Fitbit not connecting to Wi-Fi? Try these steps

Having a problem connecting your Fitbit to Wi-Fi? You are not alone !!  Many people seem to have an issue connecting their Fitbit to Wi-Fi.  

In particular, users report problems connecting their WiFi-supported Fitbit to newer routers that include dual-band or tri-band with support for 5 GHz signals. Currently, Fitbits only support the 2.4 GHz WiFi bandwidth.

If your Fitbit isn’t reliably connecting the WiFi or isn’t connecting at all, here are some solutions and common questions and answers to help you solve your Fitbit Wi-Fi connection issues.

In a hurry?

Rushing around and don’t have time to read our step-by-step instructions? Here’s a quick snapshot of the troubleshooting steps.

1. Verify that your Wi-Fi is working.
2. Make sure your Fitbit’s battery level is above 25%.
3. Manually add the WiFi network in the Fitbit app.
4. Restart your Fitbit & restart your phone.
5. Check that your network is compatible with your Fitbit.
6. Update your Fitbit’s Firmware.
7. Set up a personal hotspot using your cellular data plan or a mobile hotspot.
8. Unpair and re-pair your Fitbit from your phone’s Bluetooth Settings.
9. Delete the Fitbit app and reinstall it.
10. Remove your Fitbit from the app and add it in again. 
11. Factory reset your Fitbit.

Understanding WiFi availability with Fitbit devices

It’s important to note that not all Fitbits support WiFi.

The Sense Series, Versa Series, and Ionic currently offer WiFi–trackers like the Luxe, Charge Series, or Inspire Series do not yet support WiFi. And most legacy models, like the Surge, Blaze, and the popular Alta, do not offer WiFi onboard.

Fitbits with WiFi support use Wi-Fi to download and quickly transfer music, playlists, apps, and faster firmware updates.

Also, you must set up WiFi using an iPhone, iPad, or Android phone. You can’t set up WiFi on a Windows 10 device.

Verify that your Wi-Fi network is working

To verify that your Wi-Fi network is working correctly, connect another device to your networks, such as your phone or computer. First, make sure you connect to a 2.4 GHz network (often listed as just 2G), and then open a browser and test for connectivity.

If the device connects successfully, confirm your network type is compatible with your Fitbit device.

If you cannot see your network in the list of available networks on your Fitbit, try moving your Fitbit closer to your router. 

Check that your Fitbit has at least 25% total battery capacity remaining

Your Fitbit won’t connect to Wi-Fi when the battery level is below 25% of its total charge.

Check your Fitbit’s remaining battery life by opening its Quick Settings or swiping down from the clock face. Find the battery level at the top of your device’s screen.

You can also connect your Fitbit to its charger, and the current battery level should flash on your Fitbit’s screen. If the screen is black, tap the screen twice to see its current battery level.

Connect your Fitbit to its charger, and then try to connect to your Wi-Fi network. Or charge it above 25% and then try connecting to WiFi.

Manually add your WiFi network to the Fitbit app 

If you didn’t connect your Fitbit to a Wi-Fi network during your initial setup, or you’ve changed networks or routers, try manually adding your WiFi network(s) to the Fitbit app.

1. Open the Fitbit app, then tap the Today tab.
1. Select your profile picture and then choose your Fitbit from the list.
2. Scroll down and tap Wi-Fi Settings.
   1. If you see a description, tap the Next button.
   2. For Android, tap the 3 Dot More Button in the top corner. 
3. Either choose Add Network, or if you see listed networks, tap the name of the WiFi network you wish to connect to. If you don’t see your Wi-Fi network listed, tap Other.
   1. On the network details, press Connect. 
   2. Check if your Fitbit’s screen shows a WiFi symbol. If so, it’s trying to connect. 
   3. When successfully connected, you see a checkmark icon briefly appear on your Fitbit device’s screen and next to the WiFi network’s name inside the app.
3. For Add Network or Other, choose or type in both the network name and its security type. 
   1. Press Connect and follow the on-screen instructions to connect your watch.
   2. If your Fitbit’s screen shows a WiFi symbol, it’s trying to connect. 
   3. When successfully connected, you see a checkmark icon briefly appear on your Fitbit device’s screen and next to the WiFi network’s name inside the a

After you successfully add a Wi-Fi network, your Fitbit starts automatically downloading any new music or apps as long as you keep it plugged into its charger and in range of the network.

Are Wi-Fi Settings grayed out?

If the Fitbit app grayed out your Fitbit’s Wi-Fi Settings options, likely, your phone is currently syncing with your Fitbit. 

Wait a minute for the sync to finish, and then the WiFi Setting option should become active.

Restart both your Fitbit AND your paired phone 

A restart often solves many Fitbit problems, including this one!

First, restart your phone by turning it off, waiting for a few seconds, and then turning it back on. Then, restart your Fitbit.

To learn how to restart your specific Fitbit model, see our article: Need to restart or reset your Fitbit? Learn the steps. 

In general, open the Settings app on your Fitbit device and locate the option to Shutdown or Reboot, or for some models, go to About > Reboot or Restart Device > Restart.

Manually restart your Fitbit.

• Manually restart a Fitbit smartwatch by pressing and holding the side button or buttons for approximately 10 seconds until you see the Fitbit logo on your device’s screen.
• For Fitbit trackers, you manually restart by connecting it to its charging cable and then hold the side button or press the button on the charging unit for a few seconds (each model is different.) Then, once you see a smiley face icon or the Fitbit logo on-screen, you release it.

After you have restarted your devices, open the Fitbit app on your paired phone and try again to add a Wi-Fi network. See below for step-by-step instructions on how to add a Wi-Fi network to your Fitbit.

Check for WiFi network compatibility 

Your Fitbit device can only connect to open WEP, WPA Personal, and WPA2 personal Wi-Fi networks. 

Fitbits can only connect to a hub that is compatible with the 802.11b protocol. Therefore, you may need to enable 802.11b on your WiFi router. This usually means setting your router to Mixed Mode or b/g and n mode.

If unsure about your router’s supported protocols, contact your Wi-Fi provider to check what type of network you have at home.

Also, at this time, Fitbits won’t connect to 5GHz, 802.11ac, WPA enterprise, or ANY public Wi-Fi networks that require any logins, subscriptions, profiles, or require you to accept the displayed terms of use. 

That means that your Fitbit won’t usually connect to Wi-Fi networks in places like hotels, airports and airplanes, coffee shops, public parks, or other public places because they use a captive portal.

You’ll know that the WiFi network is a captive portal if you see a login page requiring your email address and password authentication, payment, or acceptance of an end-user license agreement. 

If you need to pass through any steps before connecting to a Wi-Fi network, it’s a captive portal, and you can’t use it with your Fitbit.

Change your WiFi router’s settings

Some Fitbit users have reported that dual-band or tri-band routers that support 2.4GHz and 5GHz often cause problems connecting Fitbits to Wi-Fi.

Users report two solutions:

• Change the settings on the Wi-Fi router to give each band its name.
  • Changing the settings on the router to give each band its name allows you to direct your devices to connect to a specific band (2.4GHz band ). 
• Enable a GUEST Wi-Fi connection that’s ONLY 2 GHz on your router (if you have one). 
  • Once enabled, set the GUEST network as OPEN (no password) and Intranet Access (required for Fitbit to be found).  

Update your Fitbit’s firmware

This likely only impacts a few users, but if you open the Fitbit app and see a banner to Update your device, you should tap that option to update its firmware.

• Open the Fitbit App and tap on your account picture or icon.
• In the list of Fitbit options, tap on your Fitbit watch or tracker.
• If you see a pink Update banner, connect your Fitbit to its charger.
• Then tap the update button and follow the steps on-screen to complete that firmware update.
• Keep your Fitbit close to your phone during the update. You should see a progress bar on your device and in the Fitbit app until the update finishes.

If it’s not working or you know there’s an update and it’s not showing, check that you allow the Fitbit app to run in the background on your phone.

Also, open the App Store or Google Play to check that you have the latest version of the Fitbit app installed on your phone.

You can also update some Fitbits using the Fitbit Connect app on your Mac or supported computer.

Set up a personal hotspot on your paired phone

If you have a personal hotspot or mobile hotspot, you can use that as Wi-Fi access for your Fitbit.

You can set up a hotspot with your phone through Wi-Fi or a USB cable, turning your phone into an internet source that you can share with your devices, including your Fitbit.

It’s important to set up your hotspot as a 2.4GHz network since Fitbits currently do not support 5 GHz.

• For Apple devices, open Settings > Personal Hotspot and look for a toggle called Maximize Compatibility and turn it on–this sets up a 2.4GHz hotspot. Note the Wi-Fi password. You’ll need it later. Finally, toggle on Allow Others to Join.
  •  If you don’t see the option to Maximize Compatibility, the default for your phone’s hotspot is 2.4 GHz.
• For Android devices, go to Settings > Network & internet > Hotspot & tethering > Wi-Fi hotspot. Turn it on and look under AP Band. If it says 5 GHz, tap it and select 2.4 GHz. And don’t forget to note the Wi-Fi password.

How to use a personal hotspot on your Fitbit

• Open the Fitbit App.
• Tap the Today tab > your profile picture or icon > your watch tile.
• Select Wi-Fi Settings.
• Look for your iOS device by its name (for example, Zina’s iPhone or, as in this example, Pixel_1033.) If you don’t see it, tap Add Network or Other.
• Select your phone by its name and enter the password that appears on your phone’s Personal Hotspot screen.

Unpair and re-pair your Fitbit from your phone’s Bluetooth Settings

Although we are trying to get your Fitbit to connect with a WiFi network, your app and your Fitbit device depend on their Bluetooth connection.

So resetting and refreshing that BT connection often gets things working again so you can successfully connect to WiFi.

Before removing your Fitbit from Bluetooth, try toggling your phone’s BT settings entirely off, wait 10-20 seconds, then toggle it back on.

This simple trick often does the trick!

How to unpair and re-pair your Fitbit from your phone’s Bluetooth Settings

1. Close the Fitbit app on your phone by swiping up from the bottom to see all your open apps. Locate the Fitbit app, then swipe it up off the top of your screen.
2. On your paired phone, go to Settings and select Bluetooth. 
3. Find your Fitbit in the list of Bluetooth devices. If you don’t see it, check other devices or previously connected devices. 
4. Get to the device’s details.
   1. For iPhones and Apple devices, tap the “i” icon next to your Fitbit’s name. 
   2. For Android devices, tap the Fitbit’s name or tap the Settings gear icon next to its name.
5. Forget the devices from your phone’s Bluetooth list.
   1. For Android, tap Forget and confirm to forget the pairing.
   2. For Apple, tap Forget This Device and confirm to Forget Device.
6. Restart your phone.
   1. This is a critical step, don’t forget to do this!
7. Open the Fitbit app and wait for a notification to pair your Fitbit to your phone.
   1. Look on your Fitbit for a pairing code and enter this code on your phone. 
8. Follow the remaining on-screen steps and remember to set up notifications for text messages, calendars, phone calls, app notifications, and so forth again.
   1. If you forget to set up all your notifications, go to the Fitbit app and choose your Fitbit device from the account list. Then, tap Notifications and turn on which notifications you want to show up on your Fitbit.
   2. See this article if you can’t get notifications to work again.

Remove your Fitbit from the app and add it in again

If you still can’t get Wi-Fi to work with your Fitbit, try removing your watch from the app and adding it back in again.

When you do this, it resets all the Fitbits connections to your phone, including WiFi, Bluetooth, and on-wrist calling settings via the Fitbit Controls connection. 

1. Open the Fitbit app and tap the Today tab.
2. Tap your account’s profile picture or icon.
3. Choose your Fitbit device from the list of account options.
4. Wait for your Fitbit device to sync with the Fitbit app or choose Sync Now to start a sync manually.
5. Once the sync completes, scroll down and choose Remove This (Fitbit name), and confirm you want to remove it. 
6. Once you remove the Fitbit, confirm it is no longer listed in your account, and then add it back and re-establish all those connections by choosing Set Up a Device.
7. In the Set Up a Device option, choose your Fitbit model and select Replace Device.
8. Follow the onscreen instructions and if prompted, accept to pair your watch with your phone.
9. Follow the remaining on-screen steps to complete the setup.

Uninstall and reinstall the Fitbit app

Sometimes the problem is the Fitbit app itself. So removing it and adding it back to your phone often helps fix these connection issues.

Before you uninstall the Fitbit app, sync your Fitbit to the app. When you sync with the app, it also sends all your information to Fitbit’s servers. 

So even if you delete the app, all your health and fitness data remains safe and tied to your account.

How to uninstall & reinstall the Fitbit app on Apple devices

1. On your Home Screen, press and hold the Fitbit app until the quick action menu appears.
2. Select Remove app.
3. Choose Delete app.
4. Once uninstalled, open the App Store, search for Fitbit, and install the app again by tapping the cloud icon.

How to uninstall & reinstall the Fitbit app on Android

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Choose Apps & notifications. 
3. Select the option to See all apps. 
4. Scroll down and tap on the Fitbit app. 
5. Choose Uninstall and press OK to confirm.
6. Once uninstalled, open the Google Play Store app and reinstall it by searching for the Fitbit app.

Factory reset your Fitbit

If the other options don’t fix your Fitbit sleep-tracking issue, you can try a factory reset.

Factory reset wipes and erases all of your stored data from your Fitbit, including any downloaded music, Fitbit Pay information, voice assistant set-ups (Google Assistant or Alexa), and all third-party apps.

However, all of your Fitbit data is still available within the Fitbit App and stored on Fitbit’s servers. So you won’t lose any information as long as you SYNC with the Fitbit app just before you reset your device. 

Most models have different factory reset methods, and some older Fitbits that came out before 2016 cannot be factory reset.

In general, you reset your Fitbit via the Settings app and choose About > Factory Reset.

To learn how to reset your Fitbit back to its factory settings, see this article: Need to restart or reset your Fitbit? Learn the steps.

Remember to sync with the Fitbit app BEFORE you factory reset it!

FAQ

How do I add a Wi-Fi network to my Fitbit?

During the initial setup of your Fitbit, the Fitbit app prompts you to connect to a Wi-Fi network if your Fitbit supports it.

If you skipped this step or want to add other WiFi networks, including any personal or mobile hotspots, complete these steps:

1. Place your Fitbit on its charger if it holds less than 25% total charge remaining.
2. In the Fitbit app, tap the Today tab > your account profile picture or icon.
3. Tap your Fitbit’s name.
4. Scroll down and tap Wi-Fi Settings.
5. Tap Add Network and follow the on-screen instructions to connect your watch.

When you add a Wi-Fi network, your watch automatically starts to download new music or apps when it’s plugged into the charger and in range of that connected WiFi network.

Remember that you can also connect your watch to a personal hotspot and share the cellular data of your phone or tablet when you don’t have access to a Wi-Fi network. 

Which types of Wi-Fi networks can my Fitbit watch connect to?

Your Fitbit watch can connect to open, WEP, WPA Personal, and WPA2 personal Wi-Fi networks. However, your Fitbit won’t connect to 5GHz, 802.11ac, WPA enterprise, or public Wi-Fi networks requiring logins, accepting terms and conditions, entering an email address or code to access, subscriptions, and profiles, or the network is a captive portal.

A captive portal opens a web page in your browser before allowing you to connect to it and often asks for a username and password, access code, payment, or acceptance of terms. 

Captive portals are most commonly found in the Wi-Fi networks of hotels, airports, coffee shops, and other public places. For best results, connect your Fitbit to a known network or one available in your home or workplace.

Why isn’t my network name appearing in the list of available networks?

If you have a hidden Wi-Fi network, it may not appear in the list of available networks under Wi-Fi Settings in the Fitbit app. 

For hidden networks, manually add the network in the Fitbit app.

How do I change the Wi-Fi network my Fitbit watch is connected to?

Your watch can store up to 5 different Wi-Fi networks. Your Fitbit automatically connects to the most robust available Wi-Fi network when plugged into its charger.

You can also manually choose which WiFi network you want your watch to connect to:

In the Fitbit App on your phone, follow these steps: 

1. First, select the Today tab > your profile picture > your Fitbit.
2. Scroll down and tap Wi-Fi Settings. Wait a moment for the list of networks to appear.
3. Tap the name of the listed WiFi you want your Fitbit to connect to. Remember, you can only connect to a 2.4 GHz network.
4. Choose Connect.
5. Check if your Fitbit’s screen shows a WiFi symbol. If so, it’s trying to connect. 
6. When successfully connected, you see a checkmark icon briefly appear on your Fitbit device’s screen and next to the WiFi network’s name inside the app.

Summary

I hope that this article has helped you with connecting your Fitbit to Wi-Fi. 

If you have any more questions or anything to add, please feel free to let us and everyone else know about it in the comments section below! 

If you liked this article, you can follow us on social media by using the social media buttons!