Option to turn off step count (or add "Driving Mode") to avoid erroneous steps/floors

[MacWade]

I just got home yesterday from a driving 6 hours in my car and I checked my Fitbit. I was really suprised to see it had given me almost 8,000 steps, 3.24 miles, 134 floors, & way more calories thank I burned while I was sitting in my car.  I looked on the forum to see how to easily delete the steps, miles, floors, and calories so my data would be accurate.  The only way people are fixing it is by manually logging the activity "Automobile or light truck (not a semi) driving" and entering in the duration.  I think that is a cumbersome way to fix the issue everytime I drive because I have to make sure I write down what time I get into and out of my car so I know the start time and duration.  And how does it automatically know the calories burned when everyone burns calories when they are sedentary at different rates.

I think they should add a "Drive Mode" feature that when turned on it won't add steps, distance, floors, & will only add calories burned equal to you sitting in a chair.

You could access the "Drive Mode" either on your Fitbit One or on your phone app to turn it on/off.  If you have a Fitbit One you could press the button till the "Drive Mode" icon appears then hold the button down for 2 seconds to turn it on or off.

On the phone apps you would just go to your device under "Account" and there you could turn it on or off.

You could also have the option to give you an alert when you unlock the phone that reminds you that it is in "Drive Mode" so you don't forget to turn it off when you get to your destination.  It would also be cool if you could use Siri to turn it on by saying "Turn on Fitbit Drive Mode" or "Turn off Fitbit Drive Mode".

[leah8057]

That's actually a great idea ... anything to keep from logging steps or
stairs that I didn't do!

[Shireeniebeanie]

They do offer the ability to enter several types of activities, such as "driving a car" or "riding in a bus," etc. during those times in the activity log.

[adolson]

As Shireeniebeanie said, you just log a driving activity. I did this tonight and it removed the steps that were counted during my drive, so I presume it would do the same if it had registered any flights of stairs for me.

[leah8057]

Thanks! I didn't know that. I read somewhere that if you mark an activity
such as driving, it negates your calories but not your steps. Thanks for
letting me know

[JeanK731]

Hi. I just set up and synced my FitBit Flex. I can't find instructions on how to change it to track sleep vs. activities. Would anyone mind pointing me in the right direction for finding that info. or tell me how?  Thanks!

[TafT]

It seems that the undocumented way to do this is to tap 3 times as if you are entering sleep mode.  When this is done in the daytime and significant activity is detected, an event is recorded rather than a sleep entry.  Once your event is complete tap 3 times again to go back to normal mode.  

You will need to go to the website to edit the event to be the correct thing.  The downside of this method is that your Flex will record 0 steps locally, altough the website should show the correct amount.  

[bargle]

One of the biggest frustations of the fitbit device is driving. Depending on the vehical and the road I can end up logging a ton of miles or flights of stairs. Expecialy true with a motocycle... A manual mode like what we have on Android as a sleep mode/logger would be nice... Cut you know what would be nicer than having to log every time I drive? Have it detect what bluetooth device I am connected to.... When it detects I am connected to x device. Assume I am driving or I am a passanger in a motocycle or car depending what you pick. There are many car mode apps out there in the android world. Anytime I have to explain to a user what my biggest turn off to the device and why, it turns them off. Perople want tacking to be as thoughtless as possable. I don't like having to pull out my phone and having to enter how long I think I am going to drive. I wear the device becase I dont want to count how far I walk. So why not take this to the next logical step.

[JeanK731]

Thanks for answering, TafT. I've been logging my sleep now and it seems if the FitBit is correct, I am not doing well getting good sleep.  3-4 hours actual sleep, the rest of the time is restless and waking.  I have it set on sensitive.  I have two cats and a husband, though. Could it be picking up on more than just my movment?

Jean

[TafT]

I would try it on non-sensitive for a bit and see what it comes up with. I
expect your cats and husband are causing you to move about though 😛 It
could be their movement if you can feel the cats walking across the bed. I
have a memory foam mattress so mu cats can jump on the bed and I don't feel
anything unless they land on me.

[KLR65]

My husband's job entails a lot of walking but he is also constantly driving between jobs (up and down hills) in a truck with a stiff suspension. His Fitbit One is adding steps and flights like crazy. In this scenario, it just isn't practical to try and edit the Log later to account for driving time. A feature to suspend or conveniently turn off the Fitbit during passive activites the Fitbit might inturprut as steps/flights would be super.

[pabloastorga]

Hi there,

I've noticed that the new iPhone app allows us to track activities: running, walking and hiking. This is great. 

However, I'd also like to see the same functionality for driving or other activities that Fitbit needs to know of in order to avoid overcounting steps. In other words, I'd like to be able to tell my Fitbit: "Hey, I'm starting driving!", and then stop the timer when I get off the car. That way, the tracker will know that I'm not actually doing any activity, but that any vibration might be due to the vehicle. 

This would probably improve the accuracy of the step count. 

Thanks,

Pablo

[Ohio-Bob]

I would like a way to pause the fitbit one, say when driving, and to pause just the stairs when walking on windy days.  My numbers get inflated sometimes, especially when riding on bumpy roads.  I want to pause and restart the fitbit to prevent this.

When outside on windy days I just want to pause the stairs count, not the steps, as wind adds lots of stairs.

If nothing else, I want an easy way to remove stairs from my count without removing steps.

[natrab]

So motion while driving has been a big problem for me because I ride a motorcycle.  My 1 hour commute to work will often yield me 3000 steps and 27 floors climbed, which I did not actually do.  Going in after the fact and logging an "exercise" activity does work to remove those extra steps, but it is very tedious and does not undue the false badges I get from the incorrect steps.

Someone has created a standalone app called DriveBit for the iPhone and Android.  It is very simple.  Just a button you hit when you start driving and you hit again when you stop.  When you hit stop, it automatically logs your drive time appropriately to the site.  I think this feature should be included in the Fitbit App as it's very handy to eliminate false steps from driving.  Furthermore, it would be nice for these driving logs to have their own category.  When I look in my exercise log, it is full of driving logs which make it difficult to see my actual exercise history.

Here is an image of the DriveBit app:

[slbit]

I know others have commented on this, but in my opinion this is a major flaw in the One.

I bought a One because it looked so straightforward and simple to use. The fact that it always counts driving as steps is a major hassle. I know I can go in and change the activity label online, but that's a pain to do, and sometimes I forget exactly what times I was driving. I end up just leaving my One at home and not using it, because it doesn't give me useful, accuarate information. Disappointed!!!!!

[celieboo]

I use this app. It is very helpful to correct the fault with the fitbit.

[RickyFitbit]

Whoa! Nice detail with pics and gifs! This is a great idea and once we have more information, we'll update it here. 

[RickyFitbit]

This looks like a hot topic! Vote and join the original topic here! Thanks for the suggestion. 

[Heidi_Kohne]

My Android phone has the DriveBit app, and it doesn't cancel your "steps" like it's supposed to.  One thing you could do is put your FitBit into activity mode (aka sleep mode) to have the unit record your driving time.  Then when you get to your app or computer dashboard, change the activity to driving a small vehicle.

I like the pictures!

Edit: I apparently spoke too soon.  Now that my phone has used DriveBit a bit, it now works beautifully.  Apparently, it was initially recording the "activity" under the wrong entry, but that's now fixed.  I have it on my phone's bottom app bar (for lack of a better term) so that it's always accessible, no matter what homescreen my phone's on.

[SunsetRunner]

This is brilliant.  I ride a vespa and whenever i go for a ride, if I don't put my fitbit on shirt collar, I come home with hundreds of steps climbed.  It's quite cumbersome to edit.

[MacWade]

I know users often find that they are mistaking awarded steps, distance, floors, and calories throughout the day due to many reasons.  Some are driving, elevators, humidity, escalators, moving around in their sleep, etc.  It would nice is there was a feature on the dashboard that would enable us to quickly and easily delete the incorrect data.  I posted up mockup screenshots below. 

We click an "EDIT" icon to enter into an edit mode.

After you clicked the delete icon a little window would pop up saying "Are you sure you want to delete these steps, distance, floors, and calories?"

Moderator edit: Added labels 

[TDwayne]

Great idea I work outside all day for a landscaping company and log lots of steps and want those syeps counted. But once I'm on a mower I'd preferred not to log anysteps as its just turning and pushing and pulling a couple levers on a zero turn mower. Being able to put the flex into drive mode as not to add extra steps I didnt earn would be nice. I compete with coworkers and it wouldnt be fair to log in extra miles that I didnt earn.

[AmritaFitbit]

Thanks for the feedback! You can always negate any erroneous data by following the steps here. 

[K_ray]

Yes!  Please add this feature!  My husband and I don't use our One's anymore because creating activity records to account for unearned steps, stairs and calories while on the mowers, in the truck, or running the excavator was just too much hassle.  Big disappointment.

[slbit]

GREAT IDEA!!! I don't use my fitbit anymore because of this problem. VERY disappointed and frustrated!!!  I was so excited when I first got my fitbit...

[SunsetRunner]

Indeed, a non-walking mode except sleep mode it will be great to be added using the phone. 

Non-walking mode can be something like driving a car, or any kind of activity that can be recorded as false steps and takes a lot of time not only few minutes (e.g. using a pickhammer).