Fitbit and MFP not syncing

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is anyone else having a problem with MFP not receiving data from Fitbit? I have to disconnect the Fitbit from MFP and re-link it to get the data, and even then, it's wrong. (Right now Fitbit says I have 1,329 calories left for the day, whereas MFP says 1,239.) I have emailed MFP with no response.

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  • dang318
    dang318 Posts: 3 Member
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    Same issue here. I've been a long time user, but it stopped syncing a few days ago. Works immediately when I disconnect and reconnect.
  • NancyN795
    NancyN795 Posts: 1,134 Member
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    Fitbit and MFP will never agree on how many calories you have left for the day - until the very end of the day (i.e midnight). They use different methods to come up that number, so seeing a difference there isn't an indication that they're not syncing. To confirm whether syncing is occurring, go to the MFP exercise tab and click on the little 'i' next to the Fitbit calorie adjustment. That will show what time MFP last got calorie data from Fitbit. Mine usually - but not always - corresponds to approximately the last time my tracker synced with Fitbit. Some people say that the calorie burn has to have changed by at least 100 calories, but that hasn't been my experience.

    That isn't to say you aren't having syncing problems. It happens. More to some people than others (I've only had it happen twice in 1.5 years). A few weeks ago, when lots and lots of people were having the problem, MFP recommended people stop doing the disconnect/reconnect thing because it was just making a known problem worse, but since they fixed that I think disconnect/reconnect is the current recommendation.

    If not syncing I would try to do a very thorough disconnect/reconnect. I would probably use the web site, not the phone apps, if possible, to do it. Disconnect in MFP. Revoke access in Fitbit. Wait a little while (15 minutes?). Then reconnect.
  • milkydud85
    milkydud85 Posts: 108 Member
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    what is a good device that syncs with mfp
  • sovrappensiero
    sovrappensiero Posts: 13 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I have had syncing problems since Sunday. I tried disconnecting/reconnecting once and now I am trying again. Will wait 24 hours to see if it helps. My issue is definitely a syncing one - my steps don't match up for Sunday through today even though it said it just synced (before I disconnected it).

    I also noticed that sometimes my exercise space says this: "MFP iOS calorie adjustment" instaed of "Fitbit steps" or something like that. Does anyone else have this problem? Is it because I disconnected the Fitbit, and will it affect things when I reconnect? When I reconnected the first time, it stayed like that but only for some days ("MFP iOS calorie adjustment"), which is a problem because that only gives calories, not steps, so I can't check whether the syncing is performing correctly.

    Edit: I think I figured out the second part. Somehow my mobile app got switched to using the phone's pedometer instead of Fitbit. It doesn't look like there is a way to go back and change that setting for previous days, although I've fixed it now.

    The dis/re-connect worked to fix the syncing issue.
  • CM9178
    CM9178 Posts: 1,265 Member
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    Join the club, this happens about every 3 months, we all complain about it for a week or two and then it is magically fixed.
  • dang318
    dang318 Posts: 3 Member
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    Mine is definitely a sync issue-- steps on MFP say 0 and Fitbit says 6,300+. Waited a few hours, still there. I figured they'd fix it, but I have only seen this post to sort of suggest it's a broader issue.

    Where can we log cases/technical issues?
  • nkovacs1954
    nkovacs1954 Posts: 64 Member
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    Doesn't matter, at least to me, if MFP and FitBit sync exactly. I stick with one and follow it
  • NancyN795
    NancyN795 Posts: 1,134 Member
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    dang318 wrote: »
    Mine is definitely a sync issue-- steps on MFP say 0 and Fitbit says 6,300+. Waited a few hours, still there. I figured they'd fix it, but I have only seen this post to sort of suggest it's a broader issue.

    Where can we log cases/technical issues?

    Does MFP show a Fitbit calorie adjustment? If so, when was it? I think you can have MFP set to not get steps, or get steps from your phone instead of your Fitbit, so you could be syncing and still show 0 steps. It's the calories that matter. No calorie adjustment, or a really old calorie adjustment = not syncing.
  • dang318
    dang318 Posts: 3 Member
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    No calorie adjustment at all unless I disconnect and reconnect. Latest iOS on the iPhone 6. Very irritating.
  • breeze_brat
    breeze_brat Posts: 65 Member
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    Mine's not syncing again, rather annoying :(
  • algingher
    algingher Posts: 17 Member
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    My FitBit app shows the calories I put in on MFP but MFP doesn't show my calories burned from FitBit... I'm lost.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    algingher wrote: »
    My FitBit app shows the calories I put in on MFP but MFP doesn't show my calories burned from FitBit... I'm lost.

    You mean under MFP - Exercise Diary there is no Fitbit calorie adjustment?

    If there is and it's 0, then click on the "i" for more info as to what Fitbit reported at what time - does that match Fitbit?

    If it does, it means you don't have negative calorie adjustment enabled, and you aren't burning more than MFP thought you would, so nothing to correct up.
  • algingher
    algingher Posts: 17 Member
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    What's negative calorie adjustment? What's it mean? Should I have it enabled?
  • NancyN795
    NancyN795 Posts: 1,134 Member
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    algingher wrote: »
    My FitBit app shows the calories I put in on MFP but MFP doesn't show my calories burned from FitBit... I'm lost.

    I had that same thing happen to me once - my food from MFP showed in Fitbit but no Fitbit calorie adjustment in MFP. This was back when lots and lots of people were having trouble and MFP didn't want everyone to disconnect and reconnect because it was just making the problem worse. What I did for that day (the next day it was back to normal) was use Fitbit's calorie remaining estimate. I prefer using MFP's but I knew that they're generally pretty close together by the end of the day, so it worked. That day never looked correct in MFP though - the calories burned data never showed up.

    Anyway, since they're not saying "don't do the disconnect/reconnect thing" right now... If you're not showing a Fitbit calorie adjustment, then - using the web interface if possible rather than your phone app - disconnect Fitbit from MFP. Revoke MFP's access from Fitbit. Wait a while (15 minutes or so wouldn't hurt). Then reconnect.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    algingher wrote: »
    What's negative calorie adjustment? What's it mean? Should I have it enabled?

    MFP estimated what you'd burn without exercise based on your BMR and self-selected activity level (which could be too high for your actual level of activity, it's supposed to be no exercise activity level)

    If Fitbit says you actually burned less than that, then you get no adjustment.
    And to maintain your deficit, you should have negative on, which allows MFP to correct for the fact you burned less than it thought you would, by taking away calories to eat.

    On the web account it's under Settings - Diary Settings - near bottom.