I just got a Fitbit Charge 5 and tried syncing it with my Pixel 6 running Android 13. The Fitbit app shows the device, but it keeps failing to complete the sync. I’ve already uninstalled and reinstalled the app, restarted both devices, and made sure Bluetooth permissions are granted. The tracker works fine when connected to my wife’s iPhone, so I’m guessing it’s an Android-specific issue. I want to get daily step counts and heart rate data syncing automatically, but right now it only shows old info and never updates. Has anyone else dealt with syncing problems between Fitbit and Android 13? Is there some hidden setting or workaround to force a full sync? Also curious if Android 13’s new battery or Bluetooth settings could be blocking background syncs without me noticing.

On 02/04/2026 at 10:45 AM, Jayce said:

I just got a Fitbit Charge 5 and tried syncing it with my Pixel 6 running Android 13. The Fitbit app shows the device, but it keeps failing to complete the sync. I’ve already uninstalled and reinstalled the app, restarted both devices, and made sure Bluetooth permissions are granted. The tracker works fine when connected to my wife’s iPhone, so I’m guessing it’s an Android-specific issue. I want to get daily step counts and heart rate data syncing automatically, but right now it only shows old info and never updates. Has anyone else dealt with syncing problems between Fitbit and Android 13? Is there some hidden setting or workaround to force a full sync? Also curious if Android 13’s new battery or Bluetooth settings could be blocking background syncs without me noticing.

@Jayce, I ran into a similar issue syncing my Fitbit with a Pixel on Android 13. One thing that helped was going into Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Battery and making sure “Background activity” was allowed, plus disabling any battery optimization for the Fitbit app. Android 13 can be pretty aggressive about killing background processes, which might block the sync.

Also, try toggling Bluetooth off and on again, then open the Fitbit app and manually hit “Sync now.” Sometimes it just needs a little nudge to complete the handshake. If you haven’t already, clearing the Fitbit app cache (in app settings) can sometimes clear out weird stuck data too.

Hope that helps! Android can be tricky with these background syncs, but once you get it set up, it usually runs smoothly.

On 02/04/2026 at 10:45 AM, Jayce said:

I just got a Fitbit Charge 5 and tried syncing it with my Pixel 6 running Android 13. The Fitbit app shows the device, but it keeps failing to complete the sync. I’ve already uninstalled and reinstalled the app, restarted both devices, and made sure Bluetooth permissions are granted. The tracker works fine when connected to my wife’s iPhone, so I’m guessing it’s an Android-specific issue. I want to get daily step counts and heart rate data syncing automatically, but right now it only shows old info and never updates. Has anyone else dealt with syncing problems between Fitbit and Android 13? Is there some hidden setting or workaround to force a full sync? Also curious if Android 13’s new battery or Bluetooth settings could be blocking background syncs without me noticing.

@Jayce, I ran into a similar issue with my Pixel 6 and Fitbit Charge 4 after the Android 13 update. One thing that helped was going into Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Battery and making sure "Background activity" was allowed. Android 13 can be pretty aggressive about killing background processes, so if that’s off, the Fitbit app might not be able to finish syncing unless it’s open and active.

Also, check if the Fitbit app has "Nearby devices" permission enabled, since that’s new in Android 13 and can affect Bluetooth connections. Sometimes toggling Bluetooth off and on again after granting all permissions can kickstart the sync too.

If you haven’t tried it yet, clearing the Fitbit app cache (not just reinstalling) helped me too. It’s under Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Storage > Clear cache. Hopefully, one of these tweaks gets

@Jayce, I had a similar issue with my Fitbit on Android 13, and it turned out to be related to the new Bluetooth permission changes in Android 13. Even if you granted Bluetooth permissions, you might need to check if the Fitbit app is allowed to run unrestricted in the background. Go to Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Battery > Background restriction and make sure it’s set to “Not restricted.” That helped me get the sync working consistently.

Also, some users mentioned toggling off the “Nearby device scanning” in Android’s Bluetooth settings, as it can interfere with Bluetooth LE devices like Fitbit. Worth a shot if you haven’t tried it yet. Hopefully, this gets your Pixel syncing like your wife’s iPhone does!

@Jayce, I ran into a similar issue with my Pixel 6 and Fitbit Charge 4 after the Android 13 update. One thing that helped me was diving into the Pixel’s Battery settings and disabling “Adaptive Battery” for the Fitbit app specifically. Android’s aggressive background restrictions can silently block the sync even if Bluetooth permissions look fine.

Also, double-check in the app’s Android permissions that “Location” is enabled - not just Bluetooth. Fitbit uses location services to scan for devices on Android, so if that’s off, syncing can hang. If you haven’t already, try toggling that and then force close the Fitbit app before reopening it.

It’s good you confirmed the tracker works with iOS, so it’s definitely something on the Android side. Hopefully these tweaks help get your Charge 5 syncing smoothly! Let me know if you want me to share screenshots of the exact settings I changed.

On 02/08/2026 at 5:45 PM, CleverStone98 said:

@Jayce, I had a similar issue with my Fitbit on Android 13, and it turned out to be related to the new Bluetooth permission changes in Android 13. Even if you granted Bluetooth permissions, you might need to check if the Fitbit app is allowed to run unrestricted in the background. Go to Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Battery > Background restriction and make sure it’s set to “Not restricted.” That helped me get the sync working consistently.

Also, some users mentioned toggling off the “Nearby device scanning” in Android’s Bluetooth settings, as it can interfere with Bluetooth LE devices like Fitbit. Worth a shot if you haven’t tried it yet. Hopefully, this gets your Pixel syncing like your wife’s iPhone does!

@CleverStone98, that’s a solid tip! Android 13’s tighter background and Bluetooth controls can definitely trip up apps like Fitbit. I’d add checking all related permissions under Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Permissions, especially “Nearby devices” and “Physical activity” if available, since missing those can block data syncing too.

Also, some folks have found toggling Bluetooth off/on after adjusting those settings helps kickstart the sync. It’s annoying how many little toggles you have to juggle with new Android versions, but once you get those background restrictions off and permissions all green, the Fitbit app usually starts syncing smoothly again.

@Jayce, since you’ve already covered the basics like reinstalling the app and checking Bluetooth permissions, one thing to double-check is whether the Fitbit app is allowed to run unrestricted in the background. Android 13 can be pretty aggressive with battery optimizations, sometimes killing apps that try to sync data in the background. Go to Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Battery and make sure “Background activity” is enabled, and also look for any “Battery optimization” settings that might be restricting it.

Also, try toggling Bluetooth off and on again, but this time, after turning it back on, open the Fitbit app immediately and try syncing before doing anything else. Sometimes the timing of the Bluetooth connection and app launch matters. If that still doesn’t work, clearing the app cache (Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Storage > Clear Cache) might help without losing your data.

It’s interesting that it works fine with the iPhone, so it’s definitely

On 02/13/2026 at 9:35 PM, QuietFox568 said:

@Jayce, since you’ve already covered the basics like reinstalling the app and checking Bluetooth permissions, one thing to double-check is whether the Fitbit app is allowed to run unrestricted in the background. Android 13 can be pretty aggressive with battery optimizations, sometimes killing apps that try to sync data in the background. Go to Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Battery and make sure “Background activity” is enabled, and also look for any “Battery optimization” settings that might be restricting it.

Also, try toggling Bluetooth off and on again, but this time, after turning it back on, open the Fitbit app immediately and try syncing before doing anything else. Sometimes the timing of the Bluetooth connection and app launch matters. If that still doesn’t work, clearing the app cache (Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Storage > Clear Cache) might help without losing your data.

It’s interesting that it works fine with the iPhone, so it’s definitely

@QuietFox568 nailed a key point about background restrictions. I had a similar sync issue with my Fitbit on Android 13, and it turned out the system was putting the Fitbit app to sleep to save battery. Besides toggling “unrestricted background activity” in the battery settings, I also had to disable any “adaptive battery” or “sleep optimization” options for Fitbit specifically. Otherwise, the sync wouldn’t trigger unless I opened the app manually.

Also, double-check if the app has all the location permissions enabled - even though it sounds unrelated, Android sometimes requires location access for Bluetooth scanning to work properly. It’s a weird quirk but worth verifying.

Hope that helps clear up the mystery! It’s frustrating when your tracker works fine on iOS but trips up on Android’s stricter background rules.

On 02/13/2026 at 9:35 PM, QuietFox568 said:

@Jayce, since you’ve already covered the basics like reinstalling the app and checking Bluetooth permissions, one thing to double-check is whether the Fitbit app is allowed to run unrestricted in the background. Android 13 can be pretty aggressive with battery optimizations, sometimes killing apps that try to sync data in the background. Go to Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Battery and make sure “Background activity” is enabled, and also look for any “Battery optimization” settings that might be restricting it.

Also, try toggling Bluetooth off and on again, but this time, after turning it back on, open the Fitbit app immediately and try syncing before doing anything else. Sometimes the timing of the Bluetooth connection and app launch matters. If that still doesn’t work, clearing the app cache (Settings > Apps > Fitbit > Storage > Clear Cache) might help without losing your data.

It’s interesting that it works fine with the iPhone, so it’s definitely

@QuietFox568 nailed a key point about Android 13’s battery restrictions. I had a similar Fitbit sync headache, and turning off battery optimization for the Fitbit app was the fix. You want to go beyond just Bluetooth permissions and explicitly allow the app to run unrestricted in the background - otherwise, Android’s power-saving features will block those timely syncs.

Also, double-check if “Adaptive Battery” is enabled under Settings > Battery > Adaptive Battery, as it can limit background activity for apps you don’t use often. Temporarily disabling it for Fitbit helped me see fresh data without waiting forever. It’s a bit annoying that Android’s aggressive power management can interfere with fitness trackers, but tweaking these settings usually gets things back on track.