Charge 5 has lost it's mind

[Kathline1]

Bought Charge 5 a few months ago. Doesn't reliably track sleep and over counts steps. It was working well at first, but lately it's gone crazy. That, along with the wonky app that doesn't store calories correctly at random, and I'm considering going to a completely new system. The "fixes" are basic - reboot, reinstall, etc. Promises of an update "soon" with no real communication shows how little this company appreciates its customers 

[Julia_G]

Hi, @Kathline1, you have posted in the Fitbit forum where posters can get help from other users or Fitbit employees.  We are really keen to help with any issues you are having with your Charge 5, but in order to help we need to know some details about what is going on.  

It sounds like you are having 3 issues: 

- your Charge 5 over counts steps

- your sleep tracking is inconsistent

- your calories aren’t “stored” (admit I am puzzled by this, because not sure what you mean by stored)

I am interested that you also mention that it used to work well, but now doesn’t.  Can you give us any information on how it is has changed?

If you can help us with more info about how it is going wrong, then hopefully someone can respond to help get you back on track.

I’ll start by addressing the issue of over counting steps.  Many people do have that problem, and I do too, to some extent, because I particularly “talk” with my hands.  When I get animated in a conversation, I do tend to wave my arms about (think Italians - though I am not!)

If this is you - you talk a lot with your hands, or maybe you are a pharmacist and wear your Fitbit counting pills (I am not making this up; it was a real question in the Fitbit community), or a pianist doing a lot of practicing - it is possible that you will get more steps than you think you “deserve”.  

The first simple fix is to change the Fitbit setting which asks which hand is your dominant hand and which one wears your Fitbit.  If you are finding that your Fitbit OVER counts your steps, always make sure the setting in your app is that you are wearing your Fitbit on your DOMINANT hand (if you are right handed your dominant hand is right.  If you are left handed your dominant hand is left).

Even if you wear your Fitbit on your non dominant hand, if you find the Fitbit is OVER counting steps, tell a lie - tell it that you are wearing it on your non dominant hand.

For people who do a lot of hand activities, this is important.  It will tell the Fitbit program to be LESS sensitive to hand movements and count steps only when other indicators confirm steps.  That way your hand gestures are less likely to count steps.  

Changing the hand setting can make a big difference in this issue, so it is worth a try.  If you need help changing this setting, let us know and someone can give you more info.

For now, I will let others address your other issues.  Do please post again any time you need more information.  There is always someone here to help.