If you doubted whether connecting a Fitbit to a Raspberry Pi 4 is possible, let me assure you it is and that I’ve done it.
I bought a Raspberry Pi 4 in January and have been trying to sink my teeth into a good project where I can use it. At the same time, I had been doing quite a bit of Android development on this project that used Fitbit Versa Lites to measure health data. I don’t own an Android device, and I didn’t want to buy one just for this project. This situation led me to think, If Raspberry Pis run Linux and Android is a Linux flavor, surely I can boot Android on my Raspberry Pi.
How does a Fitbit Versa Lite connect to a phone?
The Fitbit Versa Lite is the cheapest smartwatch offering in the Fitbit lineup. Being the least expensive, Fitbit has cut cost on this model by leaving out some desired features like wifi and GPS, but the Versa Lite still has a leg up on the even cheaper tracker lineup because of its LCD screen. Lacking wifi capability means the Versa Lite must always be tethered via Bluetooth to a phone with the Fitbit app installed. Unfortunately, Fitbit requires all communication with their devices to go through their app in one way or another.
How to run Android on Raspberry Pi:
I found a great port of an existing open-source Android version, LineageOS, to Raspberry Pi done by KonstaKang here. Using this port greatly simplified the task at hand as KonstaKang has already taken care of the heavy lifting for us, for example integrating the OS and the firmware and drivers. Once we flash the port onto our microSD (install instructions: Linux, Mac, Windows) that the Raspberry Pi uses to boot, we can start up our Raspberry Pi running Lineage OS.
Unfortunately, Lineage OS comes without gapps and the Google Play Store, meaning we won’t be able to install the Fitbit App.
How to setup and install Google Play Store Konstakang Lineage 17.1.
Watch this video and follow its instructions to install the Google Play Store on your Raspberry Pi 4.
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3i2h9JgPPME&feature=emb_title
Once your device reboots, you can install the Fitbit app using the Google Play Store and sync your Fitbit with your Raspberry Pi just like you would any Android. If you need help, you can always visit the Fitbit help docs. Your Raspberry Pi’s Bluetooth chip must be functional because the Fitbit Versa Lite can only communicate via Bluetooth.
Congratulations!
At this point, you should be able to connect your Fitbit to your Raspberry Pi, and you can begin thinking of Fitbit development ideas. Fitbit has a pretty good development SDK and developer docs. Doing a quick search on Github, you’ll find lots of open source projects that you can take inspiration from or fork.
Happy coding!