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Restart the tracker, then try one manual sync
Restart the Fitbit, wait for the clock face to come back, then pull down on the Connections screen in the app until the progress bar appears. That is Google's own sequence and it splits the problem: a manual sync that works means the Bluetooth link and your account are fine, and what has failed is background syncing — usually a phone permission. A manual sync that fails too means the phone and the tracker are not talking at all, which is a pairing or permissions problem rather than an app one.
Applies to: Fitbit trackers and smartwatches managed through the Google Health app — Charge, Inspire, Luxe, Versa, Sense and Ace — on Android and iPhone. Fitbit support moved under Google Health, so current documentation lives in Google's help centre rather than Fitbit's.
What happens when you sync by hand?
Fitbit syncing depends on a chain that is longer than it looks: the tracker's Bluetooth radio, the phone's Bluetooth, the app's permissions, the phone's internet connection, and your account. Any link failing produces the same result — a step count that stopped updating hours ago. The manual sync test tells you whether the chain works at all when you stand over it, which is the fastest way to narrow down where it is breaking.
Manual sync works, automatic doesn’t
Does the app have background permissions?
Check permissionsIt won’t sync at all, by hand or otherwise
Is the tracker paired and in range?
Reset the connectionIt stopped after an update
Are the app, phone and firmware all current?
Update everythingIt syncs for someone else’s phone
Is it connected to a second device nearby?
Remove the other device1. Restart the tracker and sync by hand
Google's first substantive step is to restart the Fitbit device and wait for the clock face to display before trying anything else. That clears a hung Bluetooth stack on the tracker, which is the single most common cause of a device that was syncing yesterday and is not today. Google notes a restart turns the device off and on without losing any activity data, so there is no reason to hesitate over it.
Then force a sync rather than waiting for one: open the Connections screen in the app and pull down until the progress bar appears. This matters because automatic and manual syncing depend on different things. Automatic syncing needs the app to be allowed to work in the background; a manual sync only needs the connection to work while you are looking at it.
Read the result carefully, because it decides the rest. A manual sync that completes means Bluetooth, pairing and your account are all fine, and the failure is in background syncing — section 2. A manual sync that fails or hangs means the phone and tracker are not communicating, which is section 3. Note which one you got before going further.
Keep the tracker next to the phone while you test. Google's requirement is simply that the device remains near the phone to sync, and a tracker on a charger in another room will fail in a way that has nothing to do with the app.
2. The permissions that break background syncing
This is the section that resolves most cases where manual syncing works and automatic does not. On Android 12 and later, Google's guidance is that both Location and Nearby devices permissions must be enabled for the app. Nearby devices is the newer of the two and is frequently left denied after an app update or a phone migration, and denying it does not stop a manual sync you initiate — it stops the background discovery that automatic syncing depends on.
Location is the one that surprises people, because a step tracker has no obvious need for it. Android historically gates Bluetooth scanning behind location permission, so an app that cannot access location cannot scan for the tracker in the background regardless of what it is scanning for. Granting it is about Bluetooth discovery rather than tracking your position.
Check the ordinary prerequisites in the same pass, since Google lists them as requirements rather than suggestions: Bluetooth switched on, and the phone connected to cellular data or Wi-Fi. Syncing moves data to Google's servers as well as off the tracker, so a phone with Bluetooth working and no internet will pull data from the watch and then fail to complete, which looks identical from the app.
Android 12 and later
Both Location and Nearby devices permissions must be enabled for the app, or background syncing cannot discover the tracker.
Every platform
Bluetooth on, and the phone connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data — syncing needs the internet, not just the Bluetooth link.
3. Reset the Bluetooth connection properly
When nothing syncs at all, work down the connection in order. Google's sequence is to toggle Bluetooth off, wait at least three seconds, and toggle it back on — the wait matters, because switching it straight back on frequently restores the same broken state rather than rebuilding it. Then restart the phone, which power-cycles the Bluetooth stack properly in a way the toggle does not always achieve.
If that does not do it, remove the pairing and start again. Take the Fitbit out of the phone's Bluetooth paired-devices list, restart the phone, and then re-establish the connection through the app. Google is explicit on this point: you cannot set up a Fitbit device from the phone or tablet's Bluetooth screen, and it has to be done in the app. A pairing made directly in Bluetooth settings produces a radio link the app cannot actually use.
Check the battery while you are here, since Google lists connecting the device to a charger among the steps. A tracker with a critically low battery will keep time and show a face while refusing to hold a Bluetooth connection, because the radio is the first thing it stops powering. A device that syncs happily on the charger and not off it is telling you the battery is the problem, not the app.
4. Something else has the tracker
A Fitbit maintains one active connection, and a second phone or tablet that has the app installed will compete for it. Google's guidance is direct: uninstall the Google Health app from other nearby devices, and check whether the tracker is paired to any other phones or tablets and remove it from those. An old phone in a drawer that still wakes on Wi-Fi is a genuine and very confusing cause.
The mirror image is a second Fitbit on your own account. If you have more than one tracker set up, Google's step is to remove the other devices from your account and from Bluetooth, at least while diagnosing. Two trackers competing for the same app produces syncing that works intermittently for both and reliably for neither.
Household members are worth asking about too. A partner's phone that was once used to set up your tracker, or a shared tablet, will keep trying to claim it. The tell is syncing that works when you are alone and fails when everyone is home, which people almost always attribute to Wi-Fi congestion rather than to a second device holding the Bluetooth connection.
Bluetooth interference from many nearby devices is real but secondary. Rule out a second device that is actually paired before blaming a crowded 2.4 GHz band.
5. Updates, and the order to do them in
Google's list includes ensuring the phone's operating system, the Google Health app, and the Fitbit device firmware are all current. That is three separate things and they are not independent: firmware updates are delivered through the app, so an out-of-date app can leave a tracker stuck on old firmware, and a tracker on old firmware can fail to sync with a current app. Update the phone and the app first, then let the app offer the firmware update.
Firmware updates need a healthy connection to install, which creates an awkward loop when syncing is broken. If the app can connect long enough to start an update, let it finish without moving away — a firmware update interrupted partway is worse than not starting one, and the tracker needs a decent battery charge before it will begin.
If everything is current and syncing still fails, Google's next step is to uninstall and reinstall the app. That clears a corrupted local state and forces the permissions to be granted again from scratch, which is often what actually fixes it. Your data lives in your account rather than on the phone, so reinstalling does not lose anything that has already synced — though it will not recover data still sitting on a tracker that cannot sync.
6. Re-pairing, and what to tell support
Setting the device up again through the app is the last software step, and it is a genuine reset of the relationship between tracker, app and account rather than another restart. Expect to lose data that had not yet synced from the tracker, so try every earlier step first — that unsynced data is exactly what you are trying to recover.
Weigh the age of the device before going further. A tracker several years old whose battery no longer holds a charge through a day will drop its Bluetooth connection under load and present as a syncing problem, and no amount of app work will address it. If the device syncs reliably on the charger and unreliably off it, you have your answer.
When you contact support, lead with the manual sync result, because it is the piece of evidence that separates the two halves. Tell them whether a manual pull-to-sync completes, whether Location and Nearby devices permissions are granted, whether the tracker syncs when sitting next to the phone on a charger, whether any other phone or tablet has the app or the pairing, and whether app, phone and firmware are all current. Those five answers separate a permissions problem from a competing device from a failing battery.
Frequently asked questions
Why won’t my Fitbit sync?
Restart the tracker, wait for the clock face, then pull down on the Connections screen to force a manual sync. That splits the problem: a manual sync that works means Bluetooth and your account are fine and background syncing is what has failed — usually a permission. A manual sync that fails means the phone and tracker are not communicating at all.
Why does my Fitbit need location permission?
Because Android gates Bluetooth scanning behind location permission, not because it wants your position. On Android 12 and later, Google's guidance is that both Location and Nearby devices must be enabled. Denying either doesn't stop a manual sync you start yourself — it stops the background discovery that automatic syncing depends on, which is why syncing works when you look at it and not otherwise.
How do I reset the Bluetooth connection to my Fitbit?
Toggle Bluetooth off, wait at least three seconds, and toggle it back on — the wait matters, since switching straight back often restores the same broken state. Then restart the phone. If that fails, remove the Fitbit from the phone's paired devices list, restart, and reconnect through the app rather than through Bluetooth settings.
Can another phone stop my Fitbit syncing?
Yes, and it's a common cause. A Fitbit holds one active connection, so a second phone or tablet with the app installed competes for it. Google's guidance is to uninstall the app from other nearby devices and remove the tracker from their Bluetooth lists. The tell is syncing that works when you're alone and fails when the household is home.
Will reinstalling the app lose my Fitbit data?
No, for anything already synced — your data lives in your account, not on the phone. Google lists reinstalling among the steps because it clears corrupted local state and forces permissions to be granted again. What you can lose is data still sitting on a tracker that has not managed to sync, which is why re-pairing the device is a later step rather than an early one.
My Fitbit only syncs when it’s on the charger. Why?
That points at the battery rather than the app. A tracker with a low or degraded battery keeps showing the time while cutting power to the Bluetooth radio first, so it looks alive and refuses to connect. If it syncs reliably on charge and unreliably off it, the battery is the fault and no app troubleshooting will change that.
Sources and review notes
Checked on . Compiled by Glitchary from Google’s Fitbit support documentation, which now lives in the Google Health help centre following Google’s acquisition of Fitbit. Restart procedures, app screens and permission names differ between tracker models and between Android and iPhone — check Google’s current article for your device. Glitchary is independent of Google and Fitbit.