Autorecognize and GPS

[philguk]

Just starting with Charge 4 and reading about autorecognized exercises. 

It seems that an autorecognized walk will NOT have GPS data? Is that right

And I assume that’s to avoid having GPS turned on all the time?

This is a pity. Especially not to be given the option. Does GPS make a massive difference to battery life??

[JohnnyRow]

One thought: it does not count as an auto-recognized walk without being at least 15 minutes long, or whatever you set as default at least 10 minutes.  So how would it know when to turn GPS on,  except have it on all the time, which, yes, it does take a big battery hit.  Plus, I do a lot of walking back and forth inside house; GPS makes no sense for that.

[LZeeW]

@philguk   I have a slightly different explanation.  The auto-recognized exercise feature is called SmartTrack.  Fitbit has made many devices with different capabilities.  There are devices that don't have an Exercise app and have no way to connect to GPS.  SmartTrack is the only way for those devices to track a workout.  The Charge 4 is more advanced and has both SmartTrack and the Exercise app.  More options.  I wear a Versa 3 which also has SmartTrack and the Exercise app.  I don't use GPS for most of my walks, hikes, etc.  Not because of the battery drain, but because they are familiar routes and I know the distance.

You say you are new.  Have you looked at the How To Use section on your mobile app?  Tap on your profile avatar, then your Charge 4 tile, then the bright How To Use tile.  There should be a link to the Charge 4 manual at the very bottom.

Using built in GPS is a big battery drain.