Ionic GPS: Tracking vs Mapping & 10 minute minimum

[DClydeMill]

I formerly had a Charge, but my daughter recently gave me an Ionic. Clearly I now have many more features that I will take advantage of, but I'm not going to be a "power user," but I'm happy to have the GPS and water resistance abilities, and the larger face to accommodate my vision.

With my current abilities and back issues, I will focus primarily on my walking. I am interested in tracking steps as well as distance. I like the ability to see a map of my walks and the real-time distance and steps; however, apparently the ONLY way to get the full visual mapping of my walks is to use the phone app during my walks. When I use the watch app only, it will "track" the number of steps but it will only begin to "Map" the walk after the minimum 10 minute threshold it allows me to set. Is there any way of being able to "Map" the entire walk from the beginning to end if my walk is less than 10 minutes?

Moderator edit: Updated subject for clarity 

[SilviaFitbit]

@DClydeMill Welcome to the Community. It's great to hear that your daughter recently gave you an Ionic. 

You don't need to carry your phone when you're walking or running. Because your Fitbit Ionic has built-in GPS. The best way to track your exercise will be by using the exercise mode when you start it and finish, once it has been tracked, please just sync your watch and check your map. 

1. Open the Exercise app   on your device, and tap an activity. Only activities where you cover physical distance, like a run, walk, hike, or bike ride, offer GPS tracking. 
2. If necessary, turn on GPS for certain activities such as an interval workout. For more information, see How do I turn on GPS for an exercise on my Fitbit device?
3. Wait a few moments for GPS to connect. You can begin the activity as your device tries to find a signal. (Note that your device uses your step count to calculate distance until GPS is connected).
   
   
4. Tap the play icon to start the activity. If the GPS signal disconnects, your phone or device searches for a signal while the activity is in progress.

Learn more about it by checking the Product Manual here. 

I'll be around if you need further assistance. 

[DClydeMill]

Thanks for the reply and the information. I am a perpetual "tinkerer" so I believe I have discovered what the issue has been.  Most of my walks during the week take place in the downtown Houston, TX area surrounded with very tall buildings. Yes, such an environment will play havoc with ANY GPS device.  Simply put, the ability of my iPhone to acquire and maintain a connection with a satellite signal is far greater than that of my Fitbit Ionic.  My phone will acquire a signal much more quickly and remain connected. The result will be a more complete and accurate mapping of my walk as displayed in the app.  When I use only the Ionic, it may take several minutes to acquire a signal and it will still struggle to maintain the signal. It will accurately continue to count my steps, but the mapping and total distance will not be as accurate. Yesterday, using the phone app to track/map my walk, the map showed the complete route and a distance of about 2.5 miles. Today, I used the watch. The result was tracking of about the same number of steps, but the map was incomplete, and it showed that I had only walked about 1.5 miles.  I'm sure that in a more open environment the results for the watch GPS will be more accurate, but those are the results and the limitations I have observed.  Most of the time I have to have my phone with me anyway.

[SilviaFitbit]

@DClydeMill Thanks for getting back. I appreciate the details shared based in what you've observed. 

Learn more about it by checking this article: How accurate are Fitbit devices? 

Don't hesitate to get back if you need further assistance.