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

[verano]

I would encourage all of you having trouble with the Blaze to go the regular customer support route.  They worked with me over a couple of months... I tried everything they asked and was sent two replacements which, for me, did not count steps correctly unless I put the watch face in my pocket or hooked the band on my belt loop.  Now they are refunding my money, and because of the good support I received I am still hoping to be able to find a fitbit brand step counter that will work for me.  I may have to give up some features or end up with two... one for heart rate and sleep and one for steps.  But if you are not having good luck with one of their products, use their support system.  This is also the way they learn about what is working and not working and how many people are having issues.  BTW I did not get the impression that they were "working on a solution" or that they felt the Blaze even had a general problem.  And that may be true.  It just did not work for me.

Debbi

[JimboHiker]

Debbi, You are more patient that I am.  The Blaze undercounts steps by roughly 35% on my non-dominant hand and has since day 1.  I've given up.  At least I have a watch/stop-watch that works.  No more fitbit for me.

[chilehead]

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@verano wrote:

I would encourage all of you having trouble with the Blaze to go the regular customer support route.  They worked with me over a couple of months... I tried everything they asked and was sent two replacements which, for me, did not count steps correctly unless I put the watch face in my pocket or hooked the band on my belt loop.  Now they are refunding my money, and because of the good support I received I am still hoping to be able to find a fitbit brand step counter that will work for me.  I may have to give up some features or end up with two... one for heart rate and sleep and one for steps.  But if you are not having good luck with one of their products, use their support system.  This is also the way they learn about what is working and not working and how many people are having issues.  BTW I did not get the impression that they were "working on a solution" or that they felt the Blaze even had a general problem.  And that may be true.  It just did not work for me.

Debbi

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You shouldn't have to give up features or use two.  I find the Charge 2 trackes pretty accurately (MUCH more so than Blaze) and has the HR.

I'm still surprised that different products track differently, as I thought it was only the form factor different between the two devices, but something else is obviously different too with the software or firmware.

[Rich_Laue]

I would encourage everyone not to do a 100 step count test but continue to 400 or 500 steps. My 100 step test is off by about 20 steps, and my 500 and 1000 step test are also off by the same 20 steps. That brings my 80% accuracy of the 100 step test to 98% accuracy on the 1000 step test and 99% on a 2000 step test. 

The other day I wore the surge, blaze, Charge 2, and zip for a 3 mile walk. The step count recorded where within 70 steps. 

[Primadana1]

I did an entire days worth of testing back in April (I did not physically count all of my steps) I had the following results (I took photos of my arm with both trackers on my phone so they are time stamped, please note- I disconnected my hr from my account so the numbers wouldn't both show up on my account):

8:14am (after walking dog)
Charge hr: 2369
Blaze: 2142

2:33pm (house cleanin/errands)
11,182
10,313

6:54pm (aerobics class)
18,664
17,523

I am glad that some of you have received help from Fitbit and are satisfied with your Blaze but I still think this is unacceptable. I received an Apple Watch for Christmas which I returned because I preferred the Fitbit and the ability to compete with my friends through the app. I preordered the blaze as I thought it would be the perfect replacement but now that my steps aren't being properly accounted for I'm so disappointed. I honestly am interested in the new charge hr (since mine broke in July) but I'm not confident in purchasing a new device from this company after my recent experience.

Sent from my iPhone

[chilehead]

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@Primadana1 wrote:
I honestly am interested in the new charge hr (since mine broke in July) but I'm not confident in purchasing a new device from this company after my recent experience.

Sent from my iPhone

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I've said it above but will say again ... give the Charge 2 a try.  If you buy from fitbit.com you have 45 days (I think?) to try it out and return it.  I find it pretty spot on in my testing so far, MUCH better than the Blaze I had.  For me, I like the form factor of it much better too as the Blaze was pretty bulky.  I no longer have the color screen, but that's just a novelty that doesn't add value.

[gary13235]

Similar problems and more.  Only had device a few days and logged over 500 steps at night while sleeping??? Only records 60 - 80 percent of steps while walking although I do required arm movemt etc.etc.  Tracked against phone gps on a mile run and Blaze recorded .55 mile. However, automatic step detection shows correct stride distance.  Can't calibrate step distance via gps because gps direct connect for some reason doesn't work.   Finally called customer support and after nearly 2 hours of troubleshooting are sending me a new Blaze.  

I might add that customer support was great and went out of their way to solve my problems on the phone!  I was at the pont where I was going to return the tracker to Best Buy and purchase a Garmin.  They talked me into trying a replacement unit before returning. Amazon reviews are generally very positive so hopefully I just have a defective device.

[Rich_Laue]

When I take a walk band count my steps manualy.. I find if I pause to long while starting up the tracking mode, my steps are off by a count of about 20. So if I count off 100 steps I get a reading of 80, but if I count of 1000 steos, I get a reading of 998

[dallasfit6876]

Your message is incorrect. You and your husband are completely different sizes therefore he will burn more calories. Plus men burn more calories even walking at the same pace because they carry more muscle. The only way it would be equal is if he matched you in weight, height & body fat.

[Kindofblue76]

I wish I could provide help, but mine is doing the same thing. Floors climbed is completely inaccurate by nearly double. The most serious error is calories burned. I'm 6'5" 270 and Fitbit support told me that it assumes calories burned based on pulse rate and body size. However, I wake up and I'm told I've burned 600 to 900 calories. Yesterday it told me I burned 5000 calories and all I did was run a few errands...no workouts of any kind. I've reset my Blaze twice and it doesn't work. I'm not sure what to do at this point other than return my Blaze. I want it to work so I might try a new one. But so far...all tracking stats are significantly wrong. 

[Kindofblue76]

Dawnierae...

are you finding the calories burned count to be way off as well? Mine tells me things like I burned 700 calories a night in my sleep, 200 calories during a 15 minute drive to the office, and 5,000+ calories burned on days when I haven't had a workout or any major physical excursion. I've had it for a week and I'm already about done with Fitbit and looking at Garmin. 

[JessieCat]

Hang on a sec, poor gps shouldnt matter, if your wearing in the house and you walk say 30 steps from room A to room B it should count it, mine isnt all the time, ive just counted doing 14 steps, it advanced 5!.

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@AndrewFitbit wrote:

Hey everyone, just want to chime in here.

There's a lot of factors that contribute to getting an accurate step count for wrist-based trackers. Some essentials things to consider:

- Make sure your personal info is accurate and up to date.

- Non-dominant or dominant hand? Make sure your device settings match the arm you're using.

- The amount of arm movement during movement or activity.

- Make sure to wear only one tracker at a time if you have multiple trackers.

- Setting stride length only affects distance, it does not affect steps.

- Poor GPS connectivity may have a negative impact on your data.

You can find additional information about tracker accuracy here. 

If you feel that your tracker is consistently being inaccurate after checking the above, then you might want to consider reaching out to Customer Support so they can investigate.

Hope this helps. 

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[68Yenko]

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! 

[Kindofblue76]

I appreciate the tips...as I'm sure others do as well. This is the first fitbit I've used. I'm not sure how the others perform...but the Blaze overcounts stairs climbed, undercounts steps taken, and severely overestimates/tracks calories burned. The app is great. But the tree leaves more than a little to be desired. I understand that fitbit tracking may not be an exact science, but the Blaze tracking is so far off... it's nearly completely useless! If there's a better fitbit out there, I'm willing to try. If not, I'm returning this one and getting a Garmen. 

[vrt59]

Hi, I'm curious if you had any luck?  I just finished with customer service on my replacement not being accurate and they are offering to send me yet another replacement.  It is so frustrating because of the time it takes with customer service just to determine that it isn't working properly.  I asked them to replace it with a Charge, but all they offer is 30% off.  So frustrating.  I'm ready to change to another brand even though I have been with Fitbit for years and have loved it.  (I started with a One.)

[SunsetRunner]

I Might having issues with the blaze just not tracking steps. Hugely under reporting steps I can walk around my house and blaze reports zero step increase randomly.

Honestly at this point from what I have read and experienced the blaze isn't fit for purpose.

[chilehead]

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@vrt59 wrote:

Hi, I'm curious if you had any luck?  I just finished with customer service on my replacement not being accurate and they are offering to send me yet another replacement.  It is so frustrating because of the time it takes with customer service just to determine that it isn't working properly.  I asked them to replace it with a Charge, but all they offer is 30% off.  So frustrating.  I'm ready to change to another brand even though I have been with Fitbit for years and have loved it.  (I started with a One.)

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If you were still within your 30 days (or whatever, forgot the #) from date of purchase, they should offer you a full refund.  That's why when I had my blaze I made darn sure it was working right, and after a failed replacement I got a refund and bought the Charge 2 which has been much more accurate, but not as accurate as the One.

[chilehead]

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Honestly at this point from what I have read and experienced the blaze isn't fit for purpose.

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Unfortunately I agree with that!  I'm surprised at the difference between the Blaze and Charge 2, as I would have assumed that the internal software and accelerometer to detect steps would be largely the same, and only the form factor of the color screen and a few minor things was different.  Definitely not the case!

When I bought my Blaze I was debating getting a Pebble instead.  Glad I returned the Blaze for the Charge 2, and very glad I didn't get a Pebble as they are now defunct and likely to start having functionality problems in the future.

[68Yenko]

They won't help me at all because mine was a gift.  They all but told me I'm SOL.  So I'm stuck with a blaze that is 3000 plus steps low by the end of the day.  I've had trouble in the past and must say, their customer service is absolute garbage.  It must be pure luck that they are still in business, because with the inability of their product to serve its intended purpose and their poor customer service they should've tanked by now.  I am so disappointed! 

[68Yenko]

Check out the better business bureau page for Fitbit...32% positive, 1% neutral, and 67% negative!!!