Charge 6 - Step counts difference Walk vs Run

[KatherineNY]

On a 5 mile run, I get about 11,000 in step count.  However, when in walk, Charge 6 barely counts to 7,000 steps. FOR THE SAME 5 MILES.

For for Run or Walk exercise I have GPS enabled and my stride length is manually input (but I think stride length only factors in for distance calculation not necessarily step count).

Meanwhile my mom walking with me for the 5 miles, GPS enabled her Charge 5 gets a respectable 10,000+ step count.

What is wrong with my Charge 6???

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[Julia_G]

Hi, @KatherineNY , a wrist worn device relies on detecting the vibrations from your feet travelling up your body and along your wrist to the watch.  Many people believe that what it is actually counting your hand swings - that is not strictly true - I walk with my hands in my pockets all the time (even though I know I shouldn’t!) and the Fitbit has no trouble at all counting my steps.  Having said that, hand movements do to some extent contribute to the step total, and the Fitbit probably works best if you walk with your hands swinging naturally by your side as you walk.

Some people who are particularly light on their feet find that unless they allow their hands to swing steps get missed.  This is same reason that those who are light on their feet or walking on thick carpets indoors find steps are missed.

I am guessing that when you are running the intensity of your footsteps is enough to count every step, but when you walk that doesn’t necessarily happen.  I would suggest trying to make sure that you when you walk ideally you aren’t carrying anything and your arms are allowed to move with the rhythm of your feet  and see if that gives you a closer approximation of your running steps.

Also, I would recommend that your Fitbit is set to being worn on your “non dominant”hand, wherever you are wearing it.  If the setting is set to dominant, the algorithm will be set to suppress your lighter steps (because they may be interpreted  as hand movements rather than steps).

[KatherineNY]

@Julia_G  I found arm swing contributes a large part to step count.  I have tested this on exercises.  Common sense logic also - something worn on the wrist won't accurately know what's going on with my feet. 

I hold and swing my arms similarly from a jog or a fast walk, elbows bent approximately 90 degrees holding close to my body.  But apparently, my fast walk arm swing must be very different because it's only picking up 60% of the steps taken for the same amount of jog miles.  I know for sure while walking, there is less upper body torque as when I jog.  So my momentum of the swing is less when walking.

My mom and I switched our devices today for the walk. She wore my Charge 6 and I wore her Charge 5 just to test that it's not a glitch with my Charge 6.  And my count using her Charge 5 was again not breaking 7,000 steps, meanwhile she's over 11,000 steps for 5 miles.  Further, we walked together, the same speed yet her pace per mile logged an average of 13' and mine 16'.  She keeps her arms straighter and she swings faster and further.  

Definitely arm swing positioning and intensity contributes to Fitbit's perceived step count and pace/speed.  I just haven't worked out how to adjust my walking arm swing.

[Julia_G]

Hi, @KatherineNY , I did not mean to suggest that arm swings do not contribute to your Fitbit accurately counting steps!  I definitely get extra “hand” steps when I wave my arms about…  I only meant to say that for some people - like me! - hand swings aren’t necessarily required for step counting (although in your case they clearly seem to be). For myself, I am famously heavy on my feet - when I used to be a runner (pre Fitbit days) people in my running club said they always could tell when I was coming up from behind them because of the noise I made.  So for me, I can walk, fast or slow, without moving my arms at all (in my pockets), and every step is counted.  That is because the Fitbit does also rely on vibrations from your feet travelling through your body to reach the tracker on the wrist.  If the vibrations are strong enough, hand swings are not required.  For most people, it is a combination of vibrations from their feet and hand motions.

I am glad that you confirmed, by switching Fitbits with your mother, that, as I suspected, it is not your Fitbit that is wrong.  It sounds like it is your walking style that doesn’t quite fit the algorithms.  In your case I would suggest trying wearing the Fitbit on your dominant hand while taking your walk, but make sure that you have the setting to Non Dominant (found in your app).  This will make the algorithm slightly more sensitive to hand movements than if you had it the other way around.  It may not solve the problem completely, but it would be interesting to see if it helps at all.

You also might want to try the Fitbit accuracy test: they recommend going outside, and carrying nothing and with your arms swinging naturally by your side taking 100 steps, counting as you walk, and checking how many steps your Fitbit records.  That way you may get a closer count of the actual shortfall - and, if you care enough to try, can experiment with different adjustments to your hand swing.  Good luck!