Inaccurate calories when swimming

[Drakermom]

Have just added the Flex2 to my collection of Fitbits. Was so excited finally to have a tracker for my swim workouts. I find the time and distance swum to be 99.9% accurate. But calories burned is a farce. It estimates 1 cal per minute. I.e. 40 calories for a 40 minute swim. I'm 67, 140 lbs, 5'6" and very active. So what's going on? (I also own an Alta, charge HR and Charge 2). 

Moderator edit: subject updated for clarity

[SunsetRunner]

It happens often, saying sport vs swim. You can edit the entry, altho I've
found doing more than one edit almost always crashes the app.

[Archswim]

Thanks.

I am frustrated with the unit . . . a second one replaced because this
happened with the original . . . today, after re-booting the unit, my swim
was recorded under sport activity with no info about my swim stats. Grrrrr.

[Archswim]

Yes. I have repeated the process as suggested.
This morning my swimming recorded as sports activity rather than swimming.
Total frustration after Fitbit replaced the original cartridge for the same
reason . . . .

The calorie count is absurd for swimming. 45 minutes to an hour of free
style laps claim to only burn 120 calories. No way!

Thanks for the suggestion . . . .

[SunsetRunner]

Manually edit the activity. Go to where it says sport, choose the pencil in
the upper edge.select swim, and then re sync. Should show stats then.
Good luck.

[Archswim]

Thanks.
Tried that. Nothing is correct. It claims I only did 6 lengths and burned 66 calories. I swam for 45 minutes completing 40 lengths! I am so done with this gadget....
Support is meager when it comes to the swimming option.
Glad your unit works.

Sent from my iPhone

[JustinSG]

I  also bought the Flex 2 to track my swim calories. But it's calculator is very erratic and inaccurate. After a mile swim, in 29 minutes it often calculates 35 calories consumed.  I have all the settings set as described. I restarted it 3 times as described. It calculated 325 calories once, then back to 35.  

BTW, other online calculator estimate that for my weight (180 lbs) free-style swiiming 1700 yards in 29 minutes would consume just shy of 500 calories.  Any other suggestions how to improve the Flex 2's calorie calculator? It does, generally keep track of the number of laps and time pretty well, it's just the calculator that is ridiculous. 

[Archswim]

The Flex2 is worthless for swimming.  After 7 live chats with technicians, two replacement pebbles, directions to turn on swim mode before entering the water and turn off after swimming, referral to the engineering dept. - nothing works. The dammed device tells me how many steps I have taken and registers the activity as sports. A few times when I have manually switched to the swimming section and get a ridiculous reading that I swam for 2 minutes and burned 26 calories. (I swim for 30 to 40 minutes, freestyle, non-stop, 7 days a week.) I think there was a manufacturing lot of the black Flex2 models that are faulty. FitBit folks don't seem to care. My wife and a swim buddy have the lavender colored models purchased shortly after I received mine, and they work fine. I like the other info for the Flex2, but soon as I can find another brand device that works better, the Flex2 will hit the recycling program.  Most annoying.

[Archswim]

These steps have been done countless times with no change or good results. The direction may work for a model that is not faulty.  Waste of time!

[SunsetRunner]

Not sure why..but I've found making it a 50yd pool settings makes calories
more accurate.
Also, make sure your activity is listed as swim. When it is registered as
sport..it is never accurate.
I think the unit, at best, is motivational, but I take the info and review
against other days.

[Archswim]

They didn't offer me that option, but I will plan to return it for a refund.  Anyone out there have a recommendation for another product line that WORKS?

[SunsetRunner]

I have found that setting the pool length to 50 yds will.correct the calorie issue. However, now your distance is wrong.  I swim 45-60 minutes, also non stop, 5-7 days a week.  Summers are outside in a 50yd pool, winters indoor 25yd pool.  I know Apple has a watch that does out of my price range. it all correctly, as well as heart rate, but it' out of my budget. 

[Drakermom]

I broke down and bought the fitbit ionic. Love the new model overall. When swimming I alternate between setting the manual sport setting to swimming and using the autorecognize function. The difference is that in the swimming setting there is no heart rate recognition. Fitbit acknowkedgea that hr reading underwater is not always accurate. But when I let the tracker auto recognise my swim I get a pretty decent hr reading. In both cases calories burned seems pretty much on point. Distance tracked is accurate as far as I know.  I no longer count laps manually. I like other features of the new tracker. But it is pretty pricey. I will keep the Flex 2 for ocean or outdoor use when I don’t want to use my ionic in adverse situations. 

[JustinSG]

I'll try the 50 yrd option and see. As I know how far I swim but just
wanted the calorie calculations for convenience... thanks.

[JustinSG]

Thanks, it's a bit too spendy for me, just to calculate and keep track of
my calorie use while swimming... but I appreciate the info.

[Archswim]

Thanks.
The way they have treated this issue does not encourage me to buy another
FitBit product *especially* if it is "pricey". I am hearing that there are
better product lines out there that do the job without the hassles. It irks
me that I recommended the Flex 2 to friends and bought one for my wife.
They all seem to be working OK. I still believe there was a manufacturing
run that produced inferior Flex 2 models. No one has thought of that, but I
keep seeing more and more complaints about poor performance for swimming,
etc.

I have toyed with the Apple, but it is priced out of the market.

Hopefully, the new one you purchased will continue to work well!

[Potato2Pilgrim]

For me it's not registering as low as 1 cal/min but it IS registering it as 7 calories burned per minute. Putting that in perspective, walking is 8 calories/min. This is super disappointing and I hope I can get a refund because the whole point of why I chose the Flex 2 was so that it would automatically register swimming. If I have to manually enter it there's no point in wearing the thing.

[Archswim]

Just this week I have had my 11th live chat regarding the Flex 2. Grrrr. It has NEVER registered swimming and recently completely shut down and failed to enter correct durations for swimming and exercise. I asked why I have never heard back from the engineering dept. that was supposed to be trying to remedy the problem. Answer: It is still in the engineering department's hands.  SO disappointed!

Mine was a gift. I bought one for my wife that works fine and recommended it to a swim buddy whose also works well. Fitbit refuses to listen that there may be a defective batch produced, and there has never been an offer to refund the value. I am on the third pebble which works as poorly as the original two.  I am still researching a better product from a more reliable company. It is interesting that there is little or no response to my comments on their customer service survey after the live chat sessions.  

[Archswim]

Pricey and still does not work well? Yes, time to find another manufacturer.

[Archswim]

Thanks. It might be worth the cost for the Apple model rather than the hassle of Flex 2.  I am carefully checking consumer reports and recommendation before investing an any of these devices again.

[scrane]

I have the same problem.  I have a brand new Charge 3.  I have entered pool length correctly, and I have auto recognize on.  + I started my swim manually.  It counted laps and distance very well, but calculated just about 1 or 2 calories per minute.  How do I fix that?