Blaze step count inaccurate, steps not in real time.

[azrielah]

I have had a couple of fitbits and have been happy with the accuracy. I recently purchased a Blaze and the step count was off so I set the stride as directed and it is better but still not picking up steps without my arms swinging. So the small steps in kitchen or with walking and holding a bottle of water aren’t being picked up. I seem to get about 40 steps at night while I am sleeping. And the step count isn’t in real time on occasion it lags and then a bunch of steps show up. I have written fitbit it’s been 3 days with NO response. I have responded to another forum and Fitbit has been absent there as well. I have purchased 5 of their products and I am feeling like I am entitled to comment from Fitbit. From looking at the forums it appears I am not the only one who deserves a response. Hey Fitbit we are looking to you for assistance. Speak up and please help us "make every step count" after all thats why we purchsed your product.

Thanks

[vrt59]

When I got my first Fitbit (five years ago) their customer service was great. They must have gotten too big.

Sent from my iPhone

[SunsetRunner]

I am having zero luck with this blaze wondering if it's worth just to accept the loss and move onto something else.

[vrt59]

That’s what I’m doing. I’m going to try the Charge. My husband has it and likes it. I sort of hate to give them the business. I will take every opportunity I get to say bad things about the Blaze and their customer service though.

[JessieCat]

Jumping on your post Debbi

I dont know in fitbit actual take notice of these posts, but i hope they do (im going to post this directly to them also).

Its pretty obvious that theres a major issue with the step function of the blaze, mines about 25-30% out. This in turn feeds into errors in out linked functions.

This needs fixing but i know its not that easy, but is hopefully fixable via a watch update.

What should be possible in a very short term, and no reason why not by a emergentcy update by end of Jan, is the addition on an editing method so we can correct the total figure by altering the  total figure. This can either be on the watch or the app.

Over to you fitbit .. please sort cause no ones happy and  this is starting to damage your business.. it  this is what your products are like this is my first and last fitbit.

[68Yenko]

How long is your battery life?  That is another issue with mine.  I barely make it 24 hours, so I cannot wear it to sleep or I'm stuck charging it during the day.  I have to put it on the charger every night, and I HATE how you have to charge the Blaze.  
I also hate that it doesn't give you credit for being "active" unless it is more than 10 minutes (per fitbit).  I think it should give you credit for anything over 1 minute so that it can be as accurate as possible regarding your actual activity throughout the day.  

The heart rate feature on mine is also off by 20-50 beats per minute depending on how active I am.  It never tracks above about 130 even when mine is 190.  

I have both a Blaze and a Charge HR, and am thinking this is just a bad product with even worse customer service.  I just don't know what other route to take, other than an Apple watch, but then I need to buy an expensive phone and an expensive watch...

[68Yenko]

I reported them to the BBB, and I'm not the first.  I have a Charge HR and have for over a year.  It is better with the steps, but the heart rate accuracy is WAY off when I exercise.  

[vrt59]

So is your Charge a dud too? I was thinking of trying that with my (whoop) 30% discount.

[68Yenko]

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@vrt59 wrote:
So is your Charge a dud too? I was thinking of trying that with my (whoop) 30% discount.

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Not entirely.  It lasts about 3 days without a charge and it seems to be quite accurate with steps.  It is not very accurate with the heart rate or "active" minutes.  

If I owned an Apple phone, I'd pony up for the series 2 apple watch.  

[JessieCat]

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@JessieCat wrote:

Jumping on your post Debbi

I dont know in fitbit actual take notice of these posts, but i hope they do (im going to post this directly to them also).

Its pretty obvious that theres a major issue with the step function of the blaze, mines about 25-30% out. This in turn feeds into errors in out linked functions.

This needs fixing but i know its not that easy, but is hopefully fixable via a watch update.

What should be possible in a very short term, and no reason why not by a emergentcy update by end of Jan, is the addition on an editing method so we can correct the total figure by altering the  total figure. This can either be on the watch or the app.

Over to you fitbit .. please sort cause no ones happy and  this is starting to damage your business.. it  this is what your products are like this is my first and last fitbit.

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Well 4 days later ive had a reply, this is the "white wash" email

We're sorry to hear about your Blaze's issue with inaccurate step count.

Fitbit is dedicated to developing the most accurate activity trackers on the market. Know that we're constantly striving to improve Fitbit products and services, and we very much appreciate all of the input we receive from our customers.

A tracker's step tracking function is usually affected by a few factors. You may either get a higher or lower step count based on where your Blaze is worn, what you were doing while wearing it, and the metrics set on your profile.

In order for us to isolate the issue and determine the necessary steps we need to help you out, we would like to ask a few questions for clarification with regard to this matter:

• Do you wear your wrist on your dominant or non-dominant hand?
• When has the issue with the step count inaccuracy started happening?
• Are you doing any particular activities wherein you've noticed that the Blaze is not counting the steps accurately?

In the meantime, if you feel that your step count is inaccurate, first make sure the wrist placement settings are correct. Next, double check that you entered your height correctly. Since we use height to estimate your walking and running stride lengths, you may want to measure and manually adjust these values if your legs are longer or shorter than average. For more information, see How do I measure and adjust my stride length?

We look forward to hearing from you. Let us know if you have additional questions.

Sincerely,

Carmela C. and the Fitbit Team

Carmela C / fitbit team . not good enough  Blaze is inheritanly  faulty.blaming  your users will only turn people against fitbit...

[JimboHiker]

I had problems with my Blaze for almost a year and complained several times on this user forum. As with many of you, the Blaze consistently undercounted around 25% of my steps. However, I found that if I moved it to my dominant hand, it worked fine. I did not like this as I don’t like wearing a watch on my dominant hand. As of last week, it finally started working on my non-dominant hand after I downloaded the latest software version from the Fitbit site (as suggested by the Fitbit customer service.) I am satisfied ( at least for now). If you haven’t tried it, give it a shot.

[shabbs]

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@68Yenko wrote:

I have the charge hr, I got the blaze as a Christmas present and have not been impressed.  It is off (on the low side) on step count by roughly 3000 steps each day!  So disappointed! 

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I got my wife the Blaze for Christmas as she wanted an upgrade from her Charge HR. She's in the same boat as you. Steps are way off, under by what seems like a couple thousand/day. We've re-checked all the settings, restarted the devices etc... to no avail. I'm using her old Charge HR and it seems to be counting very accurately. Needless to say, she's quite frustrated. Will have to call into Customer Support. Seems a lot of us are having these issues.

EDIT: Confirmed she's on the latest firmware too. 

[shabbs]

So we did a quick test today on her Blaze when she was on the treadmill. As long as she's swinging her arms when walking, it's counting steps properly. Seems to really require you to swing, otherwise it misses steps. The mystery continues...

[68Yenko]

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@shabbs wrote:

So we did a quick test today on her Blaze when she was on the treadmill. As long as she's swinging her arms when walking, it's counting steps properly. Seems to really require you to swing, otherwise it misses steps. The mystery continues...

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But who swings their arms while walking around the house.  I feel like with this many people having trouble with low steps, fitbit ought to put out an update.  I'm trying to keep the setting on non-dominate hand while wearing the band on my dominate hand to see if that is more accurate, but I hate wearing it on my right hand.  

[shabbs]

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@68Yenko wrote:

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@shabbs wrote:

So we did a quick test today on her Blaze when she was on the treadmill. As long as she's swinging her arms when walking, it's counting steps properly. Seems to really require you to swing, otherwise it misses steps. The mystery continues...

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But who swings their arms while walking around the house.  I feel like with this many people having trouble with low steps, fitbit ought to put out an update.  I'm trying to keep the setting on non-dominate hand while wearing the band on my dominate hand to see if that is more accurate, but I hate wearing it on my right hand.  

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Agree. It's something that will hopefully be fixed via an update as I feel the experience should be the same as other trackers. The Charge HR seems to pick up movement at lot more consistently as compared to the Blaze. My wife now has to "remember" to mover her arms enough to ensure the steps are counted.

[Cavalierlover2]

I seriously cannot understand how this issue hasn't been resolved yet! My mistake was not reading about the Blaze before I upgraded. I have been a Fitbit user for 2 years and I have just updraded to the Blaze last weekend. I have written to fitbit a few times this week and it's the same old answers everyone else seems to get. So today I have done some research whilst out walking. I have been using my Fitbit One and my Blaze and comparing the results.

Walk 1

I walked 1 mile with the 2 devices and the step difference was 10 steps (Blaze recorded 10 steps more) Distance -  the Fitbit One recorded 0.05 miles more. Nothing in it really.

I then did a supermarket shop.

The Blaze recorder 502 steps less than my Fitbit One and the distance covered was 0.22miles less on the Blaze. quite a large differnce in steps here!

My 2nd walk

On a 2.5 mile walk

The Blaze recorded 17 more steps than the Fitbit One

Distance - The Blaze recorded 0.02 miles less than the One Again very little difference.

Overall for the day so far my Blaze is showing a step difference of 284 less steps than the One.

My only conclusion is than on a walk where I am covering approximately 1 mile or more there is very little difference in the Blaze and the One. However all the little steps in between seem to be where the difference is accuring. So I can only assume the blaze isn't recording some of my steps around the house or whilst at work. Whereas the One seems to cover all steps and distance more accurately.

Is anyone else tried comparing two devices and if so what are your results?

I have also used a Fitbit Charge 2 and the results between the Charge 2 and Fitbit One were more or less the same. So it cannot be due to a wrist based device.

My stride is set to Auto and I wear my Blaze on my non domenant wrist.

Should I return the Blaze or just get on with it??!!!! I find it extremely annoying. Over a week period you would have quite a vast step and distance variation between the two devices.

Are you listening Fitbit Team?

[68Yenko]

Yes, the missing steps seem to be when you aren't swinging your arms.  I have a charge hr and the blaze.  My blaze is between 2,000 and 4,000 steps low every day.  Almost none of my steps around the house are recorded because I'm not swinging my arms like I would on an actual walk.  And of course since the steps are low, the miles are low, and the calorie burn is also low as compared to my charge hr.  I am very disappointed that an update hasn't been created yet.  I actual reported them to the better business bureau (I have never done this before for any company) and discovered that there are already a ton of reports due to their poor product and even worse customer service.  

[Cavalierlover2]

I have written to Fitbit several times now but the replies are not worth the bother really. The last reply basically told me my fitbit one was better and more accurate. So why sell the Blaze if it isn't recording steps distance etc... correctly

[Rich_Laue]

Because people want an arm based tracker with all the extra bells and whistles.  The problem with monitoring leg motions by looking at arm motions does have its drawbacks, but fitbit does a fairly good job.

When i had the Fitbit One and an arm unit on seperate acconts, i found tyey frequently switched leader. Several monthly totals where within 100 steps over the 30 days. To me that means they are close.

[Geebee28]

The issue I've been having is it overcounts and says I've walked 13 floors one day and the next 56 floors. Mind you this is sometimes when I hardly can get 10k steps.  BTW,  this is my second blaze- I've already had to replace the first one for the same issue. I can be driving for 3 hrs and still somehow gets floors in- unbelieveable. Very frustrating. anyone else with the same issue ? 

[samij86]

I got the blaze for Christmas to replace a polar a300. Overall, I'm really not thrilled with the device. The step count is nowhere near accurate. For every hundred steps I take, it counts maybe half of them. And that's with my arms moving. (I placed my watch face inside my sock and it was spot on...but obviously not practical)

Distance traveled during recorded exercise on the treadmill is generally .25 miles below what I actually walked. For higher intensity workouts, my HR will read in the 130s when I know it's in the 150s-160s. Which I sort of expected. Optical hr is just not as good as the chest strap.

I'm sending mine back. 😕