Fitbit Blaze step count inaccurate

[OmarLittle]

Hey there,

Today was my first full day rocking my Blaze. I went to an outdoor festival and had some solid step count, however, when I got home and checked my step count I noticed that the blaze tracked about 1/4 the steps I actually took. My iPhone health app logged about 10K and my Fitbit did about a 1/4 of that (2500). Also I noticed it did an auto workout and thought I had rode my bike. I think this is due to my sons stroller I was pushing. Any suggestions on how to calibrate? If I go for a run and use the GPS- will that help? Thanks!

[missyallen]

my blaze has worked perfectly until today the eliptical exercise program only recorded 800 steps and .25 miles after 1 hour of use but also counted 12 floors is there a glitch today?

[Jobie]

This is an issue with this watch. I have the Charge HR and the Blaze and the blaze just does not count steps. When looking at it and walking it does not move. When going for a brisk walk, counts almost every 5th step. I have returned the Blaze, I have had it since March 5 or so, and I will stick with the Charge HR. Not worth the money at all.

[MsSpammy]

I reported the discrepancies in the step count when walking moving arms, looking at Blaze and doing things such as carrying bags or pushing a trolley. This was the reply I got:

"Thank you for getting back in touch with us.

Blaze will count your steps when you're walking with your arms stationary, as we do want to give you credit for this activity. This includes walking while pushing a stroller or shopping cart, or holding on to a treadmill. However, because your hands are not moving, your step count may be a bit lower during this activity.

Let us know if you need additional help"

Is it just me, or does this answer contradict itself a bit?? In one sentence it says it does count if arms stationary, in the other it says step count will be lower!

[missyallen]

Today was the first day I had problem normally it works like a dream thought maybe there was a system glitch today

Sent from my iPhone

[Teefeb19]

I just took ten steps and the blaze stayed exactly where it was. The number didn't change at all.

Sent from my iPad

[ejp316]

This is a problem that FitBit NEEDS to acknowledge. Not a good look.

--
Eric J. Pace, M.S., CCC-SLP/L
Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist
ericpace.slp@gmail.com
(312) 209-2318

[missyallen]

Mine counts perfect if just walking it's when I choose exercise then elliptical and in the 2 weeks I have been using daily this is the second time it's happened I just wish I could figure it out so I could correct it

Sent from my iPhone

[prettylolita]

I wear two to correct this problem. Which sucks.

[ChrissyA]

Maybe i am being silly, but i never thought of worrying about the steps when using the elliptical, I mean I would feel different on the step master because you are actually stepping but the elliptical is not a stepper. As long as the calories burned on my watch matched the machine I think that the Fitbit Blaze accomplished its task. I don’t think that steps should be counted for exercises like the stationary bike, a rowing machine, etc. Are the calories burned consistent? Anyone? I mean, if the time spent on the elliptical and the calories burned during the excersise are accurately reflected on the app under "track excersise" i dont see the issue.

[EmersonFitbit]

@missyallen Hey there!

@ChrissyA is right in this case, you won't necessarily see a high level of accuracy with an elliptical machine since it isn't an ambulatory exercise- you're not stepping, per se. Elliptical machines are closer to gliding, and without that step data, your tracker will have a bit of a hard time with translating that movement into steps. Our trackers have a finely tuned algorithm for step counting. The algorithm is designed to look for motion patterns most indicative of people walking.

Here's a pretty helpful article that explains is better than I did just now.  My recommendation would be to add the elliptical exercise shortcut to your Blaze (if it's not there already) here, and let the HR data help give you a good idea of what your calorie burn was for that time.

Hope this helps!

[Rbrockport]

I been doing my daily walks on my breaks and lunch at work right and have had it record as eliptical. I thought that was funny!! I was dancing and it also recorded as eliptical. I changed my exercise to the correct one so that it would count correctly. 

[ejp316]

@EmersonFitbitIt seems across the board that the Blaze undercounts steps. I am on #2, and so is my friend.. not to mention all of the people on this thread? I LOVE the Blaze, but if it can't perform it's most basic function correctly, I am going to need to send it back. Is this something that Fitbit may acknowledge and possibly recall bands and/or put out a firmware update to improve the sensitivity/accuracy? Thanks!

[missyallen]

Ok guys I have either discovered the problem or found a weird coincidence. Today I was back with a full charge after charging last night and it worked perfect with the elliptical. So here is my theory... After looking back to yesterday and the last time it happened it was during a morning workout when that evening I got the message to charge my battery. I think it has something to do with a low battery and the elliptical. Just a thought I could be wrong but if not it's an odd coincidence.

Sent from my iPhone

[Teefeb19]

I know people are talking about the blaze but has anyone switched to the surge and liked it better?

Sent from my iPhone

[missyallen]

Not that I know of I love my blaze and now that I think I know the problem I can adjust and fix it.

Sent from my iPhone

[EmersonFitbit]

@ejp316 Thanks for the feedback; I'm continuously relaying the feedback the apprpriate teams. 

Blaze's accelerometer functions in the same way as our entire tracker family, so there shouldn't be any differences in the way that it tracks your steps in comparison. Our help site does a much better job at explaining the technology behind our step-counting algorithms than I could, but I think this part might be relevant to your request- "One condition for a motion pattern to be recognized as a step is the motion must be large enough. The algorithm implements this by setting a threshold. If a motion and its subsequent acceleration measurement data meet the threshold, the motion will be counted as a step. If that threshold is not met, the algorithm won’t count the motion as a step."

For anyone interested in the accuracy of our devices, factors that may effect step accuracy, and much more, I'd definitely recommend taking a look at this help article that I can see has helped a number of people in this thread.

[missyallen]

I think I found either the problem or a coincidence. I had the problem twice and the second was yesterday. Last night I got the notice I needed a charge abs I did and today it was back working perfectly. I looked back and the other time I had the problem I was in the gym in the morning and got a notice to charge that evening. So I think when it is low on battery it has a problem with the elliptical. I go 4 days per week on elliptical and only had the problem twice and apparently both times my battery was low.

Sent from my iPhone

[amandarich78]

I have the blaze and it's worked perfectly until the last 2 days where I have woken up and apparently I have walked 2.73km and 3456 steps in my sleep . So my readings are inaccurate as I am positive I don't sleep walk. Anyone else had this issue? And how to resolve?

[burnskan]

how do you change the sensitivity? my blaze is over counting my steps ( i.e. opening the blinds in the morning and using just my arms)

[Kmransom123]

@burnskan   One thing you can try is to wear it on your non-dominant arm, but in the settings, mark it as wearing on dominant.  That will help it be less sensitive to movements.