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?

[pmellon]

I logged in to the community for this very reason - to see if anyone else is having problems with the counts. My new Blaze doesn't seem to be counting my steps correctly.  I have periods where it seems to be stuck.  Not sure what to do.

[FerdinandFitbit]

Hi there guys @pmellon @HolyMythos. Good to see you both in the Community! 🙂

This seems to be an ongoing issue with Blaze users after the update. Please take a look at my response on this thread.

Anything else, let me know!

[pmellon]

@FerdinandFitbit - I went out for a walk and wore both my new Blaze and my old Charge device.  The Blaze recorded 5427 steps and the Charge recorded 7033 for the same activity.  I'm trying to determine if I should return my device or if this is something in the software that will be resolved.  

[HolyMythos]

Do they have an ETA on when this will be fixed? If it was the update that happened earlier in the week it's already been a few days. How long will my $200 tracker that I just bought be less effective than a $2 step counter?

[Acawthon]

I'm hoping it's just an update needed and not a design flaw. I bought mine May 1st so when first setting it up I got the update. I guess it's good to hear that it was accurate before the update so I hope it can be easily fixed. I only have a week left to decide if I'm going to return it.

[AZPete]

My Blaze has worked perfectly since the day I bought it in mid March. I've done multiple 100 step tests and the tracker step count is on the money. When using the Connected GPS while hiking, it also agrees with the S Health app that came preloaded on my phone.

I have skipped the last two updates and am still running the original firmware. I figured if it ain't broke. Fortunately I was one of the lucky ones with no issues out of the box. I'm sure there are many more users out there that aren't experiencing any issues. I don't install firmware updates until researching issues that are experienced by other users. I don't see myself installing any updates in the near future.

Bottom line, the tracker has the potential to work correctly if the firmware update issues are resolved.

[jsettle0330]

This is exactly what is happening with mine.  When I hold my arm up, it counts correctly.  When I resume a normal pace, with arm swinging, it is inaccurate.  It sometimes misses almost half of the steps.  I used to have the charge HR which worked very well and was always accurate and now my daily steps are down 2-3k per day!  Does anyone know if fitbit is aware of this and fixing it?

[HolyMythos]

It has been TWO WEEKS and this problem is still not fixed. How long will it take to fix this? The two main things that I use my fitbit for, steps and calories, are way off. If this isn't getting fixed anytime soon who do I contact to get a refund? This is ridiculous.

[CMichelle]

I 100% agree @HolyMythos - I am on my third Blaze and it STILL is having the same issue, under counting steps dramatically based on arm swing.  If I don't swing my arm, it counts fine, if I do, it misses every other step.  Any ETA from the Fitbit moderator on when they may be fixed?  I am just happy to see someone acknowledge this is an issue and needs to be addressed, rather than Customer Service telling me I must have gotten a defective tracker.  Really?  THREE TIMES?  I don't think so.  Keep complaining on here everyone - they need to know how many people this affects!

[MikeS1971]

My Blaze as well as the Blaze's of three of my coworkers and two of their friends are doing the exact same thing. You'd think they'd fix this by now. I didnt pay $200 for something that only tells time accuratly.

[fudge22]

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@FerdinandFitbit wrote:

This seems to be an ongoing issue with Blaze users after the update. Please take a look at my response on this thread.

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It seems to be an issue that is currently being addressed. Hopefully they are spending more time fixing these issues than implementing new things. 

[CMichelle]

Yup, I saw that @fudge22 but that post was almost TWO WEEKS ago with no updates since.  I realize they may not be able to fix issues like this immediately but for those of us who have had a pretty much worthless $200 product for over a month now, this cannot be solved quick enough.  Don't let the issue die, keep posting your complaints here so they understand how many people it affects.  We have had another thread going for weeks now and so far, nothing fixed.  Help us, Fitbit!

[Rich_Laue]

@HolyMythos this undercounting of the step fix will not come overnight, one problem is that it is not affecting all users. So the First step is to identify why, and what sensor in the Blaze is affecting this. Now the Firmware will need to be rewritten, and tested, and then some more testing to make sure it will work in all Fitbit Blaze units. Afterwords the Firmware will be released, and need to be installed onto the Blaze. 

Yes it will take some time but I have confidence that it will be fixed, as the undercounting of the steps on the Charge and the Surge where.

Well on my Surge it was within 10% until the first update, then was off by 30-40%. On the third and further updates, it is rarely is off 1%.

[fudge22]

I am confident that fitbit will solve the issues. It could be a while though unfortunately. 

[HolyMythos]

I understand that fixes don't come quickly. It's that this problem is affecting the step counting of the Blaze, which is the most important part of the Fitbit, and very little has been said about it. Customers that bring the problem to light are referenced back to old posts. No official word has been mentioned about it. If it weren't for the people complaining the problem may go unfixed. That's why it's so vital to bring up problems and keep bringing them up until they're fixed. It just hasn't been two weeks; its been a quiet two weeks with no further explanation of what's going on or even where the progress is at. We're just left with "It might be a problem, we'll see if there's a fix". In the meantime we're left with a $200 heart rate monitor.

[fudge22]

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@HolyMythos wrote:

In the meantime we're left with a $200 heart rate monitor.

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Well, we all know it does a lot more than just track our heart beat. Sure there might be a small issue with step counting which takes away a small percentage of our steps, which will eventually get fixed. But if all we wanted was a pedometer, there are plenty of $20 options out there. 

I am 100% ok with waiting while they work out a fix. Sure I might be losing out on some steps, but we all get credit for steps when we aren't actually walking, so it evens itself out for the most part.

[CMichelle]

@fudge22 - HA, you must be one of the lucky ones then because mine consistently under counts, NEVER adds when I'm not walking.  I had a Flex for almost 2 years so I am very well versed on my normal daily steps and it is painfully obvious my normal steps, as well as workouts aren't tracking right.  I can walk 3 miles on the treadmill and it only gives me 1,600 steps - WHA??  Sure, you can type in your exercises manually but then you miss out on all of the Fitbit step challenges with your friends, which I have been for over a month now.  

I agree that a fix has to be coming and while I appreciate it could potentially devastate Fitbit to publically admit their brand new product has a pretty major flaw, it really is what their products are and have always been designed to do, track steps.  So far, my calorie burn on workouts seems fairly accurate so I've just been using that to determine my daily fitness goals instead.  That is, when the Blaze heart rate monitor doesn't drop my heart rate and I have to jiggle it around on my arm to get it to register again!  I mostly notice THIS issue when I start to get sweaty but that's a complaint for another day.

[fudge22]

I wonder if there is a setting on your fitbit that is different than mine and that is causing it to act up since the update. My fitbit has been pretty accurate on step counting, before and after the update. Every once in a while it will skip some steps, but not as many as you it seems. 

[CMichelle]

I have been on the phone with Fitbit Customer service 4 times, they have checked all of my settings and had me do numerous step tests and luckily, can easily see that everything is set up right, the thing just doesn't count right.  Glad yours is working though - gives those of us whose don't, hope!