GPS records differently at different times Charge 5

[judycarl67]

I walk the same route on different days and my Fitbit records different distances.  It's exactly the same, and one day it says I walked 5.1 miles and 2 days later it says I walked 4.2 miles.  What's with that?

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[DavideFitbit]

Hi, welcome to the Fitbit Community forums, @judycarl67. 

Thank you for sharing this information about the trouble you've been experiencing with your Charge 5. 

From what you mentioned, it's possible the GPS is getting disconnected during your activity. When this happens the Charge 5 may track different information for the the distance. Before considering other options, make sure to follow the steps suggested in this article. 

All devices with GPS sensors require a direct path to GPS satellites to calculate location. A weak GPS signal might affect the accuracy of your route and other activity data. Your device uses your step count to calculate distance until it finds a signal, so the total distance calculated for a workout may be slightly less accurate when GPS isn't available for the entire time. In particular, please make sure of the following: 

• That you are  in open sky and moderate trees
• Adjust how you wear the tracker when you want to use GPS 
• Make sure the Location in your phone settings is set to Always or All the time for the Fitbit app (if you're using connected GPS)

If you continue to experience the same behavior and your GPS is getting disconnected, make sure to try following the steps listed in this article to complete a restart using the charging cable, as this has been useful for other users experiencing something similar. 

I'll be around.