Can a Fitbit overestimate steps?

[krisameto]

I have an extremely sedintary job and basically sit in one spot for 12 hours a day and am not really allowed to walk around. Outside work I've been doing a few small projects here and there that have me working back and forth a bit, but my Fitbit has recently been showing me 10k-13k a day on average for steps on my days off or shorter workdays, though is still showing 1-2k during my workday which seems about right.

This doesn't seem possible given what I actually do. Could it be grossly overestimating somehow?

[alexthecat]

@krisameto I've moved your post to the Get Moving board because that is a better fit for this topic.

[JohnnyRow]

Nothing on your wrist can measure your steps precisely.  Fitbit infers your step count from your wrist/arm movements such as swinging your arms when walking.  Generally it comes fairly close but there can be errors with some activities.  Maybe you are doing some activity on your days off that don't take many steps but involve a lot of movement by your fitbit wrist.  Examples could include knitting, playing drums, strumming a guitar, petting a dog for a long time, and others.  These activities and others might be interpreted by fitbit as steps, which they are not.  In such cases, you might want to take off your fitbit during these activities, or maybe switching wrists if it only involves one hand.  For a day, just try watching to see if you are doing any such activity.

[amymurray122]

It definitely can. Check your activities - my watch logged a walk today, roughly a mile....while I was sitting at my desk taking notes during a meeting. Apparently wrist movement can count as steps? At least according to the AI coach, which may or may not be accurate.

[RiekoC]

Hello @krisameto 

By any chance, do you have your phone as a connected device in your Fitbit app? You can check by tapping on the device icon in the upper left of the Today page. On the page that opens, do you see your Fitbit device and your phone in the Devices section on the Connected to Fitbit page? 

If so, that could be the reason why you're seeing a step overage. Both your phone and Fitbit device are tracking your steps when you have this option enabled. The option to have your phone connected to the Fitbit app is used when a person wants to track steps or a workout when they aren't wearing their Fitbit.

You can remove your phone as a connected device and see if you're still getting a step overage on your days off. 

[JuanFitbit]

Hi everybody! Thank you for your messages and feedback. 

Our team is aware of the issue and is investigating it. We will update the thread as soon as we get more info. I hope to update you soon.