Charge 3 distance information incorrect

[Watched]

Ever since my Fitbit app updated to 3.19.1 (20243495) about a week ago, my distances have been very wrong. This is for an Android running Android 9

I don't think the following is pertinent but I'll include it anyways:

- I'm using a Charge 3

- I'm running at elevation (~5500 ft or 1.68 km)

- There are jags on the route that could indicate really tiny segments of lost GPS, but they are tiny and wouldn't account for a loss of 15%

At minimum, it says I achieve 15% less distance than I run (based off of mapmyrun and strava (strava using the exact same GPS signal).

To the software engineers that did this patch, please please please just look at the associated commit and fix this 🙂

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[AlejandraFitbit]

It's great to see you around, @Watched.

I am sorry for the delay in response. Fitbit devices calculate distance based on the device’s accelerometer data and stride length setting.

Default stride length is based on your height and gender. If available, Fitbit devices use GPS data to calculate more precise distances.When you sync your device, our algorithm interprets the data from the device, and you see your distance traveled in the Fitbit app. 

Note that when you track an exercise with GPS, both GPS and accelerometer data are used to calculate the distance shown in the Fitbit app. For more information about accuracy, check the article: How accurate are Fitbit devices?.

Let me know the outcome. 🙂

[AuntNan]

Hello AlejandraFitBit

I am having the same issue. I have completed all the troubleshooting recommended but still do not have accurate readings. Apparently I can jog across deep water, lakes and blaze my own route through thick bush and rarely use the roads. Nor is the time accurate - I do not take 17 minutes plus to jog one km. When I plot my course with Google Maps one of my favorite routes says 7.8km, but my Charge 3 barely registers 3km. I am very disappointed in this latest development and cannot depend on my FitBit to give accuracy on anything at the current time including step count.