Manually count steps whilst shopping?!

[MsSpammy]

I have contacted Fitbit to advise them that my step count doesn't go up if I'm pushing a shopping trolley in the supermarket, or carrying a bag or similar...
The advice I have been given, is to either count my steps manually and add them afterwards as an activity. Or to take off the Blaze and put it in my pocket?!
As a previous owner of the Flex, which counted steps fine whilst shopping/carrying etc I don't really think this is an acceptable answer.
What are your thoughts on it?

[MsSpammy]

In answer to whether I have counted when arms are crossed, yes I have and its not accurate. I haven't counted carrying something, I admit, but would presume it'd be same as trolley as if I'm carrying something like a heavy bag my arms don't move as weighed down by the weight.

I've also counted steps pacing round my kitchen whilst waiting for kettle to boil and at a slow pace, walking round round the room it doesn't seem to count a lot of steps. I know a lot of people use this as mainly a tracker when doing sports, but for some, the daily steps doing general things need to count too.

[Colinm39]

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@MsSpammy wrote:
In answer to whether I have counted when arms are crossed, yes I have and its not accurate. I haven't counted carrying something, I admit, but would presume it'd be same as trolley as if I'm carrying something like a heavy bag my arms don't move as weighed down by the weight.

I've also counted steps pacing round my kitchen whilst waiting for kettle to boil and at a slow pace, walking round round the room it doesn't seem to count a lot of steps. I know a lot of people use this as mainly a tracker when doing sports, but for some, the daily steps doing general things need to count too.

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@MsSpammy Fortunately I have multiple trackers and can compare. Last night I needed a 27 minute walk to achieve my Fitbit Goal Day 2016. I pavement walked, no inclines with my Blaze on my LH wrist and just placed my hand into my jeans pocket with the thumb outside. This method was suggested elsewhere in the forums. The clipon trackers were clipped, and in my RH jeans coin pocket.  I have used the Fitbit One as my standard.

Results

For those interested the Ultra is 4.3 years, Zip and One 3.3 years and all have battery life as documented and still accurate on step count. I wear the clip ons 16/7 and the Blaze 24/7. Just the engineer in me...

@AngelaMa For your information..

[racertempo]

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@MsSpammy wrote:
In answer to whether I have counted when arms are crossed, yes I have and its not accurate. I haven't counted carrying something, I admit, but would presume it'd be same as trolley as if I'm carrying something like a heavy bag my arms don't move as weighed down by the weight.

I've also counted steps pacing round my kitchen whilst waiting for kettle to boil and at a slow pace, walking round round the room it doesn't seem to count a lot of steps. I know a lot of people use this as mainly a tracker when doing sports, but for some, the daily steps doing general things need to count too.

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I walk all the time with my hands in my pocket and with my arms crossed it counts for me.  Maybe you have defective unit.  Even carrying something heavy will will feel you moving up and down.  I have carried 40 pound bags of Lime for the yard and it still counted because it felt me walking.  Theoretically, the only time it should not count is pushing on the smooth surface, cause it thinks you might be on a escellator or moving walkway.

None of the device on the market are perfect, and most people use the fitbit for everyday tracking, not activity tracking.

[MikeS1971]

FitBit Blaze ankle extension strap.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/288227573/fitbit-blaze-extension-fitbit-blaze?ga_order=most_relevant&ga...

[AngelaMa]

Hello everyone! @Niters welcome to the Fitbit Community!  @MsSpammy, @SouthernDad Your tracker counts your steps when you are pushing a stroller or a shopping cart, but because your hands are not moving your step count may be lower than usual during this activity. You can read more about the accuracy of Fitbit tracker's here. @racertempo, @MikeS1971and @dmama1314 thanks for your cooperation! @Colinm39 thanks for sharing your amazing information about the accuracy of Fitbit trackers. 🙂 

I'll be around if you have any questions! 🙂 

[jdomingi]

Yeah unfortunatly I didnt pay 149.99 so that it doesnt work if I dont move my arms. Sorry that is unacceptable. And asking us to wear it on on our ankles is assinine response. Its a smart watch...get it? We dont wear watches on our ankles. I had the original classic fitbit and it counted my steps regardless of arm movement. 

I'm seriously dissapointed and this **ahem**s going to be returned. 

[MikeS1971]

Funny thing, since the last update, the less I move my arms, the more accurate the step count is. It's most accurate with it in my pocket.

And to be honest, as disappointed as I am with my FitBit I wouldn't expect it to accurately count steps while pushing a cart or stroller.

[MsSpammy]

@jdomingi At last, someone who is talking sense... why on earth anyone would put a smart watch on their ankle and in their pocket when it's supposed to monitor HR I don't know...

[MikeS1971]

Just for the heck of it, I just tried to see what would happen if I put my Blaze on my ankle. While FitBits with heart rate monitoring aren't very accurate to begin with, my Blaze read the same HR on my ankle as it does on my wrist.

BTW, FitBit doesn't sell smartwatches. They sell fitness trackers. Not great ones, but that's what their marketed as.

[jdomingi]

It is marketed as a smart device. If it quacks like a duck and walks like a duck...its a duck.

Again..fine take away the heart rate, the time, and just keep it as a pedometer, its basically the classic but with wrist support (Non clip) still want to pay 150.00 dollars without the bells and whistles?

Didnt think so. Again, I paid for all the functions to work. Not part of it. 

[fudge22]

In all honesty, putting the blaze on your ankle defeats the purpose of having the blaze. If I wanted a tracker on my ankle, the charge hr would do just fine. The blaze has notifications, run tracking, etc. I would want to be able to look at my watch on a regular basis to be able to monitor my run. 

I understand that the step count might be less, but there should be enough arm movement for the blaze to be able to pick up the steps. If this is not the case, then the algorithm should be adjusted, in my opinion. Saying that a fix could be wearing it on your wrist would maybe work for the charge hr, but not the blaze.

[SouthernDad]

Wearing it on my ankle will make everyone think that I've been going all Charlie Sheen and have a probation officer.  Although I may consider getting the ankle extension.  It would cut down on the questions about why I have two smart watches (Apple Watch and Fitbit Blaze).

[rws381]

So has anyone just tried turning MobileTrack on your phone? If you kept your Blaze, or other wrist based tracker, on your arm and you phone in your pocket/purse you should still get all of your steps when the two sync up.

[AngelaMa]

Hello everyone, I noticed some of you are upset about the idea of wearing the tracker on the ankle, the Fitbit Blaze is a wrist based activity tracker, we do not recommend to wear it on the ankle or on your pocket, to get the most out of your tracker we recommend to wear it as instructed on this help article. Other users are sharing their experience with wearing the tracker on different locations to test it and it's greatly appreciated. It's up to every user where and how they want to wear it. 

Thanks for stopping by! 🙂