stairs aren't logging correctly

[jodyrose]

I have stairs in my home and I have gone up them 3x today and only 1flight is logged. This is not the first time. Why?

[SteveH]

To get a flight counted you need to rise 10 feet while walking. Could it be that your flight is close to 10 feet so some are counting and others are not? It can also miss a flight if you pause for any reason while going up. 

[jodyrose]

Hmmm My stairs are 12 and go from my basement to the main floor. I also
was carrying a full laundry basket but didnt stop. I think its just a
quirky thing with this unit I guess.

Thanks

Jody

[SteveH · Accepted solution]

I wonder if the laundry basket is a clue!

Which fitbit do you have? If it's one of the wrist-worn models then these can sometimes miss steps if your arm is not moving normally e.g. pushing a stroller or shopping trolley, or carrying something. If it missed steps then it might have thought you had paused even though you hadn't and so didn't count that floor.

[VictoriaLS]

I'm having the same problem. Normally my stairs count, but yesterday, I had only done 4 before going to dinner, and after dinner my Charge2 said I had logged 9! Today, I went up the stairs 3 times, and it still only shows 1  done.

[VictoriaLS]

I'm having trouble with mine. I have a Charge2. Yesterday it gave me 5 stairs when I didn't do anything, and today I did 3 and it only gave me 1.

[MariamV]

@VictoriaLS thanks for joining us in this thread. That definitely sounds pretty weird. Have you check that your flights get counted after you reach a rise of 10 feet while walking continuously? If you have checked that to no avail, then I recommend restarting your Charge 2 by doing the following:

1. Plug the charging cable into the USB port on your computer or any UL-certified USB wall charger.
2. Clip the other end of the charging cable to the port on the back of the tracker. The pins on the charging cable must lock securely with the port.
3. Make sure the button on your tracker is aligned with the button opening on the charging cable. You’ll know the connection is secure when the tracker vibrates and you see a battery icon on your tracker’s display. Your Charge 2 will begin charging.
4. Press and hold the button on your tracker for four seconds. When you see the Fitbit logo and the tracker vibrates, this means the tracker has restarted.
5. Unplug your tracker from the charging cable.

After taking into account all the previous tips and you feel that your tracker isn't properly counting floors, I'd suggest taking a floors accuracy test by doing this:

- Find a location where you have 2 flights of stairs in a row. Each flight of stairs should be at least 10 feet tall.
- Check the number of floors before you begin to walk.
- Walk up the 2 flights in a row, trying not to stop at any point.
- Once you reach the top of both flights of stairs, stop to look at the number counted.

Hope this helps. Keep me posted! 

[WCL]

Stairs seems to have a bug with Charge 2.  I have a 2-story house with a basement  The distance between floors is slightly less than 10' and I do understand the device measures one "flight" as 10' with constant movement. I have no personal "stair" goal and average a few more than 10 flights a day with normal activity.  I began to notice two weeks ago that there is one random day a week where the count is obviously very elevated (pardon the pun) with no explanation.  For example, week of 8/20 I was averaging 9 flights/day through 6 days then on 8/28 the count shot up to 65 floors!  The next week I averaged 12 floors a day except for 8/30 where the count shot up to 35 floors.  Monday of this week the daily zoomed to 129 floors when in reality it could not have possibly been more than 10% of that! Last evening while showing a total of 7 floors I experimented.  I went up and down my main stairs without pause five (5) times.  I rested and synced my device and the number was still 7.  Then I started in my basement, walked briskly up those stairs and straight up the main steps again five times without pause. This was a total change in elevation of 18+ feet (X 5).  After a short rest and another sync only one floor (new total of 😎 was added.  Just for the heck of it I hit the stairs again but when I reached the top I raised my arm as high as possible to simulate another step a total elevation change of nearly 12'.  No change in count. I retired for the evening stuck on eight (8) floors). When I synced my device this morning my total for yesterday was 11!   I can assure you I did not climb the equivalent of 129 floors on Monday nor did I log three flights of steps in my sleep last night.  Hopefully a future software update will fix the issue or at least narrow the standard deviation significantly.  Until then, stair count on Charge 2 appears to be just an entertaining random number generator.

[MariamV]

Thanks for the observation @WCL! Please note that your Charge 2 detects floors using an altimeter, which is a sensor that calculates altitude based on atmospheric pressure. Atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing elevation, so the tracker calculates elevation gain based on the reduction in atmospheric pressure. Your Charge 2 registers a floor when it detects continuous motion combined with an elevation gain of 7 to 10 feet. 

However, your Charge 2 may give you credit for extra floors for a variety of reasons. Occasionally your it may detect pressure changes unrelated to elevation gains, such as a gust of wind, weather change, or opening a door. Exposure to excess moisture can also result in extra floors being counted. This happens if the pathway to the altimeter on the back of your tracker becomes temporarily blocked with sweat or water. Therefore, I recommend that your tracker be worn loosely during exercise and thoroughly dry it before every workout session. 

If you'd like to remove floors from your account, click here.

Finally, just for good measure, I recommend restating your tracker by doing the following:

1. Plug the charging cable into the USB port on your computer or any UL-certified USB wall charger.
2. Clip the other end of the charging cable to the port on the back of the tracker. The pins on the charging cable must lock securely with the port.
3. Make sure the button on your tracker is aligned with the button opening on the charging cable. You’ll know the connection is secure when the tracker vibrates and you see a battery icon on your tracker’s display. Your Charge 2 will begin charging.
4. Press and hold the button on your tracker for four seconds. When you see the Fitbit logo and the tracker vibrates, this means the tracker has restarted.
5. Unplug your tracker from the charging cable.

Hope this helps. Keep me posted! 

[mgarrett2949]

I go uphill in several places on my walks. I do not pause or hesitate and the incline is easily 10 feet. Sometimes it works but lately, not so much.

[AZJaeget]

Hi,

i have Charge3. I changed everything to metric, however, stairs are still in feet. I am certain becsuse my wife has a different Fitbit and when doing s hike together I always get a little over 3 times as many stairs as she. Any tips on how to fix this?

Thanks, Erling