Correlation between steps and miles

[deniray]

I use the Ionic and MapMyWalk. The difference between the steps is acceptable, but when I register 5897 steps on MapMyWalk which is approximately 2.96 miles, FitBit shows less than one mile. I have adjusted my stride to be appropriate, and try to remember that the FitBit only registers the swinging of the arm, not the foot steps.

Why is there such a disparity between the miles? 

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @deniray. Welcome to the Community.

There are several reasons why this could be happening.

I do have some questions that could lead us to better understand what is going on:

• Are you using GPS on your Ionic or just tracking steps?
• Has this always been the case, or did this start happening?

Let me know if you have any other questions.

[deniray]

My GPS is on as far as I know.



I am intentionally counting steps, rather than distance. I have set my
stride to 8".



Thanks

Moderator edit: Removed personal info

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @deniray.

Thanks for answering those questions.

Could you take a couple of screen shots of the activities that you mentioned and the distances? That'd let me get a visual on the situation to better determine what is the best way to move forward.

Let me know if you have any further questions in the meantime.

[deniray]

MapMyWalk









FitBit Ionic







Measured miles
1 mile .506 mi 1356 steps

2 miles .709 mi 3050 steps

3 miles 1.18 mi 4382 steps

3.31 miles 1.40 mi 4937 steps





GPS is on; stride is automatic; did not use exercise feature

[deniray]

Today I used the exercise feature. Differences 1 mile .90 2 miles 1.85 3 miles 2.79 3.75 miles 3.62 miles 9805 steps (MMW)/8279 steps (FB) *Notice that the discrepancy is not linear. I am going to uninstall both MapMyWalk and FitBit on my phone and my computer, and reset the Ionic and try this again tomorrow. Hope this gives you more information.

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @deniray.

Thanks for sharing that information! 

I'll be sure to pass this information on to the rest of the team. As soon as we have any news on the situation, we'll be sure to let everyone know about it. 

Let me know if there is anything else that I can help you with.

[JohnnyRow]

---

@deniray wrote:

My GPS is on as far as I know.



I am intentionally counting steps, rather than distance. I have set my
stride to 8".



Thanks

Moderator edit: Removed personal info

---

Sorry to jump in late here, but 8 inches seems ridiculously low for stride length.  When not using connected-GPS, distance is calculated as number of steps times stride length.  A low stride length will give low distance. 

How do I measure and adjust stride length for my Fitbit device?

[deniray]

Since this email, I have reset the stride to automatic and it is closer, but
still considerably off (1276 steps for 7357 steps on MapMyWalk)



Moderator edit: Removed personal info

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @deniray and @JohnnyRow.

@JohnnyRow I don't really know, and I am trying to, understand why I missed the 8". Thanks for pointing it out.

@deniray Given that the stride length is set to automatic, there might be a slight inaccuracy as it is not the exact number. It should be close enough, however. You could try walking a spot that you know the distance off and see how the distance is tracked in your Fitbit.

Feel free to reach out if you have any further questions.