Manually logged steps don't count for challenges or lifetime

[enkerkee]

I think this needs to be reconsidered FitBit!
 
https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Fitbit-com-Dashboard/Manually-Logged-Steps-Not-Counting-Towards-Lead...
 
Manually logged steps do not count towards your 7-day leaderboards, in addition to Activity Groups. This change was implemented in order to mirror the behavior of Challenges, where only tracker data is pulled into the equation- this helps keep things fair.
 
I think it is BS that you are looking to cater towards the small number of people who will cheat just to win a challenge that proves nothing. When a company is tailoring it's product ideas towards cheaters and not towards the thousands of dedicated and motivated fitness users subscribed to their product, the company should take a long hard look at themselves.
 
You are greatly affecting people who use other methods of exercise other than "Steps". For example, swimming, cycling, treadmill and any others that appear in the above post.
 
I have also emailed you a formula to use when adding steps for Swimming and Cycling, as used by the Global Corporate Challenge.

Moderator edit: Format & updated subject for clarity

[LanuzaFitbit]

Welcome to the Forums @DivaDeeLittle77.

Thanks for sharing your feedback. 

Maybe you could vote for this idea to make that possible. Even if it is showing as "Not Currently Planned" you can still vote for it to show your support. Be sure to read the FAQ if you have any further questions on how that board works.

Feel free to reach out with any further questions.

[eireidium]

You want us to vote to return a feature that previously existed?

What?

Where are the customer votes to removed the feature in the first place.

For years one could manually log steps or activity missed when the meagre battery failed.

Then it mysteriously disappeared and we are to request to have it added back?

Shawn

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @eireidium.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 

As mentioned previously, there were some reasons why that possibility was removed. Feel free to vote for it if you'd like to show your support. Be sure that we take all comments into account and appreciate all feedback.

Let me know if there is anything else that I can help you with.

[d_dave]

Want to add another vote for this. I'm a brand new Fitbit user, and after three days of wearing a Fitbit this issue is why I'm now saving for an Apple Watch. So much potential for the Fitbit, but little annoying issues like this make it too big of a pain. I'm not here to compete with random strangers -- the idea of "cheating" means nothing in terms of the way I'm using it, because I'm only interested in my own data. I just want the charts to *accurately* reflect my performance. Without being able to manually add steps, I'm doing better than it appears, and from a goal-achieving perspective that's infuriating. It might seem like a little thing, but this is losing you customers.

[d_dave]

P.S. On a personal level, if you just let us add steps on our own personal goals and couldn't share those goals with anyone else socially. I realize that wouldn't be enough for everyone though.

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @d_dave.

Thanks for your feedback.

Maybe you could vote for this suggestion to have those steps count. At the moment it is listed as Not Currently Planned but you can still vote for it to show your support. Be sure to read the FAQ to better understand how that board works.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

[jt_stl]

I am "between Fitbits." My last one died and now I am finding the Fitbit Connect is not working, so I cannot replace the old tracker with a new one and sync to my PC. Someone is supposed to me working on that in Fitbit support.

In the meantime, it's been almost a week. I have been tracking steps on a step counter (that has now outlasted 2 Fitbits) and can log those steps. I would like to have the steps/miles/floors count. Who knows how long it will take to resolve the Fitbit Connect problems. I reached 14,000 floors. The next goal is 20,000! I cannot even log floors, never mind about counting them.

[Baltoscott]

@jt_stl — if Fitbit connect is not working with your PC, you can try reinstalling the program.  If you cannot get that working and Fitbit Help cannot figure out your configuration, you can sync your new Fitbit through many smartphones or tablets.

[jt_stl]

Baltoscott,

I have reinstalled the Fitbit app several times on the advice of Fitbit support. It does not work. If I can only sync from someone else's phone or tablet, I think that tells me it is time to find another option besides Fitbit.

Regardless of that, I still don't see the problem with counting logged activity in challenges and lifetime achievements. I do this for myself, and appreciate the boost hitting an challenge provides me.

[Gimpycat]

I think Fitbit should entirely eliminate the ability to manually add steps. Adding exercise minutes yes, but steps no. Also if a number of steps are tracked with no corresponding increase in heart rate, the software should invalidate them.

At work, we're olding a step challenge where there's no doubt in my mind that that one of the top steppers is gaming the system. It makes the challenge a whole lot less fun for everyone else.

[d_dave]

How selfish of you. Challenges have nothing to do with our own personal data. It's none of your business what data is in my own personal Fitbit app. If they remove the ability to manually add steps I'll be leaving the Fitbit system completely. I need a tracker, not a nanny telling me how to use the technology I've paid for. I've already stopped using the hourly activity tracker feature and removed that tile because I can't input that data manually when necessary. Fitbit is useless to me without manual logging.

[DTL-Michigan]

Normally I would not reply, but the fact that you are so wrong about this I just had to.  Who cares if someone is gaming the system? If you chose to have a competition, then pick those to  be involved wisely.  Just to note this is not about the post above but the previous.

[Tootygreen]

Not sure if "reported" is a good thing or not but the button I hit was supposed to indicate "ME TOO."

This is BS

[Tricia-KSR]

For those who cross train (incredibly healthy), why not build in simple algorithms to convert cycling, swimming, elliptical to “steps”—- or invent a new Fitbit-specific metric which combines all of these?. Steps aren’t possible when there’s snow/ice outside and your knee can’t take treadmill unnatural gate. 

[bardism]

They’re argument is that friendly competitive challenges don’t work if you forget your Fitbit or it dies and you are actually able to quantify what steps you took, but because they’re manually entered you’d have to do it all over again with the Fitbit for it it count towards the challenge. They’re concern seems to be that they think Fitbit programmed this restriction to prevent people from manually entering steps JUST to win the challenge and essentially cheat to success instead of actually exercising. Yes, they’re posting a bit excessively, but there’s logic to the issue.

[bardism]

@Baltoscott made a valid point that setting the mobile tracker when you don’t have your Fitbit works to do the job for challenges and such so your steps actually do count towards those. You can manually add steps in the health app and if my memory is serving me correctly, then they transfer to the Fitbit app and count towards any challenges that you may be in and happen to not have your Fitbit on hand for. I understand the concern that not being able to enter it on the app and have it count towards challenges is at first frustrating, but evidently there are ways to get around it without much effort which is likely another reason why Fitbit might not change that limitation. I’m currently using it for a challenge and I feel a lot better knowing that the next several hours without my Fitbit tracking my steps are not entirely wasted considering I have some challenges going on with my family.

[PureEvil]

Hello @bardism,

Welcome to the community!

I won't be able to help change Fitbit's policy, but I may be able to suggest a few ways to make it more tolerable:

1. Understand that it only affects the challenges, your dashboard will otherwise reflect any manually activity entered activity.
2. You can easily maintain the battery indefinitely by plugging it in to charge while you shower; I'm politely assuming that you shower regularly.  No, it won't go to 100%, but it should easily last until your next shower.
3. If you think you may accidentally forget your Fitbit, thread the USB charging cable through your house/car keys before you plug it in to charge.  You can't leave the house without them, so you won't be able to leave the house without your Fitbit.
4. Lastly, you can get another Fitbit device (it'll need to be an older model, like a Charge 2) and wear that while your current one charges.  Yes, this works.  Keep in mind that keeping two trackers synced does require more work.

And yes, people will do many things to win a challenge.  I've known people who turn off bluetooth on their phones for days so that they can put off syncing and 'step dump' (their term, not mine) minutes before midnight.

I hope this helps.

[Baltoscott]

Ha!  “Step dump” is not a term I heard before but I remember doing exactly that back in my early Fitbit days when I was much more competitive (obsessed) in challenges!  Glad you figured out how to use your phone as a backup @bardism.  @PureEvil‘s idea about plugging your Fitbit in while you get ready for bed is probably the best way to make sure you don’t suddenly find yourself with a dead battery. If it becomes a daily habit you won’t have to think about it, you will always have a charge, and you will give the skin under the band a break from the constant 24/7 wear.  

[PureEvil]

@Baltoscott,

I had a teammate who was 'step dumping' on me, so I turned the tables on him...

I wore two trackers and only synced one of them, the one with significantly fewer steps.  This way, all along he could see that I had been syncing regularly on the leaderboard.  Come Friday night, AFTER he synced, I unloaded an additional about 40k steps.

It was a lot of work to do this...  had to take off one device, walk clear across to the other side of the building to guarantee that it wouldn't sync.  I'm not convinced that it was worth the pettiness of the retribution, but I'll at least own it.  And it did make me feel better.

Eventually, I also sweet talked his work neighbor, a friend of mine, into running Fitbit Connect on a nearby computer, which will sync all nearby Fitbits, so he was syncing and didn't know why.  I eventually stopped inviting him to the challenges, not so much because I cared about the competition, but more because he was irritating everyone else in the challenge.

I'm sure you and I could trade a lot of Fitbit tales, but I do have to live up to the PureEvil moniker.  😂