Device didn't clear past data

[uncledoug]

Today I bought a used Flex2 from a Computer Exchange shop.  I set up my Fitbit account and then paired it with an Android phone running Lollipop 5.1. 

I instantly got a welcome email congratulating me on doing more than 5000 steps !  I was still sat at the table....

It turns out that the FitBit had counted 54 steps yesterday, and about 900 more over three days in August 2019.

According to the help page about "How do I erase my FitBit device?" (Help_article/2216), pairing with a new account should reset the data.  

There is also a help that says I can delete activities, but when I hover over the steps bar in the log/activities view, no bin icon is present.

I have tried restarting the device, and also redone the pairing.  Has anyone any suggestions ?

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity 

[WendyB · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the forums!

Sorry this happened to you. But there is no way to clear the data unless you start a new account with a different email.

The reason it happened is because the previous owner did not sync it one last time.

So if you do open a new account make sure to sync this one last time before going to the new account

[uncledoug]

Thanks Wendy, I guess that I will just accept the data and get on with it, as I have been putting food data into the account, and I can't do an export for another three or four days, so I could transfer my data forward into the new account. 

Seems the world of fitbit is not as straightforward as you might think from reading the help pages.

The consequence of this residual unsynced data means that if any previously used device is moved in ( say) a shop when powered up, it is going to add unclearable data.  This probably explains why it also had 54 steps from the day before I bought it.

Thanks again.

Doug