Charge 5 is tracking too many steps while driving

[Nuzhat80]

When I am traveling in car, the step count keeps increasing even when I am not walking

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[RiekoC]

Hello @Nuzhat80 

Wrist worn fitness trackers, including Fitbits, use arm movement and accelerometers to track steps. When traveling in a car over a bumpy roads, the movement can be tracked as steps.

You might find this article helpful: How does my Fitbit calculate my daily activity? (<-- click link)

I've gone on several long road trips. My Fitbit will track some steps during the travel, but usually, it's not a big number...maybe about around 50 steps in an hour.

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there, @Nuzhat80. Welcome to the Fitbit Community Forums. Thanks for the details provided in your post regarding the extra steps on your Charge 5 while driving. I understand where your concern is coming from, we're here to help! 

As @RiekoC has mentioned, wrist trackers count steps depending on the movement of your arms. Fitbit has worked hard to make sure that our devices do not pick up false steps or activity recordings while driving. Unless you're driving in a car with a very stiff transmission or on bumpy roads, your device should not give you false readings. Also, if you place it on a surface with something vibrating or if you make hard hand movements. You can learn more about how your Fitbit tracks steps by checking the article How accurate are Fitbit devices?

However, there are ways you can prevent this from happening while you drive:

1. You can plug your tracker into the charging cable while you are driving -- the Fitbit will not count steps while it is charging.
2. You can log the driving manually by following the steps in this article.