Differences in Distance

[pmfrew1]

Just got a new Fitbit Versa and the distance it gives me for walks seems to be off.  I went for a walk with my Husband at the weekend and he got 6K using his Ionic where I only got 5K - same walk, same time but my splits were much longer for a K.  Also noticed that a walk I do on a regular basis which has always given me 3.5k, both on Blaze and Map My Walk, has only given me 3k today.

Any ideas?

[Esya]

Were you connected to GPS? If not your stride length in your settings might be off.

[MarciM]

I have had this happen with my Ionic and my husbands and can't explain why. 

[NostalgiaTR]

I've been frustated by this as well. I have a Fitbit Alta and the device itself logs a difference distance than another GPS app I use on my walks. 

When I first got the fitbit I wasn't carrying my phone for the fitbit app to be sycning with GPS, so it was super frustrating that my normal app I was using was saying something like 5 miles and my fitbit says 4. (made up numbers here, but it really would be off by at least a mile, sometimes more).

Now, if I log the activity using the fitbit app (turn on the gps) it will be more in line and only slightly different which I can deal with.

[AndyJakarta]

Think Esya has the right answer. Fitbit assumes your stride lengths when walking and running from your height (and maybe sex). I found when walking and running on a treadmill that the distances compared to Fitbit distances were slightly and significantly lower respectively on the Fitbit, but were much closer when logging an outdoor run manually using the GPS. 

Had the opportunity to check this an an athletics track and found that:

Fitbit Assumed Stride Lengths: Walk: 77cm, Run: 100cm

Actual Stride Lengths: Walk: 83cm, Run: 118cm

This explains the lower distances logged using the Fitbit assumed stride length. However you can alter this on the Stride Length in Advanced Settings. 

[pmfrew1]

Thanks for your reply but I don't think stride length should make a difference if you are using the walk function which I believe uses GPS for distance.  I had already altered my stride with my previous Fitbit and it seemed to be quite accurate so still mistified as to why my husband gets extra distance for exactly same walk. 

[Esya]

The FitBit Versa only has connected GPS, so you have to keep your phone nearby. If you use the walk function on your device without the GPS (this is possible), it will use the stride length from the settings. I know you already altered those to be more correct, but might be worth to check again.

[Mukluk4]

The devices with connected GPS will calibrate your stride length with a few connected walks/runs.  So there's no need to mess with the length in the dashboard.