Gadgetbridge

If you like to make a GPS record of your activity, you can use another sports tracking app and utilize some dedicated Gadgetbridge features that make integration nicer. This allows to utilize the Activity tracking on the watch with some addition details and processing, like number of steps or strokes and so on.

See a dedicated post on our blog. Also see the Sports Activities Workouts page.

This now offers a new possibility to link a GPX file to a sports activity that did not even allow to have a GPS recording in the first place - like outdoor rowing while using the rowing machine recording or pool swimming (if you have a waterproof phone).

Some activities that you can record without GPS (and make some sense to have GPS linked) include Workout, Outdoor running, Outdoor walking, Treadmill, Freestyle, Indoor cycling, Rowing machine, Pool swimming. These of course must exist in the band/watch, which depends on the watch version.

In this manual, for the tracking i focus on two nice FLOSS sports tracking apps: OpenTracks and FitoTrack (random order :) ).

OpenTracks

Settings

All these setting only need to be done once.

Connect your watch/band to OpenTracks.

Set autoexport.

Set OpenTracks to automatically export recordings. This only need to be done once. Set the output format as GPX. Ideally, set the output folder to be the Gadgetbridge files folder.

At them moment, on Android 11 and newer, OpenTracks cannot export directly into Gadgetbridge files folder due to the Scoped Storage permissions, but you can always manually copy the file there, see for example here or you can send it via the Gadgetbridge's GPX Receiver, see below.

Recording activity

Start recording

start recording an Activity on the band/watch

start recording in the OpenTracks

Stop recording

When you are finished, stop recording on the watch and in OpenTracks.

Sync the Sports Activities with Gadgetbridge.

Link recorded GPX with the Gadgetbridge Sports Activity

In Gadgetbridge, open recorded Sports Activity

Edit GPX track

Select the track

Confirm

GPS track is now added

FitoTrack

Settings

All these setting only need to be done once.

Connect your watch/band to FitoTrack.

This is done only once, but tracking recording must be running.

Stop the recording.

Recording activity

Start recording

start recording an Activity on the band/watch

start recording in the FitoTrack

Stop recording

When you are finished, stop recording on the watch and in FitoTrack.

Sync the Sports Activities with Gadgetbridge.

In FitoTrack, open the recorded Activity and share it with GPX Receiver Gadgetbridge

This will open Gadgetbridge GPX Receiver, confirm OK.

Existing files overwriting is also indicated:

Link recorded GPX with the Gadgetbridge Sports Activity

In Gadgetbridge, open recorded Sports Activity

Edit GPX track

Select the track

Confirm

GPS track is now added

View details of the recorded GPX track

To see the track in more detail, you can of course use the "Show GPS Track" to export or view the recording in another app - like in OpenTracks, FitoTrack, OsmAnd~, AAT Another Activity Tracker or others.

OpenTracks
OSM Dashboard for OpenTracks
OSM Dashboard Offline for OpenTracks
FitoTrack (not via sharing icon, but by using import function in FitoTrack)
Another Android Tracker (seems like more precise representation of time and distance, calculates calories)
osmAnd+
Milkha

Starting the sports app directly from the watch/band

OpenTracks supports an Intent based integration to start/stop workout recording. This is implemented into some devices in Gadgetbridge, read full description (mostly for developers) here. To use it:

Enable the API in OpenTracks
In Gadgetbridge settings, select "OpenTracks package name" based on which OpenTracks version you installed. (official, playstore, debug, nightly...)
Use this function either in:
- Fossil:
  - it is implemented as a workout app - when a workout is started, the OpenTracks is started to record the activity.
- In Miband/Amazfit devices which support Button and Device actions:
  - set "Fitness app tracking start/stop/toggle" as one of the Button/Device actions

Notifications

Audio Announcements

Both FitoTrack and OpenTracks allow you to enable audio notifications of the current progress into your headphones.

Ongoing Notifications

OpenTracks and FitoTrack also provide an "ongoing notification" in the Android notifications bar. We have enabled ongoing notifications specifically for these two apps and this allows you to observe notifications of an ongoing activity tracked by these apps right on your wrist.

Normally, we block ongoing notifications because these could be emitted many times per second and thus cause fast battery drain and also other possible issues. It is therefore recommended to set the Settings → Minimum time between notifications to a few seconds. You can of course always block notifications of these apps completely via the regular Notification blacklist. Both of these settings are in Gadgetbridge Settings.