Fitbit exercise tracker on Pixel giving incorrect run times and pace.

[Xayden]

I've been using my fitbit and the fitbit app on and off for the last 3-4 years, but rather devoutly at the beginning, and during this last year. Originally (on the iPhone initially), I never had any trouble at all, but I've had nothing but trouble with it over the last year in regards to the exercise tracker in 3 areas:

1. I've noticed (a bit more recently, over the last few months), that whenever I finish a run, it will add anywhere from 10-50 seconds to the time I initially stopped it at. I have tested this with a few other sources and it's just the fitbit app that ruins my times like that.

2. The pace is always ruined by the fact that, if I don't finish a complete mile on the last recorded mile, it will give a really weird, random, incorrect pace. Today, for example, I ran ~8.53 miles at ~9'28" pace but came out as 9'36" because it decided to say my pace on the 0.53 was 11'10" (definitely wasn't, was the same as the others). That's not huge in that example, but I have much worse examples, generally, obviously, from shorter runs where that has a larger impact. (a 7'30" pace 1.5 mile run says it was an 8'30 pace)

3. This actually isn't time related, and less important, but I just thought I'd throw in here that I hate that, at some point, the app stopped displaying the distance to 2 decimals, and rounds up when running. So I hate the guess work, and get really annoyed when it says i stopped my run at .97 of a mile or something. Also used to use it for measuring for wind sprints and whatnot, but oh well.

[JohnnyRow]

Which Fitbit model are you using?

2.  And depending partly on which tracker, we don't know if you are getting distance from number of paces times stride length, connected GPS, or GPS in device.

3.  I don't understand.  You said you hate that it doesn't display to 2 decimals; then you say you get annoyed that it says .97 miles.

[Xayden]

Sorry, I didn't think to include that I use the Charge 2 because I figured this was purely an issue with the android app, which would also be where the pace is coming from.

The pace is always fine when I have the exercise tracker running, it's only once I stop it that it randomly adds time to my run and majorly screws up the pace of that last bit.
3. Sorry, should have been more clear, when the tracker is running, it will only display to one decimal (and rounds out, so 8.0 can actually be 7.98 or so), and once i stop it, it will tell me 2 decimals. Which is what makes it annoying for me since it becomes a bit of a guess game. I admit it's not a big deal, it just greatly annoys me since it wasn't like this when I first started years ago.

[WebMark51]

Hi Xayden,

The behavior you describe is one I've seen myself. I have a Charge 2 which I pair with a Samsung GS7. I have the latest Fitbit app for Android. I track my jog/walk exercise sessions by initiating the tracker from the app in my phone, which I take it is your tracking interface as well.

I've seen at the end of my exercise, when I tap PAUSE, that a varying amount of time is added to the elapsed time (which seems fine before I tap PAUSE). Press/hold FINISH ends the session, and as you report, the added time remains in the elapsed time, which messes up the pace.

In my case, I've seen amounts from several seconds to over 8 minutes added to the time. That really skews the data.

Seemingly I found a workaround for this behavior of the app. The workaround has been reliable for me for the two weeks I've been using it (daily). Previously, my practice had been to let the Fitbit app run all day, for days (or weeks), unless it gets updates or I restart my phone. It just runs in the background. I noticed one day that the added time was increasing each day, so my stats grew worse as the days passed.

My practice now is to close the Fitbit app and then restart it from its icon just before starting exercise. The method for closing the app may vary by phone, so I'm not sure how you can do this in your case. Restarting your phone would do that but isn't necessary for me anyway. After the app restart, go to the usual place you initiate your tracking and begin it as usual. I've found that this practice results in little or no time being added to your elapsed time at the end of your exercise.

In my case, with the app running for some significant time, I can observe the added time behavior if I initiate tracking (while enjoying my sofa), tap PAUSE after about 5 elapsed seconds and notice whether time was added. Then tap RESUME and the "right" elapsed time from before the PAUSE is displayed and continues to increment.

In your case, if your Fitbit app has been running for some time (several hours or days), you'll likely notice the elapsed time jumping forward when you PAUSE and backward when you RESUME. Of course, discard the "test" session.

This procedure works for me, and hopefully it will work for you as well. Either way, if you try it, please post your results.