Counting flights of stairs when I didn't walk up any

[TravelerRN]

I walk on a flat surface all day at work. No stairs it shows 40 flights of stairs? 

What gives? Any one with an answer?

Thank you!!

[GTPune · Accepted solution]

I had the same experience and I was told that if you are walking on surface with gradient, it counts it as climbing up the stairs!

[NellyG]

The stair counter uses air pressure to count how many you go up. So any time you elevate by stairs or incline it counts as flights of stairs. It will also think you have gone up stairs when there are airpressure changes as in weather change or biking/ walking or running on a windy day. It is not supposed to count floors if there are air pressure changes but you are not exercising (as in an elevator) 

[thunderwagn]

I like how fitbit mods delete posts that point out flaws with fitbit devices and software...

Simple fact of the matter, stair count function software for the ionic is messed up and fitbit won't address the issue or simply doesn't know how. My charge 2 stair count worked great, maybe they need to backtrack back to basics. 

[wtksk8r]

The devices use air pressure to determine vertical motion. It will log a floor if it measures air pressure difference of 10 ft in height (about 14.5 psi). Air pressure readings can be sensitive to winds. Before I retired my fitbit accurately measured floors inside the building where I worked. Since I retired and have been working in the yard I get some really wild readings while cutting down and clearing brush on level ground. I have gotten readings of up to 90 floors after working in the yard for about 4 hours. The floor count for indoors when I go up and down the basement steps is still accurate. 

I don't know if there is a way to shield the altimeter from spurious pressure changes. Perhaps a more accurate way is to use GPS but that would mean a) very short battery life and b) problems with getting satellite signals indoors.

The good thing is that fitbit does not use the floor count to estimate calories burned.

[thunderwagn]

Why is it a good thing?  Some of actually use stairs, bleachers, etc. as part of workouts. Sorry, but for $300 stairs do matter to some of us.  Barometric pressure, elevation, wind, rain, whatever. The ionic plain and simple has a software issue to accurately count stairs. My charge 2 may have missed a stair here or there, but it never added an incredibly inaccurate amount of stairs. It's an issue and it needs to be addressed by developers and Fitbit. 

[bhelmly]

I agree with thunder wagon. Fitbit plz address issues and stairs defintely should count towards calories burned!!!!