How I found my lost Fitbit
Long time readers of my blog know that earlier this year, I switched from the Fitbit Force to the Fitbit One. There was a risk in doing this in that by keeping my Fitbit One in my pocket, I might lose it easier.
Well, it finally happened.
Last Saturday night, I went to empty my pockets before bed and I noticed my Fitbit One wasn’t in my pocket. I immediately checked all of my other pockets but still came up empty. I quickly tried the last pair of shorts I had worn but still nothing.
Like anyone else who loses something, I retraced my steps around the house to see where it might have fallen out of my pocket. After 10-15 minutes of searching and not finding it, I eventually gave up.
Use the Fitbit app
Then a thought hit me. I wonder what the Fitbit app (iOS | Android) on my phone could tell me. I fired up the app and, as expected, the Fitbit app told me it couldn’t connect to my Fitbit. But that’s when I noticed another piece of useful information. The app told me that the last time it connected to my Fitbit successfully was 7:10 p.m.
I had gone out to dinner that night with friends and we left to go home right around that time. I was now convinced my Fitbit was lying in the parking lot of the restaurant which probably meant it was run over by a car or stolen by the first person to find it.
But I tried to remain optimistic and returned to the restaurant to search the parking lot. Still nothing. The restaurant was closed so I couldn’t go inside to ask if they had found it but I did come up with another plan. I hopped back in my car and drove as close as I could to the restaurant’s front door. Then I fired up the Fitbit app on my phone again and the status immediately changed to “Connected”. Ha! I now was positive my Fitbit was in the restaurant. But I’d have to wait until the morning when they opened again to find out for sure.
More failure and then, finally, success!
The next morning, I went to the restaurant as soon as it opened and inquired about my Fitbit. Much to my surprise, they hadn’t found anything and nothing was in the lost and found. They even let me examine the floor around the table I sat at but my Fitbit was nowhere to be found.
Frustrated, knowing it had to be near, I searched the parking lot one more time and, after not finding it, was ready to give up.
Finally, like the final minutes of every House M.D. episode I’ve even seen where Dr. House has an epiphany of the solution to some great problem, it hit me. What if pulling my car up to the restaurant didn’t cause my app to connect to my Fitbit because I was near the restaurant but instead connected because I was in my car?
I got out of my car, looked under floor mats, under the seats and between the seats and there it was, lying in my car the entire time. Fitbit found!
Other solutions
Since finding my Fitbit by using the app to see when I was close enough to have it connect to my Fitbit, I’ve researched a few other solutions. Turns out there’s a few apps you can use to give a more real-time view of how close you are to your Fitbit based on the Bluetooth signal strength. For iPhone and iPad users there is the free BTLExplorer app. There’s also a $5 app specifically designed for finding your Fitbit called Fitbit Finder. For Android users there is the free Bit Finder app.
Of course, all of these apps and the Fitbit app itself rely on your Fitbit’s battery still holding a charge. Once the battery on your Fitbit wears out, none of the above mentioned solutions will work.
