Charge 5 steps accuracy

[kritter1]

Hello! I recently got a Charge 5 and am pretty sure the steps counted accuracy is way off. I'm a nurse, so I do cover a lot of ground during the day, but I'm also moving my arms a lot to do things for patient care while not walking, and I think that action is recording steps, too. Any suggestions to greatly improve the accuracy of steps counted and distance is appreciated, as I want to keep my Charge on my wrist for heart rate recording as well. Thank you!

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, welcome to the Community forums, @kritter1.  

I appreciate all the information that you've shared about this problem you're experiencing with your Charge 5. 

Keep in mind the algorithm is designed to look for intensity and motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking and running. When working at a desk, cooking, or performing other activities with arm movements, a device on your wrist may add some steps. When you’re doing activities that involve arm movement, such as working or cooking, you often walk a few steps in-between stationary periods as well, so the device tries to give you credit for those steps. For most customers, the number of extra steps added by arm-based movement isn’t significant when compared to your overall stats. 

Before considering other options, and if you still consider the steps are not accurate, please make sure that you've tried the restart procedure using the charging cable, as described in this article, then check if you continue to experience the same behavior. In the meantime, you can find more useful information about the accuracy of Fitbit devices and how to adjust your stride length and dominant hand settings here as well.

I'll be around.