Blaze undercounting steps up to 50% when walking normally

[HolyMythos]

I walk about 100-120 steps a minute. I can pretty much count on 100 steps a minute if I'm walking nonstop at any pace. Tonight I was on a walk past midnight and noticed at 12:15am that I was only at 1200 steps. This is odd for me since I'm normally around 1800 for a fifteen minute walk. While watching my fitbit as I walk it logs my steps correctly. But when I was looking at my phone while it was connected to my fitbit it was only logging every other step. So I started counting my steps. Every time I got to 100 I'd check my fitbit. Sometimes it was only 70 steps, sometimes in the 80s, but never anywhere close to 100. I tried a longer stretch of 250 steps and I only logged 187. I tried 500 steps and got only 440.

It was then that I figured out that my Blaze, for whatever reason, doesn't log my steps correctly when I'm walking at a normal pace and my arms are swinging normally as I walk. If I hold my arms in place, or hold my arm up as if I'm checking my fitbit, it logs all of my steps correctly, but the moment I resume walking normally with my arms swaying it was only counting every other step.

I've tried turning it off and back on but that didn't help. I've checked my settings and it's correctly set to my non-dominant hand. I haven't noticed this for the first month of having my fitbit but now that I'm counting my steps and comparing it to my fitbit I'm losing anywhere from 15-50% of my steps simply because it's not logging my normal walking stride correctly. Is there any way to fix this? I'm of course just outside of my 30 day return period for my blaze so I can't return it and I don't want to continue using a defective unit that only counts my steps correctly if I don't walk normally. What's the point of having a step counter that can't count my normal steps correctly?

[Rich_Laue]

My exclusive has been the same, before the last update step counts where horrible off, now I find manually counting off 500 left feet steps gsometh reading on the Blaze within 20 steps of 1000.

Reading @FerdinandFitbit's post,  it seems that the undercounting of steps has been documented and being worked on.

As for settings, the only one in aware of would be the Dominant arm setting, and it could be worth trying both dominant and  non-dominant no matter which am the Blaze s on. At least it wont hurt to try both settings.

I think I'm going to try also it, it might be that in one more it counts find while in the other more fails.

[Lordrobs]

I thought if you held up the Blaze to look at your steps in real time what you were actually seeing was the unit playing catch up as it is a few steps behind in displaying the data?

To be honest I very rarely look at mine as the step counts seem to be close enough to what other devices (Fitbit Charge, Withings Activitie, iPhone) have read in the past for me to be confident enough to just let it do its thing. If accurate step count is the number 1 must have on your criteria list I personally wouldn't suggest a wrist based tracker at all.

[HolyMythos]

So, any update to this problem?

[Corvettekid]

IMPORTANT UPDATE:  Just got off chat with FitBit Support....they are aware of the technical glitch involving distance and steps and their tech people are working on it.

Distance is apparently calculated based on default or inputed Stride Settings....Distance is NOT GPS-calculated on the Blaze.....thus, based on my stride length I figured that a mile should be 2,400 steps (2.2 feet = stride length) and indeed it is showing up like that.....BUT....I have to OVERWALK to measure 1 mile which means if you actually walk 1 mile the Blaze reads it as about 0.75 miles which means 2,000 steps instead of 2,400.

I noticed because I was walking the same distance/time and getting fewer steps.

Moderator edit: Format

[MikeS1971]

Mine under counted a walk by 6000 steps Saturday. I average 1850 steps per mile. I got up early Saturday and walked six miles to a small shopping center and had a small breakfast. After I was done, I walked the six miles back home. The Blaze counted 16019 steps. It should of been closer to 22,000 steps.

[Corvettekid]

Mike, did you input a Stride length or is it on default (whatever that is) ?  Do you link to a GPS smartphone ?

[MikeS1971]

I did input my stride length when I got my first FitBit and double checked that it was still showing. For that particular walk, I didn't use connected GPS.

The distance I walked I already knew. I've done it many times. Before the last firmware update the Blaze counted the steps closer to what they should be as well as the Charge HR I used previously. I believe something changed in the way the Blaze is able to determine what a step is.

[HolyMythos]

MikeS1971 this is the exact problem I'm having. The way that steps are counted is not working correctly. When I walk with a normal stride and arm swing my steps are counted at sometimes a 50% rate; every two steps it counts only one. I can watch on my phone when it is connected and see that only every other step is counted. A 50% error rate. This wasn't a problem before the firmware update a month ago. I don't understand why it's doing this or how this isn't a bigger problem begin talked about here. Or why it's been a month and the only thing I've heard from Fitbit is a moderator saying that it might be a problem.

[Creek1]

On my second replacement Blaze and still under counts steps by 25/30%! Not happy at all. At wits end as what to do next. Have done and re-done everything suggested but no joy.

[willyaranda]

Hi,

I also have a Blaze, and I'm having this problem lately. In fact, it is around 50% of the steps. Also, if I have my arm like @HolyMythos say, everything is OK, but in walking mode, it fails to do a correct registration.

I have my blaze updated to latest firmware.

Any idea?

Thanks!

[playbal32]

Agree with those above. Super frustrating that this has been going on for a year and still not solved.  I keep reading on other forums about this and it turning people off of the Blaze.  Sure wish I had read those forums before purchasing mine.  I am actually losing out on insurance money because our fitbits iare logged into our health insurance provider to get discounts and refunds and because I have the Blaze I am not collecting compared to when I used my HR and compared to my coworkers with other logging watches.  Really disappointed.  

[Flonsta]

I'm on my 3rd Fitbit Blaze.  It still undercounts steps by 30%, sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less.  

The only solution to get accurate step counts is to remove the Fitbit from your watchband and put it in your dominant leg pocket.  Which, of course, defeats the purpose of having a watch in the first place (being able to glance and see all your readings).  

Very frustrating.  My Fitbit One was very, very accurate.  I've yet to have a Blaze that is close to accurate.  It's not stride length-- it's the device simply not counting steps.  

[bcalvanese]

If you walk fast the Blaze only counts about half the steps.

If you swing your arms as though you are power walking it will count them all.

Garmin devices do the same thing.

I have tested this numerous times on both Fitbit and Garmin devices.

[MikeS1971]

I've used Garmin and Samsung and they both outperform the Blaze when it comes to accuracy.