Charge 2 accuracy

[beverlyc1989]

Im a custodian and unfortunately alot of the times my wrist is immobile while im pushing trash out in the containers sweeping mopping but im getting steps and my charge 2 doesnt seem to calculate so i put it in my shoe strings on my foot today and it calculated more but says i went 2 floors the school i work at is 1 floor and it also says it was calculating my hr while it was on my shoe strings. I need a better way to calculate steps on my wrist doesnt work because it takes two hands to push trash in the container way out to trash can takes two hands to use a dust mop and regular mop a boost machine etc. 😞 and seems putting it in my shoe strings isnt working as well. Any help would be appreciated.

[CityLion]

@exinteranimus

I have not been impressed that  any Fitbit measurements are direct readings.  The programed interpretations of indicators is at times useful and some fiddling may not help but may improve your experience.

a. 3 sequential hard resets of the Charge 2 may help at times.

b. Removing by settings and a sync any displayed items like calories, distance or others that you can do with out help a bit.

c. Disconnecting and forgetting the charge 2 from the sync devices Bluetooth may help some.

d. Even that odd suggestion from Fitbit's Charge 2 information to take the tracker off for at least an hour a day can sometimes improve accuracy as well.  

e. Somewhere between the band being too loose, and too tight, to high, and to low, Charge 2 finds the best reading, but I have found that impossible to control at any speed or exertion level above sitting still.  

f. It is very difficult to ever see one's actual heart rate measured by any means actually match the Charge 2 display.  The Charge 2 only displays an average for the last 5 seconds, never actual. That average is of estimates of heartbeats subject to estimates of known fallibility of the device programed in..

So in short it does not actually measure your heart rate and display it.   What one sees is a broad brush estimate that may or may not be a valuable indication of long term trends subject to algorithms for a large population not a specific persons actual experience. 

[SunsetRunner]

That's a great explanation of what some of the "slight" step count inaccuracies are caused by, but nothing addresses what I seem to see with my Charge 2, about a 50% over count. Judging by what I see on a number of forums, I'm definitely not alone. 

[LauraLeone]

Are we sure most aren't having the issue? Are their Fitbit Lemons?

Mine is wildly off. I got 140 steps before getting out of bed. Mine was off by 25% yesterday. 

[Kelseymh]

Except my step count is WAY off. I tried everything the manual and the help websites told me to do and it’s still not working. I would be okay with a small under/overestimation however I just counted out 50 steps and my Fitbit counted 9 of them... and then I waited for the Fitbit to sync back up (to make sure it’s done counting) and still only 10 steps. This leaves my daily results wildly inaccurate and impossible to keep track of.

[Kourtykourt13]

Wish I could afford too. It was pure luck that I got it. Like everything else but the step counter. Cuz it goes by arm movements. But thanks. Wish I had one tho

Sent from my iPhone

[HimsJ]

I was checking it (charge 2) for my mother and was surprised to see 200 steps added... When i just got up from my bed, cleaned few bottles and lied again on the bed... Wouldn't be more than 10-15 steps max.

This thing needs serious fixing!

[HimsJ]

@Strasshog yeah... Cause I can see in the thread... this issue has been there for last 4 years now! Cheap fitness band like MI 3 is way better and accurate. 

[SunsetRunner]

How do you know that? Meaningful reviews on the Xiaomi Mi Band 3 are rather hard to come by...

[JJjane]

I have just run the Torbay half-marathon.  Its an official, registered event and I am confident the distance will be the specified 13.1 miles.  However, my fitbit recorded the distance as 10.17 miles. 

Last month I ran the plymouth half - also a registered event and that was recorded by my device as 9.48 miles.  There must be something awry!!

Can the device be reset to improve its accuracy?  My height & weight are input accurately.

[Rich_Laue]

Maybe. Which of the various availible methods where used to track your run? 

Have you ever checked and set your stride? 

[RicardoFitbit]

Hello guys! I'm happy to provide assistance with your Charge 2 difficulties, my apologies for the delay in responding. Welcome aboard @JJjane, it's nice to see you again participating in our Community Forums  @HimsJ and @SunsetRunner. Your willingness to help is appreciated @Rich_Laue, thanks for your post. 

@HimsJ Let me share with you that Fitbit devices have a finely-tuned algorithm for step counting. The algorithm is designed to look for intensity and motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking and running. When performing activities with arm movements, a device on your wrist may add some steps. When you’re doing activities that involve arm movement, you often walk a few steps in-between stationary periods as well, so the device tries to give you credit for those steps. For most users, the number of extra steps added by arm-based movement isn’t significant when compared to your overall stats. For more information, please check How does my Fitbit device count steps? and let me know how it goes. 

@SunsetRunner Thanks for your post. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any additional questions or if I can do anything else for you, I'll be here.

@JJjane Seems odd that your device counted 10.17 miles instead of 13.1. If you feel that your step count and distance are inaccurate, confirm the following are correct in the Fitbit app:

• Your wrist settings (For more information, see Does the wrist I wear my device on affect accuracy?)
• Your height (For more information, see How do I manage my Fitbit profile?)

Since we use height to estimate your walking and running stride lengths, you may want to measure and manually adjust these values if your legs are longer or shorter than average. For more information, see How do I measure and adjust stride length for my Fitbit device? Sometimes, when you start walking, your steps may not update on your device right away. After about 10-15 continuous steps, you'll notice the steps catch up and start updating in real time with each step you take.

I'll be around, don't hesitate to ask me any additional questions you may have.