Blaze doesnt record steps or distance correctly

[Anne_Kelly]

Ive had my Blaze since Christmas. Ive noticed it doesnt capture all of my steps and also see the distance is off by at least 1/3 (less than actual).  Ive been reading forums and saw some old content about a potential fix, just dont know if the "fix" is already on my app or not. 

Anyone else having thia issue??? 

[WendyB]

Have you set your stride:

https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/How-do-I-measure-and-adjust-my-stride-length/

[Skylane]

I have a Charge HR and a Blaze. The Charge HR would record 50 to 80% of the steps taken. Fitbit gave me the option of replacing the Charge HR or a discount on the Blaze. I took the latter. When the Blaze arrived it noticed it had other issues and contacted Fitbit and they sent a replacement which arrived on 2/16/2017. I have been using it since but have had the same issue with incorrect steps.

I used a counter to actually count the steps I took on two walks. On one, the Blaze recorded 5885 steps and I had 6612 on the counter, 89% of actual. The second had 5903 on the Blaze and 6920 on the counter, 85% of actual. The distance is approximately the same for both (same course) 2.77 miles and 2.71 miles. On the second walk my hip was a little sore so was not able to take a full stride. On average, my stide is 26.5 inches which is what I have set in the profile.

What I found was the distance recorded by the app during the walks is very close to accurate by measuring the course on Google Earth, 2.74 miles. Using the numbers from the Blaze, the stride would be 29.8 inches for the first and 29.1 inches for the second. Using the values from the counter, the first was 26.6 inches and the second was 24.8 inches, much closer to my actual stride.

I did notice that the distance recorded by the app for the total daily steps uses the stride value in the profile. As an example I have 14,862 steps right now and the app shows 6.22 miles. Doing the math for the steps and stride of 26.5 inches, the distance is 6.216 miles.

I would say a software update to the Blaze is in order as it clearly does not sense the steps correctly.

[Anne_Kelly]

Thank you for the detailed response--so very helpful!!  Ive set my stride, and used the default based on height.  I think I will reach out to Fitbit and inquire about replacment or updates.  Thank you!!

[Mczech]

same problems I am having.   We need a fix!

[Skylane]

I was hoping the recent firmware update would have fixed the problem but it didn't.

I have run multiple experiments. The only time the Blaze comes close to the correct steps/distance is when I exaggerate the swing of the arms as one might do on a Nordic Track or Elliptical. Even then the accuracy only got to 85-90% depending on how well I could keep up the swing. I do have a Nordic Track and I use the Elliptical exercise mode. I have found that the Blaze is spot on with a counter I rigged up but again that is an exaggerated arm swing.

The only way I have found that the Blaze will record steps correctly and distance a lot closer is by taking the Blaze out of the wrist strap and putting it in my sock next to the ankle bone. I have some elastic bands I used with another brand which I use to hold the Blaze in place. The steps were within 10 of the counter and the distance recorded from the GPS in the app was a lot closer to actual. Usually within 0.1 miles.

I know the sensitivity can be adjusted through the firmware since they do that for the dominant/non-dominate wrist placement. They just need to kick it up a little in general.

[SunsetRunner]

Hi

I'm having the same problem in that it over calculates, I've only had it 10 days and feel disillusioned as it was a birthday gift. This morning it added steps when I was sitting down. I don't think changing the stride setting will fix that. Is there anyone out there who could suggest anything before I return it ?

Thank you