Inspire 3 logs steps when I'm still

[Newbie465]

I've had my Fitbit for 9 hours and noticed it logged 30 steps when I was sitting in a chair reading. It also logged 54 steps during my 30 minutes driving. Is it measuring my heart rate?  Or movements of my arm?

[Odyssey13]

Hi @Newbie465  these are wrist based devices and they use your arm movements to log steps. If you knit or play the drums, you'll get a lot of "steps" but if you keep your hands in your pocket or push a stroller, the steps are fewer.

[JuanFitbit · Accepted solution]

@Odyssey13 , Thank you for your help.

@Newbie465 , A warm welcome to the Community! Thank you for your message. 

Fitbit devices have a finely-tuned algorithm for step counting. The algorithm is designed to look for intensity and motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking and running.

When working at a desk, cooking, or performing other activities with arm movements, a device on your wrist may add some steps. When you’re doing activities that involve arm movement—such as working or cooking—you often walk a few steps in-between stationary periods as well, so the device tries to give you credit for those steps.

For most customers, the number of extra steps added by arm-based movement isn’t significant when compared to your overall stats.

[Ecates]

I'm having the same problem with my new Inspire 3. It's counting way too many steps for my activity. I manually counted last night and it recorded twice as many steps as I actually took. I may hit my Noom daily number just from drinking my coffee and heating breakfast!  Please advise.