I got two identical maps for the same walk on my Blaze

[Sandy_]

iPhone 6s+, iOS 9.3.1, Blaze Exercise/Walk function has GPS ON.

After a walk, my fitbit gave me two maps.  Intrigued, I investigated.  Both maps were identical but the the data under each map (e.g., the amount of time for the walks, calories, etc.) were different.  

Here's what happened: As I began walking I turned on Blaze Exercise/Walk. The list of data categories (e.g., pace, calories, Heart, etc.) turned on.  After a while, as i was walking, I opened the fitbit app on my Phone, went to Track Exercise and selected the tiny clock (upper right) to start tracking the walk using the phone's GPS.

When I got home I turned all tracking off and noticed the two identical maps each with different data.  One of the maps listed the data for my entire walk, the other listed the data for the Track Exercise GPS portion of my walk.

Apparently, the Blaze can track walks in three different ways.

1.  Just walk for more than 10 minutes and the data for that exercise are automatically recorded.  

2.  On the Blaze, select and activate the walk function.  (I always keep GPS ON so I am not sure if GPS OFF would give different results.)

3.  Activate Track on the Fitbit phone app.

I did both 2 and 3 and got the two identical maps.  One map included the correct data for #2, the other map had good data for #3.

Oh, well... I feel better now that I understand what is happening.  Hopefully FB can fix the bug in a later update.

[Rich_Laue]

First thing I notice is that you started the Blaze tracking function, and then the Apps tracking function, so each one have you a map.
Tracking while using the app is not using the Blaze, except to get your step count, on in fact you don't even have to have your Blaze with you to take with the app.

Yes the Blaze has auto detect of up to 6 types of exercises. They can be setup by tapping track your exercise then the settings gear in the top right. But this won't give miles.

Choosing the GPS option will give you a map with miles determined by GPS, while turning the connected GPS off will give you distance based on your step count times the stride.

[Sandy_]

Thanks Rich, for your explanation of the different ways distance is calculated when GPS is ON or OFF on my Blaze.

Yes, as I said, I used the Blaze tracking function and the Apps tracking function at the same time.  Admittedly, that was somewhat redundant, but I still don't understand why the Blaze/Fitbit App firmware allows the same map to be displayed twice for the same exercise.  That cannot be correct.  Also, given that the information is displayed twice, has the information (e.g., number of steps) been counted twice in my daily totals?

[Rich_Laue]

The double enter has nothing directly to do with the Blaze firmware.

Your Blaze recorded an event and it was saved onto the Fitbit server.

Your app recorded an event and it to was saved onto the Fitbit server.

It just so happens that these 2 events are for three same time period, or very close.

The event recorded by the app gets your step count from the Blaze, which also looks at your steps counted.

So for your daily step count and calories burnt, no the two entries don't affect anything

I've tested this with using the Surge, the App, and the Charge HR to record the same run, which have me three event  entries, removing two entries had no affect on the daily stats.

Why is this? Recording a walk are run with the tracker our the gps on the app, does not affect the daily step count or calories burnt for this period.  It does however allow you to see the stats for this time in greater detail then would be available in the daily graphs.

[Sandy_ · Accepted solution]

Sounds good. Thanks for the explanations.

Still, the firmware somewhere (or hardware or software if you prefer) is displaying two maps. This is redundant and a waste of storage, not to mention annoying and confusing to users. Indeed, FB has acknowledged that showing two maps of the same walk is probably a bug.

I think the Blaze is great. Ironing out problems like this will only make it better.

[Rich_Laue]

Yes the app and the web will display to maps because you used to different methods to record one run. The redundancy is not on Fitbit end, it is just displaying what you told it to display. The redundancy is in choosing to record one event in two different ways.

I have done this myself so that I will baffle to compare the tracking aspect of the two/three WAYS.