Inaccurate step count with travel and time change

[hansolo415]

I recently went on a trip to Australia and noticed that the step count was off, but wasn't paying much attention to it.  It's been three days back in CA (USA) and even though there have been multiple syncs I've noticed that I am getting a LOT (10K) of extra steps.  It is as if the steps are counted perhaps twice and in the wrong time frame. 

For example, this morning before my run the FitBit registered about 12K steps even though at best I might have walked around the house 1K steps.  I checked the log and it recorded very high activity from 10-11AM which is approximately when I was in the kitchen NOT walking or doing anything. My run started around 11:30AM.

I'm wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences and what they have done to help alleviate this problem.  Moreover, what have people done to restore or fix the data that has been registered.

I am using both the FitBit and the mobile tracker to my iPhone (ie uses the iPhone data).  I like this, because I have the impression it collects the phone data when I'm NOT wearing the fitbit and so overall I get a better count.  I'm also hoping and empirically it seems like the actual FitBit steps overwrite the mobile track when the data occurs at the same time.  

I'm guessing these two devices are grossly out of sync perhaps by a day or more (passed the international date line) and so including the wrong data. My guess is that the program preserves the double count and has no way to check for time zone inconsistency between mobile track and FitBit.  I also suspect (from what I've seen of other travel) that it may also confuse even the regulat FitBit tracker which somehow keeps hold of old data and passes it forward.  I was suprised this problem is still occuring given that the phone clearly has the correct time and day now and the Fitbit has synced multiple times presumably resetting the date and time on the tracker.

What I have tried to do now and hope it works is simply:

1. Disconnect and reconnect mobile track to my device.

2. Reattach my fitbit as a new device to my account (hoping this resets the date properly)

We'll see if this works.  I don't mind having extra steps, but I'd rather be correct.  

Does anyone know how to correct or delete steps that shouldn't be there?

Han

[TandemWalker]

Hi @hansolo415. There is an awful lot in this post, so I hope to be able to cover everything.

I think that you need to restart your Fitbit One tracker, using the instructions in this article:Restart. You may have to repeat this process two or three times as it doesn't always work the first time. You will know that you have successfully restarted your One when you see the Fitbit logo on the display, followed by the firmware version. The latest update is 6.60 - it the number shown on your One's display is lower, then you will need to proceed with a firmware update, using the instructions in this link: Update my tracker.

As for the ridiculous step count first thing in the morning, please check your time zone settings. Please click here Settings, scroll down to the Time heading and correct the time zone if need be. If it's already set correctly, change it to something completely different, save your change, force a sync, and then sign-off your account. Then clear your Web browser cache, sign back to your account and change the time zone to the correct one, making sure to save your change and force a sync again.

So the above steps should have taken care of:

1. A temporary glitch with your Fitbit One, which the Restart should have cleared up.
2. Other issues with your One that the firmware update would have addressed.
3. Potential time zone issue that could explain how and why steps were being carried over to the wrong day.

In closing, I can assure you that your Fitbit One tracker, if it's working properly, will do much better at counting your steps than any Phone/GPS application. If step count accuracy is the name of your game, then my recommendation is to wear your One all the time and let do its thing; and only use the Phone/GPS app for instances where you forgot to wear your One. 

Hope this helps. Please let us know how it goes.

             TW             

____________________________________________________________________________

(If this tip solved the problem for you, please mark this post solved, as this will be helpful to other users experiencing similar issues.) 

[hansolo415]

Spoiler

Thanks for the suggestions.  I spoke to customer support and they also suggested the restart procedure you suggested.

However, upon further analysis of the situation they discovered that my FitBit was not resetting the step count data from the date that I crossed the International Time Line.  This meant that each data started with the same count from the previous day (a quick way to double up on step counts and beat all your friends! LOL).   

The fix they suggested is a little different than a restart although it's possible that would have worked as well.  They suggested going into the application and picking a DIFFERENT time zone or simply a different entry with the same time zone (ie 800 GMT pacific instead of 800 GMT Dawson) which are really the same time zone.  Sync the darn thing and wait a few minutes, then switch the zone back and sync again.  This supposedly helps clear the time record out completely.

So the problem was actually NOT caused by duplication of mobile track data and fitbit data.  It's unclear why this happens, but the guess is that when you switch time zones in a significant way and perhaps international date line time zones that the unit gets confused and stays stuck.

I'd be curious to know if anyone else has experienced this problem.  

[sarajv]

I have had similar experiences.  Steps got reallty messed up when traveling to Europe. I tried many things. But eventually it just sorted it out. Yesterday, on my Alta,  i had 12,000 steps when I got on a plane in Pacific Daylight time. 1 1/2 hours later i landed in Mountain Standard time ( actually the same as PDT) with 7,000 steps. Syncing didn't help, nor did restarting. I just lost those steps. Another time when daylight time went into effect i got 5000 extra steps,  even tho in Arizona, our time doesnt change.  Never resolved 

[JosephR]

I just returned to Missouri from a trip to Nevada and have a similar problem. I have reset my One several times and it's still showing a ridiculous amount of steps. The odd thing is, the graph on the web page appears to be accurate. Attached is a screen shot. Also, my Zip (which I use as a backup when my One is charging) is showing the same number of steps, which makes sense since they're synced to my laptop and my phone. I should add that both tracked the time zone changes just fine and I had no problem in Nevada.

[sarajv]

I'm wondering how this forum works. Will someone from Fitbit see it and
respond?

[JosephR]

I think I understand at least part of the problem I'm having - it appears that it didn't reset at midnight. If I take the steps I have so far today and subtract yesterday's steps, it's about right. Same for the floors, but not for the active minutes. I was able to chat with a Fitbit rep and while there's no real solution to fixing the number of steps on my Dashboard, at least he told me that this sometimes happens with time zone changes and at midnight tonight it should reset properly. We'll see.