Blaze not counting floors properly

[ssultanali]

I already searched this forum and found no answer to it except explaining how it works.. 

here is what i did and found this as a problem.. I live in a high rise building (7th floor) and took stairs to go down and up multiple times with in last 3 days and my floor count is not working... in one case it counted "1 floor" only ... today it counted "7" only... there are around 126 acutal stairs which is not accounted for.  What I am doing wrong? or my device is broken? or its a software issue?

P.S: I just got a new Fitbit blaze last thursday and since the mail delivery i am using it after updating my device.

[Bit-Twiddler]

Blaze floor count accuracy may vary based on weather changes ... that *might* account for unexpected increases. I see that occasionally, but very rarely, if climbing in a windy area or even indoors on the 5th floor, with a fan, skylight, or AC on.

But ... I have found two(2) other factors that reduce the floor count ... not related to the weather.

FitBit trackers count every 10ft (120 inches) in elevation as a floor. That is fine, but most flights of stairs in buildings are *exactly* 10ft, at least in the buildings I work in. So, even a short staircase of 115 inches (or less than 15-16 stairs) won't give credit for the floor. The short staircase might pick up a full 10ft with 1-2 stairs of the *next* flight, leaving it to appear as a short flight too. So, 2-3 flights might only get credit for 1 floor.   

And the height is measured from the tracker's physical position, so lowering my arm, or raising it changes the altimeter reading.

My staircases have standard risers of 7.5 inches, and 15-16 steps. So, IF I raise my arms at the top of every staircase, I get credit for the floor. And, I can live with that, it just convinces me the altimeter is accurate ... except ...

1 - If I take two flights serially (i.e. not pausing at the landing), I get credit for only 1 floor despite climbing 2 floors! But if I pause at the landing ... and ... walk 8-10 steps on the landing, stand on my head and whistle Dixie, I get both floors. Without the 8-10 steps at the landing, same 2 flights, same height X2, only 1 floor counted.

The second issue I found in floor counts ...

2 - If I 'Tap View', or 'Quick View' is enabled, and I turn my wrist at any time climbing the stairs, the entire climb (or at least the 2-3 stairs when the display is illuminated) is erased! So, no credit for the floor and considerable exertion. Those are typically high energy minutes for heart rate.

I've tested this dozens of times, and if I hold the wrist steady vertical, with NO viewing of the Blaze display, the whole floor is counted. 'Tapping' the Blaze to view the display, or with 'Quick View' on, even accidentally turning the display on, deletes the floor.  

My guess is that to illuminate the display, the Blaze pulls power from the altimeter. Maybe even disabling the altimeter for the current count, or at least the time to climb 2-3 steps while the display is on, disrupts the count, and erases credit for that floor.

I don't see the same problems when walking, running, hiking or hill climbing. It is probably still happening but I don't have the standard height measure for the climb, or even for each step, which could be only a couple of inches or a few feet.

I discovered the connection to the display power when I tried to climb the same stairs 5x before getting 1 floor credit. I was checking the count display every time. No display, I get full credit. So, now I don't look at the display when in motion, and try to keep it from coming on accidentally if QV is on. Which limits freedom of use and ease of checking heart rate.

-->> Suggestion to solve the Display count error ...
A nice feature would be an on-screen switch to turn the display on-off when exercising. Turning 'Quick View' off or using the 'Shutdown' setting will not work. Using 'Tap View' also loses the height covered while the display is on. It should work like the on-screen 'Notifications' switch. It would allow me to not worry about turning my wrist and inadvertently illuminating the display.

-->> Suggestion to solve the Serial Floors count error ...
It would also be nice to adjust the floor counter, or let the user set the height of the 'floor' in inches, just like they set the stride length. The tracker altitude covered will still be accurate. This would be a really great feature that all users would appreciate. Count floors just like steps.

The user's goals would be in their range and counted correctly. Basically no different than miles from user variable step length. Just like 'stride units', the users set 'height units'. I would set mine to 110 or 112.5 (15 x 7.5) inches. The user still gets instant confirmation of accomplishment and inches climbed, without re-climbing, or losing recognition of their effort.

Even better would be to solve the Display-Altimeter power problem. Since no matter how high a 'floor' is, an interruption inside tracker circuits by tapping the tracker, or raising the wrist, will still ruin the data record.

[M0T1V8R]

My Fitbit is my motivator. It's psychological, of course, but VERY helpful. When it seriously short changes me on the number of floors, I feel cheated. Yes, I still get the exercise, but the inaccuracy takes the fun out of it.

[Rich_Laue]

Well let's look at this @M0T1V8R. 

First have you tried restarting the Charge 2 yet? 

As for stairs, the tracker needs to see that your stepping, when you walk up stairs. does the tracker count these steps? 

If the Fitbit hand is sliding up the railing, it probably will not count the steps. No steps, no stairs. 

[Bit-Twiddler]

Please read my post above ... Bit-Twiddler. I continue to have the exact same problems as documented, and the same unsatisfactory 'resolutions' continue to work. Is there no interest at FitBit to correct these issues?

It often takes 3-5 times climbing the same staircase, before getting ONE increment on the Floor Counter. There may be only 2-5 inches different at the top, probably due to carpeting, or no carpeting, adding or dropping the height fractions of an inch.

Give the wearer the option of setting one 'Floor Unit' like they set 'Stride Unit'.

Separate the Floor-Count from the Actual-Height climbed. Base the earning of Badges on Actual-Height achieved from the Altimeter. But let them get credit for a floor if reaching their 'Floor-Unit' height.

An easier implementation might be to automatically increment the Floor-Count if achieving 95% of the 'standard'. At least the achievement would match the physical construction of the staircase, and not be diluted by variations in construction.

Set limits if you wish of a Floor-Unit being 95-96% of the 120 inches (10 feet). The user gets the recognition and motivation of accomplishment, and satisfaction with the FitBit, instead of frustration.

[Rich_Laue]

Please remember that if the arm is sliding up the hand rail, steps will not be counted. 

How is one to setup "one floor unit" without using the altimeter?

What is this one floor unit based on, please remember Fitbit can only count steps and measure changes in air pressure. 

How would Fitbit know the difference between walking across the floor and climbing stairs .

[Shadow5]

My "floors" had stopped working altogether. Everything else works great.

Any solutions?

[Rich_Laue]

Is the hole for the Barometer clear?

Have you tried a restart?

Are your ceilings at least 10 feet high?

Those are my thoughts.