Chardge 2 not logging all my steps or stairs

[SAMAG]

Away with two friends last week. Both have Fitbits; one of them is also a Charge2. I was surprised to find that my friends Fitbits registered more or less the same number of steps and distance as each other while mine was consistently 20 - 25% below their tallies. This bears out my observations that, in past couple of weeks, I seemed not to be walking quite as much as I expected.

In addition stairs are not counted if I'm carrying anything; which I often am.

Explanations please?

[WendyB]

They will never match. Your strides are different for one.

But you should all make sure they are set accurately.

Stride Length
https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/How-do-I-measure-and-adjust-my-stride-length/

[SAMAG]

As I said; my friend's steps were more or less the same (as was the distance they travelled), I think that 20 - 25% below for both steps and distance lies beyond an acceptable level of variation.

[WendyB]

More or less stride still needs to be checked

When holding on to things floors will not be counted

http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/How-does-my-tracker-count-floors/?q=count+floors&...

Floors are counted using an altimeter. An altimeter is a sensor that calculates altitude based on atmospheric pressure and atmospheric pressure decreases with increasing elevation, so the it calculates elevation gain based on the reduction in atmospheric pressure. Your trackers register a floor when they detect continuous motion combined with an elevation gain of about 10 feet. Given the fact that 10 feet is an average between residential and commercial floor heights, although commercial floors in particular tend to be higher than residential floors.

It will add floors when it is windy or cold.

[SAMAG]

I know how Fitbit logs altitude. My problem is that if I walk up my stairs at home empty handed it's one flight, if I'm carrying something it's zero. If I walk up to my office it's two flights if I'm carrying something it's zero. Very frustrating.

[WendyB]

Second time.

It will not count floors when holding on to something

[SAMAG]

Why not? Surely you use more energy if carrying something than if walking up empty handed?

As in I was walking with my friends and so covered the same distance. Their Fitbits more or less agreed on the number of steps taken and in the distance covered. My fitbit was consistently well below their readings both for steps and for distance covered. We checked this several times. 

We also tried counting steps taken. My friends Fitbit agreed with their counts mine was, once again, well below.

Consistently 20 - 25% below what we expected. Not accurate enough.

Will try to adjust stride length but that still does not explain why the distance was also so different. Sure people can have different stride lengths but surely the distance covered should be the same?

Moderator edit: merged posts

[tpcact]

It uses a lot of the motion of your arm to determine movement. I.e. if you literally stand still but swing your arms back and forth it will count steps. It's not an exact science.

[SAMAG]

No, I know that, but my Fitbit used to be a lot more accurate when I first had it. It's only recently that I've noticed that I've done less steps in the same contexts as I have before; which is why I checked with my friends last week.

[AlvaroFitbit]

@SAMAG It's great to see that you've visited the Fitbit Community! It could be that the sensitivity has been decreased? Try wearing your tracker on your dominant hand but select the other hand as dominant on your tracker's settings. This will make the tracker more sensitive to movement. After this see how your tracker behaves. Do take into consideration the suggestions that @WendyB and @tpcact have shared regarding the stairs. You need to move/swing your arms so floors can be counted.

Let me know how it goes!

[SAMAG]

I'm very good at swinging my hands. Already have the fitbit on my nondominant hand as you advise and always have done