2025 and still getting crazy amount of step count added when driving

[Daniklaw]

My watch adds a crazy amount of steps when I wear it while driving. I know that other people have had this issue. However I have a friend with the same Fitbit who does not have this issue. Why is that? I know that driving can be logged as an activity or steps can be manually deleted now but this is a ridiculous thing to attempt to remember to do every time I get in and out of my car! There are times I do 5+ separate drives in a day. 

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @Daniklaw, welcome to the community. The first thing to note is that all wrist wearable devices experience this issue to some degree. If you are using your vehicle 5 times a day, you are exposed to more errors than most people. Without knowing anything about your detailed driving or that of your friend, it's difficult to comment on the comparison.

Gemini produces this useful analysis -

To reduce excess step counts on your Fitbit, wear it tighter and on your non-dominant wrist, tell the app it's your dominant wrist, restart the device and app, update firmware/app, and try recalibrating your stride length in the app; activities like riding in cars or pushing strollers can also cause overcounting, so check those instances. 

Quick Fixes (Try These First)

1. Restart Device & App: Reboot your Fitbit and force-quit/restart the Fitbit app on your phone to clear temporary glitches.
2. Check Wrist & Fit: Wear the tracker on your non-dominant wrist and ensure it's snug (but not too tight) so the sensor stays in contact with skin and minimizes movement.
3. Adjust Wrist Setting: In the app, tell your tracker you're wearing it on your dominant wrist, even if you're not (e.g., wear on left, set to dominant) to make it less sensitive to hand movements, say Fitbit Community users.
4. Update Software: Make sure your Fitbit's firmware and the Fitbit app are fully updated, as per Fitbit Help. 

Calibration & Advanced Steps

1. Calibrate Stride Length: Manually measure your stride, walk 100 steps, and enter the correct distance into the app; this helps the device learn your personal pace, suggests Mashable.
2. Check for Interference: Activities like riding in a stroller or car, or even just waving your arms a lot, can add false steps; note these down.
3. Test Accuracy: Walk 100 real steps and compare it to the Fitbit count; if it's off by more than 30 steps, it's worth calibrating, notes Fitbit Community. 

What to do if it persists

• Clean Sensors: Gently clean the device's sensors to ensure they're working optimally, says JustAnswer.
• Factory Reset (Last Resort): If all else fails, back up your data and perform a factory reset, as advised by JustAnswer. 

We do see reports of overcounting, but the cause can usually be isolated (in your case, to driving). Changing the wrist you wear your Inspire 3 on may reduce the overcount, but may not compensate for circumstances like driving over a poor road surface or on twisty roads.

I hope this is helpful.

Cheers