FITBIT BLAZE finally getting an accurate mileage - heres how

[Danianya81]

Hi Everyone i have posted on here several times about my fitbit blaze reading dramatically more miles than i have done. This led to me and my running partner ( surge user) going out together with the blaze connected to my phone, her surge and map my run on her phone. What we found was both of our runs were inaccurate and so for the last 3 weeks we have been on the search for an answer.

On the Connected GPS with Blaze always have your wi - fi turned off - otherwise it just tries to pick up every wi fi signal it goes past next...........

forget every thing fitbit have told you about the gps systems.

We finally figured that while the GPS shows you a map of where you have run thats all it does, everything else still goes off your stride. As fitbit set the stride dependant on height and gender these can be wildly out. So i looked at fitbit adjust your stride help pages........... but i didn't have a stretch of land to run ( that i knew exactly how long it was as suggested by fitbit) neither was i about to count my strides for said run (as my head completely blanks when i run) we went old school. As my blaze was giving me more miles than due i reduced my stride on my fitbit settings each run. I started at 37.5 inches and my blaze was half a mile out for every 3 miles. I'm now at 30.5 inches run stride and for the last 4 runs my Blaze has been accurate to within a 0.1 over 3 miles if not exact on!! I finally can trust what my fitbit is saying.

My surge partner had her running much less than map my run was saying so she has been in the process of slowly lengthening her stride. We think by Sunday she should have it bang on and we're going on a nice long run with all 3 devices to prove it.

I completely get how frustrating it is for fitbit users when the runs are off. And fitbit should be listening and doing a whole lot more to combat it in my opinion. All we want is a product that does what it should. I had no issue adjusting the stride i merely took off an inch each run. It was quick,  simple and fingers crossed the last of my issues. I hope this helps at least some of you guys out there that are being driven mad by a piece of equipment designed to help.

On an android i went to the fitbit app, into my blaze then account. Then into settings and down to stride length to adjust.

Moderator edit: word choice

[bbarrera]

Are you starting the Run exercise activity (with Connected GPS) on Blaze at the beginning of your run? Curious, as I thought @Rich_Laue has firmly stated that run activity uses GPS for mileage. I'm not a runner and haven't tried using that mode on Blaze.

[Danianya81]

Yes i activate the runner mode with connect gps to my phone everytime which is why i was getting so frustrated. Adjusting my stride is the only thing that has worked.

[AngelaMa]

Hello @Danianya81 and @bbarrera it's great to have you here! 🙂 @Danianya81 I was reviewing the help article: How do I measure and adjust my stride length? and as @bbarrera mentioned it states that if you have a Fitbit Blaze and track one or more runs using connected GPS, we evaluate that data to automatically update your running stride length but it's great to know that adjusting the stride length has provided an accurate distance. I'm looking forward to the results of the run! 🙂 

Catch you later! 

[Danianya81]

Sorry i should have updated. I take it all back. My milage is still off and actually gets a lot worse if im gps connected. Whih means when i every i gps connect it uodates my stride to a wrong milage count. I love the workout opt anf the calories seem pretty spot on but for a runner the blaze is useless. The mileage is completely off when tracked by gps by at least half a mile every 3 mile run. To advertise this Watch as a good running companion is abs crap. I've just ordered a garmin for when I run because at least I know it's accurate. I'll keep the blaze for now as I'm not getting a refund after 3 months but when I upgrade I don't think the word fitbit will even be a consideration. But hey thanks for replying a month later 🖒🖒🖒

[AngelaMa]

Hello @Danianya81 thanks for your reply. Our team is aware of this issue related to the accuracy of the GPS ,keep an eye on this thread for any update. 

Let me know if you have any questions! 🙂 

[Danianya81]

The question would be when will by £150 spend be more than just a watch?

[jmattwood]

.As soon as you stop worring about a few yards here or a few yards there.

The whole point of the thing is to get you moving about. If it's doing that, it's money very well spent.

[Danianya81]

Granted and for that purpose as I've stated the Blaze is great. But the fact is for runners - which it is advertised as being the next step up from charge for runners and more exercise - it is awful. I'm sorry but it is. And to say keep waiting for a firmware update is just stupid. Advertise it as what it is....... a fitbit charge hr with a prettier screen and twice the cost

[bbarrera]

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@jmattwood wrote:

The whole point of the thing is to get you moving about. If it's doing that, it's money very well spent.

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Thats the point of the **Fitbit app** not the tracker. You can feed the app with steps from your phone using MobileTrack, like I do, or get a reliable Fitbit One. Doesn't take spending a lot of money, or any money with MobileTrack, to get the advantages of the Fitbit app for motivation if thats what you need. Personally, and like many reviewers on the web, it feels like Fitbit cut too many corners on the Blaze industrial design (e.g. lack of waterproofing, charger, plastics), as well as the software. Sigh.