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question about activity tracking.

‎04-18-2026 08:59

‎04-18-2026 08:59

I am a bicyclist and wear my new Charge 6 when riding.  I am curious about several things it reports.

First, it reports that I had a period of "Outdoor Bike" activity.   So, how did it determine I was on a bike at all?  How did it determine it was an outdoor bike and not an indoor, stationary bike?  How does it determine I'm on a bike at all, and not a treadmill, or a stair climber, or simply walking?   What sensors are involved?

Second, it reported that I rode 0.24 miles.  In fact, my ride was slightly over 10 miles, I never stopped, and averaged about 12 mph.  So why does it think I only rode 0.24 miles?  What sensors is it using to determine the distance I biked?

To it's credit, it did get the duration of the exercise correct.

 

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‎04-18-2026 17:43

‎04-18-2026 17:43

It just guesses.  You can set whether an.exercise will be allowed to autostart in the exercise app settings.  I always turn on the correct app before I start because I do a lot of different exercises and I don't want the Fitbit guessing.

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‎04-22-2026 11:42

In response to YachatsMike

‎04-22-2026 11:42

"it just guesses".

I'm starting to feel that's the case for just about everything except heart rate! 😉

I have another thread about wildly inaccurate sleep reporting, and the only response I've gotten there gives every indication of being a canned reply from an AI bot.  And when I pointed that out, my response got deleted.  I've started reading some Reddit threads from a Fitbit group there, and am seeing the same sorts of complaints about wild inaccuracy, especially regarding sleep times.

 

 

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