It’s frustrating waking up each morning to find your whole night’s sleep not tracked by Fitbit Watch. Or the sleep results are not accurate when sleep tracking happens.
We have about six reasons each with a possible solution. Without wasting any time let’s get the troubleshooting started!
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Why Is My Fitbit not Tracking Sleep:
Generally, your Fitbit smartwatch or fitness tracker whether Fitbit Charge 5, Sense, Luxe, Versa 3, Charge 2, or Charge 4 will not track sleep because of several reasons.
The common reasons why Fitbit is not tracking sleep or is tracking inaccurate sleep data include:
- Fitbit is worn loosely on the wrist.
- You could be having a sync issue.
- Problem with the heart rate monitor.
- Fitbit does not have enough charge.
- Fitbit has a system glitch.
- The Fitbit app is not updated.
1. The Fitbit Watch is not Worn Correctly on the Wrist
Before taking things too far you would want to check if the watch is holding correctly on your wrist.
Adjust the straps if the watch is dancing on your wrist. When adjusting the wrist straps make sure they are not too loose or too tight, and make the fit snug so that your Fitbit does not bring wrist pain.
With the fit corrected do to bed and in the morning check if your Fitbit is now monitoring sleep. This simple troubleshooting is also supposed to improve your Fitbit sleep result accuracy.
2. Sleep Sensitivity Mode Settings Could be the Cause of the Problem
When the sleep sensitivity mode on your Fitbit is set to too low you will have problems tracking your sleep.
You need to configure the sleep sensitivity mode very carefully so that your Fitbit watch can discern if you are sleeping or not sleeping.
There are two ways you can adjust the sleep sensitivity mode on Fitbit Fitbit Charge 2, Charge 4, Sense, Luxe, Versa 3, and Charge 5.
You can either adjust the setting from your phone or computer. To adjust sleep sensitivity mode from the Fitbit app on your phone:
- Open the app and go to your Profile
- Opt for Advanced Settings and continue with Sleep Sensitivity.
- Adjust the sleep sensitivity mode to Normal.
In case you are much closer to your desktop than your phone here is how you are going to adjust to Sleep Sensitivity mode:
- Visit the Fitbit Official Website and enter your account details to log in.
- Once you are logged into your account click the drop-down Menu on the left-right area of the page.
- Click on Sleep Sensitivity and then select Normal Sensitivity.
- Confirm the setting so that it reflects on your Fitbit.
3. Your Fitbit Could be having a System Glitch
Fitbit may stop tracking sleep simply because of a system glitch. Fitbit suddenly stopping to track sleep can be inconvenient.
Fortunately, we have two ways we can approach and troubleshoot this problem.
First, we can try to restart the Fitbit sleep tracker to clear errors and refresh the system.
To restart a Fitbit smartwatch or fitness tracker that has stopped tracking sleep follow these simple steps:
- Press and hold the button on your Fitbit for about 5 seconds.
- Or until you see a smiley face on the watch display – release the buttons. Your Fitbit has just restarted.
If the problem still isn’t solved, consider performing a reboot/reset on the watch. To successfully reset or erase all your data on Fitbit do the following:
- From your Fitbit Watch open the Settings app
- Then opt for Clear User Data.
- When prompted long hold the screen for about 5 seconds. Your Fitbit will vibrate, which means the reset process is complete.
Sleep with the watch and when the morning comes check your sleep report to find out whether Fitbit is now tracking sleep.
4. Your Fitbit and Fitbit App are having Hard Time Syncing
If you’ve put on your Fitbit the right way on your wrist (on the non-dominant hand), it is charged, and the app and watch are running on their latest version.
If is still not being tracked by Fitbit then it is highly likely you are having sync issues with the Fitbit app on your phone.
The best solution for a Fitbit app that won’t sync is force-stopping the app. If force-stopping the Fitbit app does not work consider uninstalling and re-installing it.
To force stop the Fitbit app on an Android phone head over to Settings, then opt for App & Notification, find the Fitbit App from your list of apps, tap on the Fitbit app once you have eyes on it then opt for Force Stop to completely close the app.
5. Your Fitbit is Probably Broken
Breaking is the worst possible reason your Fitbit could have stopped tracking steps.
A broken Fitbit is a fitness watch or smartwatch with all its components damaged. Always expect the watch to stop tracking sleep once its parts break.
Unfortunately, it will almost impossible to fix a Fitbit smartwatch or fitness tracker that is breaks, which means you will need to buy a brand new Fitbit to continue tracking your nightly sleep.
6. Your Fitbit has a problem with the Heart Rate Sensor
Fitbit will use the heart rate sensor already included in it to track your sleep each night.
The watch will also use movements to tell when you are sleeping. A calm status with no activities tells Fitbit you are asleep.
On the other hand, movements will tell the watch you are still awake. Fitbit will combine heart rate will move to create your sleep score.
That having been said, it will not be possible for Fitbit to track sleep when the heart rate sensor is not working.
You can try to fix this problem by restarting or turning OFF and ON the heart rate sensor on your Fitbit. To restart the heart rate sensor on Fitbit do this:
- Go to Settings on your Fitbit.
- Scroll to find the Heart Rate option.
- Tap the option to switch off.
- Power your Fitbit OFF and back ON (Restart Fitbit).
- Head back to Settings, find the Heart Rate option, and switch it back ON.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why isn’t My Fitbit Tracking My Naps?
Neither does Fitbit track nor automatically naps and that’s because naps are short sleep.
For Fitbit to start tracking your sleep you will need to be asleep for at least 1 hour. So, a 45-minute sleep will not give Fitbit enough time to track sleep.
2. Why is Fitbit Not Registering My Sleep Pattern?
There are several reasons why your Fitbit is not recording your sleep pattern. The common ones include not wearing the watch the right way, the sleep sensitivity mode is not set to normal, the watch is broken or the heart rate sensor is malfunctioning.
3. Which Fitbit is Most Accurate for Sleep?
According to most reviews and customer feedback, Fitbit Sense is the smartwatch that tracks sleep accurately, you may also want to check other Fitbit smartwatches and fitness trackers we recommend for sleep tracking.
4. How Does Fitbit Know I am Sleeping?
Fitbit uses your heartbeat together with your movements to know when you are asleep and awake.
If you don’t move for an hour with your heart beating Fitbit will consider you are sleeping and it will start monitoring your sleep. Immediately it detects movements it knows you are awake.