To get the most out of your Fitbit fitness tracker, you'll want to make sure it's synced up with your smartphone or tablet. That way, you can see all that juicy health data on a bigger screen, access more features, and receive notifications through your Fitbit too.
If you've just bought a Fitbit and want to pair it with your device for the first time — or your Fitbit has stopped syncing with your phone or tablet — we've got tips that'll help you get them connected using the Fitbit app. Plus, some clever tricks to get your Fitbit talking to other great exercise apps like Apple Health and Strava.
Pick what you want to sync your Fitbit with:
Rocking an iPhone or iPad? It's super easy to get your Fitbit smart watch or tracker hooked up to your iOS device for the first time — just follow these steps:
Make sure your iPhone or iPad has Bluetooth turned on.
Download the free Fitbit: Health & Fitness app from the App Store.
Open the Fitbit app and tap 'Allow' when it asks you to let it use Bluetooth.
Set up your Fitbit account (you can create a Fitbit login or use your Google account) and follow the in-app instructions.
Ensure your Fitbit is fully charged and place it near your iPhone or iPad.
Tap on the icon in the top-left of the Fitbit app home screen and then select 'Add Device'.
Pick your Fitbit model from the list and tap 'Set Up'.
Follow the steps and after a few seconds your iPhone or iPad will connect to your Fitbit.
And that's it. Your Fitbit and iOS device will now sync several times a day to keep your health metrics up to date. But you can manually sync your Fitbit to your iPhone or iPad through the Fitbit app too. This is useful for when you've just finished up a 10K run and want to see how you did straight away.
It's just as easy getting your Fitbit synced up with your Android phone or Android tablet. Here's what you'll need to do:
Check that your Android device has Bluetooth switched on.
Install the Fitbit app from the Google Play Store.
Open the Fitbit app and create an account (or sign in with your Google account).
Follow the in-app instructions until you get to the home screen.
Click on the icon in the top-left and tap 'Add Device'.
Place your fully charged Fitbit next to your Android phone or tablet.
Choose the model of your Fitbit from the list in the app and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the pairing process.
Your Fitbit is designed to sync with your phone or tablet several times a day — whether it's an iOS or Android device. But if your Fitbit's stopped syncing, try the following fixes:
Check that your phone or tablet are not in Airplane mode.
Make sure your Fitbit and phone or tablet are charged with Bluetooth switched on.
Try restarting your Fitbit device by pressing and holding its button for 10 seconds.
Check that your Fitbit and phone or tablet are running on the latest software.
Turn Bluetooth off and on again on your phone or tablet.
If all the tips above don’t work, try removing your Fitbit device from your phone or tablet. Just open your account settings in the Fitbit app, tap on your Fitbit model, and select 'Remove this [Fitbit name]'. Then go to your phone or tablet's Bluetooth settings and make it forget your Fitbit device. After that, try reconnecting them.
The Fitbit app is great as it's intuitive and presents your health data in a really clear way. But Apple Health for iPhone is amazing too, especially with its detailed summaries that help you keep track of your fitness progress and sleeping habits.
While it's totally fine to bounce between the two apps, by llinking your Fitbit to Apple Health — you'll get to view all the fitness and health info your Fitbit tracks in one convenient place. That way, you’ll also get a more accurate picture of your health as your Fitbit can track some metrics better than your iPhone (like heart rate sensing and sleep monitoring).
Trouble is, there isn't a native way to sync the two apps together. You'll have to rely on a third-party app instead that can act as a go-between for your Fitbit and Apple Health apps. Power Sync for Fitbit and Fitbit to Apple Health Sync are popular options with top reviews. They'll auto-sync your Fitbit workouts, steps, weight, sleep, calories, workouts, and more to Apple Health.
Google bought Fitbit a few years ago, which means that Fitbit devices now have more integration with Google services. But at the time of writing — there isn't a direct way to sync your Fitbit data with the Google Fit app just yet.
It's not the end of the road though. The easiest way to upload your Fitbit data to Google Fit is by downloading Google's Health Connect app. This lets you share data between Fitbit and Google Fit so you can have an all-in-one app that gives you a holistic view of your health and fitness.
Once you've downloaded the Health Connect app, follow these steps to get set up:
Open the Fitbit app on your phone or tablet.
Tap on 'Settings' (the cog icon).
Choose 'Health Connect'.
Move the 'Sync with Health Connect' toggle to on.
On the next screen, select 'Turn On'.
Tap 'Allow All' to sync all data from Fitbit to Health Connect (or toggle on selected fields instead).
Select 'Done' when you're happy.
Tech tip: If you want a more streamlined way of syncing your Fitbit data to Google Fit, you could also try the third-party FitToFit app. It cuts out lots of the complicated stuff so you can see your health metrics clearly and quickly.
Strava is considered by many as the best exercise app out there, and it's super popular with runners and cyclists. If you've got a Fitbit and use Strava — but haven't linked the two up yet — you'll definitely want to. That way, you can easily share your activities across the two platforms and get more accurate workout data.
The easiest way to connect Fitbit and Strava is by opening up a browser on your computer or phone and following these instructions:
Copy this address into your browser's search bar: https://strava.fitbit.com/
Press enter and click on the 'Connect' button at the bottom of the page.
Log in to your Strava account or select the 'Sign Up' option if you haven't got one yet.
The next page will show a list of all the data Fitbit gets to access. Click 'Authorize' when you're happy (you can deselect certain metrics before you click on this).
Log in to your Fitbit account.
Check what Strava can access from your Fitbit, then select 'Allow' when you're happy with the metrics it can track.
The next screen will give details on the Fitbit and Strava syncing process. Tap 'OK, got it' once you've read everything.
Your Fitbit and Strava accounts will now be connected.
If you're a fan of the Samsung Health app on your Samsung phone or Samsung tablet and you've just got a Fitbit, then you can export the health data it tracks to Samsung Health by using a third-party app called Health Sync.
Here's what you must do to get them paired:
Make sure you've downloaded the Fitbit app and synced it with your Fitbit device (follow our instructions for that above).
Install the Health Sync app from the Google Play Store.
Open the Health Sync app and follow the on-screen instructions. You'll be able to choose between which apps you want to sync and in which direction.
To send Fitbit data to Samsung Health, select the Fitbit app as your base sync source and Samsung Health as your destination app.
Tap the 'Declaration of Consent' button and accept the terms if you're happy.
Select the 'Initialize First Connection' button, tap 'OK', then log in to your Fitbit account.
Choose which health metrics you'd like the Health Sync app to access, then tap 'Allow'.
You may be asked to touch the Fitbit icon to reset the connection with your Fitbit account.
An 'Initialisation Finished' pop-up will appear, tap on 'OK' to complete the process.
Which Fitbit is the best?
This will depend on the type of health data you want to track, your budget, and what your fitness goals are. If you want all the bells and whistles, then Fitbit's flagship Sense 2 smart watch is the way to go. It offers a few extra features over the slightly more affordable Versa 4 smart watch, including ECG (electrocardiogram) readings, skin temperature sensing, and even stress tracking.
Any more questions?
Now that you’ve got your Fitbit hooked up with your phone, tablet, or favourite fitness app — why not learn a bit more? Check out our Fitbit: all you need to know and how to change the time on a Fitbit guides.
