Step count going backwards

[r1ch999999]

I have two fitibt products, a flex and a charger hr. I alternate which one I wear based on if I want to wear a normal watch that day. What I've noticed lately is if I'm walking around, and syncing with the fitbit app on my iphone, is that my step count will go backwards. What happens is it starts to sync, the step count on the app updates, it syncs a bit more, updates again, and then will sometimes go back to a smaller number. For clarity:

1. start sync
2. notice I'm at 3,250 steps
3. watch step count go up as I walk, maybe to 3,300
4. sync finishes and sets back to 3,250.

The numbers aren't always exactly what I saw during the sync, and sometimes it will be several hundred steps different.

Anyone else see this?

[MarreFitbit]

It's nice to see you on board @r1ch999999 , welcome to the Forums! First of all, I'd like you to check if your Fitbit app is up-to-date. 

Because our multitracker feature was designed for those who want to switch between trackers while still getting the benefits of a holistic and useful dashboard, we don't recommend wearing two or more trackers at the same time. (Overlapping data that needs to be reconciled is less accurate than pure data from one source at a time.) If you're interested in comparing tracker data, we suggest creating a separate account for each tracker before wearing them simultaneously. For more information, see our Multitracker article.

To ensure that the Fitbit dashboard continues to serve its purpose--providing a holistic and actionable view into your daily activity and goal progress--we designed the multitracker feature for customers who want to wear different trackers at different times of day or night. With multitracker you can count on a dashboard that accurately and seamlessly tallies your day's steps from Flex, your evening run and cool-down walk from Surge, and your sleep record from the tracker you find most comfortable at night. Our research and testing found that potential customers were interested in wearing trackers simultaneously only if doing so provided more features than a single tracker, which is not the case with Fitbit trackers. No combination of trackers is more helpful or accurate than a single tracker.

So while there's no benefit to wearing trackers at the same time, we wanted to make sure that if a customer forgot to take a tracker off before putting on another we could still present the most accurate information possible on the dashboard. We do that by running algorithms that reconcile the overlapping data according to certain criteria. For example if one of your trackers has GPS data and the other one does not, we'll choose the GPS data when calculating your total distance since GPS is a better indicator of distance than step-counting alone. All Fitbit trackers are highly accurate when worn correctly, so prioritizing the data of one tracker over another is usually arbitrary. For best results and the most accurate dashboard, switch your trackers and remember to sync each one before removing it. 

Lastly, if you're a person who enjoys comparing the data from two or more different trackers, we recommend creating a unique account for each tracker. Fitbit accounts are always free and you'll be able to compare dashboards. 

Hope this helps my friend! 

[r1ch999999]

I'm not wearing two at once, both may be within range to sync when this happens, but it will happen even if they are not. I mentioned that I had two fitbits because I suspect the app is getting the count from the first tracker, looking for the second, and then trying to update the trackers with that it thinks is the total. This would explain the loss of any steps that take place between when it looks for the second tracker and then updates them. 

[MarreFitbit]

By any chance, are you manually logging activities @r1ch999999?

Typically, your steps will be recalculated if you manually log an activity as the manually logged activity takes precedence over the steps you tracked while wearing your tracker at that point in time. For example, if I am wearing my Flex and walking and I reach 10,000 steps, then I go to the computer and manually log an activity that starts and ends at that point in time for say 1 hour, Fitbit will calculate how many steps you took and it may bring my step count to something below 10,000 steps. To clarify, activities should only be manually logged when you forget to wear your Flex. 

If this is not the case, I'd recommend getting in touch with Customer Support so they can take a look into your account and see where the issue is coming from. 

Good luck my friend! 

[r1ch999999]

I'm not manually logging, I can get in touch with Customer Support.

Richard Kolb II

[Kerrinavarro]

So my device keeps going back to 11885 after syncing. I did log an activity in my fitness pal could that be it?

[MarreFitbit]

Hi my friend @Kerrinavarro, how you doing? Hmmm..have you tried deleting the activity? 

[DaleRF]

I have a Charge 2 and this evening, while on my treadmill, the tracker reverted twice to a lower number of steps....while I was watching it! I was getting close to my 10,000 steps and poof! It flips back to 8841. I watched as it racked up the steps again to over 9000 to over 9800 and poof! Back to 8841. And that’s the number it’s showing for my step count. It’s up to date, wasn’t manually logging data...just walking on my treadmill.

[Lindsayt42]

I’m having the same issue. I had the Charge 3 and noticed my steps were almost at 10k then went back down to 1,600. I purchased a Versa 2 thinking my Charge 3 was broken and literally started doing the same thing!! I started with 6 steps, went to 25, then it went back to 6. 

[benspargur]

Same problem with my charge 3. Totals drop shortly after finishing a walk. Absolutely absurd.  Last fitbit I waste money on. 

[Southernjew]

same issue 

at first i thought the app wasn’t synced but it happened on the watch