch off.
Toggle it to turn Bluetooth back on.
Finally, connect to your Fitbit smartwatch or device.

After your Fitbit is connected to your smartphone, open the Fitbit app and try syncing again.

Unpair and Pair the Fitbit With Your Smartphone Again

If reconnecting the Fitbit doesn’t help, you should try unpairing and repairing it with your smartphone. It’s easy to do, and the steps to perform it are the same, no matter whether you use an Android or an iPhone.

Open the Fitbit app on your Android or iPhone.
Go to the Today tab.
Tap on the profile icon in the top-left corner.
Tap on your device.
Hit the Remove button at the bottom.

As you do this, your Fitbit will be unpaired with your smartphone. To pair it again, tap on the Set Up a Device button on the Account page in the Fitbit app and follow the on-screen instructions.

Restart Your Fitbit Smartwatch or Tracker

Much like restarting the app, a quick restart of the device can also resolve many problems. We recommend you try this if force-closing and unpairing methods don’t work.

Depending on your Fitbit device and its models, the steps to restart it may vary. But it typically goes like this:

Open the Settings app on your Fitbit smartwatch or tracker.
Select Reboot Device or Restart Device and follow the on-screen prompts from there.

Check out Fitbit’s help page to view the process in detail.

Install Any Pending App or Firmware Updates

Bugs in software can often cause problems. This applies to both system software and apps. So if your Fitbit isn’t syncing with your smartphone, and none of the fixes so far help either, you must look for pending updates for the Fitbit app or your Fitbit smartwatch or tracker and install them.

To update the Fitbit app, head over to the Play Store (on Android) or App Store (on iPhone), find Fitbit, and hit the Update button next to it. Meanwhile, to update your Fitbit’s firmware, follow these steps:

Launch the Fitbit app on your smartphone.
Go to the Today tab.
Tap on your profile icon and select your device on the following screen.
Tap on the Update button and follow the on-screen instructions to update the device.

Be sure to keep the device close to your smartphone. In addition, keep in mind that the Update button is available only when there’s an update. So if you don’t see it, it’s likely because there’s any new update for your smartwatch or tracker.

Can’t Sync Your Fitbit Still? It Could be Fitbit’s Fault

If you’ve followed the troubleshooting steps correctly, you should’ve fixed the issue by now and must be able to sync your health and fitness data with your smartphone like before.

However, if you haven’t, it’s not you. Occasionally, there could be issues with Fitbit’s services that may be causing such issues. A quick visit to Fitbit’s status page should help you identify this. And if there’s a problem, waiting for it to resolve is the only thing you can do.

Factory Reset Your Fitbit Device

Lastly, if none of the troubleshooting fixes work, factory resetting the Fitbit is your last resort. Doing this will delete everything on your Fitbit smartwatch or tracker and restore it to its default state.

Similar to the restarting process, the steps to factory reset a Fitbit device depend on the device type and the model. But it generally looks like this:

Open the Settings app on your Fitbit.
Select Clear User Data, Factory Reset, or any other equivalent option on the screen.
Wait for a few seconds or follow the prompts as directed, and your Fitbit will be reset to factory settings.

Check out Fitbit’s reset guide to find out the steps to reset your Fitbit.

Get Back On Track

The “Fitbit not syncing” error is one of the most common and irritating issues when using a Fitbit device. Not being able to sync the health and fitness data between your Fitbit smartwatch or tracker and your smartphone can be a frustrating experience. But you should be able to fix it using the troubleshooting steps mentioned above and get your data synced with your Fitbit account back again.