Charge 2 not tracking stairs

[Opheliav5]

Had this for 24 hours and had a charge hr which was perfectly accurate in counting flights of stairs. I've done the same amount (20) but it is only showing 3. Each flight is greater than 10 feet. How do I fix this?

[mewsmama]

Having the same issue. I've been up and down the stairs a dozen times today, probably more, and the count is 7. Hope someone has the answer.

[DerrickS]

@mewsmama @Opheliav5 Your Charge 2 will track a floor climbed each time it detects continuous motion combined with an elevation increase of 10 feet.

If you pause mid-flight of stairs or walk down stairs, your Charge 2 will not count a floor climbed. Click here for more information about how floors are counted.

If the above criteria is met and your Charge 2 is still not counting floors climbed, I would then recommend restarting your Charge 2. Click here for instructions.

Hope this helps!

[mewsmama]

It seems to be working now - thank you!

[AllanHvass]

Hey, this actually seems a bit different from how my old Charge HR was counting stairs. As I was doing a lot of mountain biking with many really small ups and downs, very few of them would be 10 feet in one go. Still, the reading on the Charge HR was pretty OK aligned with total feet climbed from a Garmin Edge 705 bike computer. It was simply adding up total of feet climbed, even if these mostly didn't come in minimums of 10 feet each.

With my new Charge 2, I have already noticed that it's not collecting as many stairs climbed during the day, compared to my Charge HR - haven't been on a MTB bike tour yet to have that comparison, but I strongly suspect if there's a change in algorithm, many half stair climbs are "lost" and not "in the bank", is that correct?

[GrandmaSuSu]

The stairs in my home have a landing after stair 5 and then turns to go up 11 more stairs.  Not recording any stairs climbed.  Even though the floor is greater than 10 feet in elev. gain, does the one step not going up make the distance restart from landing?

[Julie-MSN]

Personally my FitBit One tracked stairs more accurately than my new FitBit Charge2.  Very disappointed in this feature on a newer device! 

[HeydyF]

Hey guys @Julie-MSN, @AllanHvass and @GrandmaSuSu!  Yeah, I noticed that the Charge 2 is counting less floors than the Charge HR. For example, in my own experience, I can tell you that when I go running uphill, I'm getting around 40 floors (due to the elevation, the tracker records floors) and before, when I was using my Charge HR, I got around 50 to 60 and the route and distance is exactly the same one, so I can tell you that is is more accurate that previous models with this feature, like the Charge HR or the Fitbit One, so I don't recommend you to compare the trackers between them or with a different ones like the Garmin Edge 705 'cause the algorithms and technology applied are not same. 

Let me know if you have more questions! I'll be around! 

[USAF-Larry]

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@GrandmaSuSu wrote:

The stairs in my home have a landing after stair 5 and then turns to go up 11 more stairs.  Not recording any stairs climbed.  Even though the floor is greater than 10 feet in elev. gain, does the one step not going up make the distance restart from landing?

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I have found that if you stop moving while climbing a hill or stairs, the tracker will not count the floor.  As an example, the stairs in our local mall is just over 20' high. If I go up the stairs just over half way and then stop to wait on somebody who is having trouble with the stairs, and then continue up the stairs it will only count 1 floor. But, if I go up the stairs all the way without stopping it will count 2 floors.

The same is true if you are climbing a hill and stop to rest. It will count the floors in 10' increments until you stopped.  It may or may not count the rest of the hill when you re-start the climb.

[HeydyF]

Hey @USAF-Larry! hmmmm interesting. I haven't noticed that. But I think that could one of the factors that interfere with the floors, and that is why we get less floors sometimes. I will also that try it this weekend, and compare the results. Thank you for sharing that advice.  

Keep me posted! 

[Lynn-beaufort]

have the same problem with my Charge 2. have gone back to my fit bit one.

The Charge 2 was a waste of money for me. there are to many things it doesnot record right

[HeydyF]

Hi @Lynn-beaufort, welcome to the Community! So your Charge 2 was not counting stairs? By any chance, did you try to restart it? if so and still not working, I also suggest you to try to set it up your tracker as a new device by following the instructions on this post which has instructions to do it using an iOS device. If you have any other issue with your Charge 2, please let me know. 

I'll be around! 

[Rich_Laue]

@Lynn-beaufort you haven't mentioned if there is a step counting problem while walking up stairs. Your Charge 2 will not count floors unless it also seems that you are stepping. Now here is a possible problem, when holding onto the hand rail with the arm that has the fitbit. Your fitbit has motion sensors and with the arm sliding up the rail, steps might not be counting. No steps, no stairs. 

This would not be a problem with the Fitbit One since it is mounted on the body core. 

[sailorlady]

The stairs in the gym I go to has about 10 steps on the bottom section, then a landing, and about 17 up to the top. When I start at the bottom and go straight up (moving at a steady rate around the landing), I only get "credit" for one flight, but it seems like it should be 2 flights. 

Even if I start at the landing (if it doesn't count the first section because it senses a pause when going around the landing), it should still count the top 17 stairs as a flight. So when I go up and down the stairs continually 5 times, I variously et credit for  3, or 5, or 6 flights. This is annoying, to say the least!

Pat

[Rich_Laue]

Hello @sailorlady fitbit considers a floor as 10 feet, or 120 inches. 

The common stair rise in the USA is 7.5 inched. 

So the 10 steps on the bottom are about 75 inches and do not count high enough to be counted.. While 17 stairs come to 127 inches, and therefore high enough to count a floor. Now if both the bottom and top where 17 steps then yes you will receive 2 floor. 

Just a note a out malls, their steps usually are 20 or more feet high and give 2 floors. 

[sailorlady]

Thanks. I'll have to be more observant, but what I perceive is that doing ALL stairs (about 26 or 27) only gives me one (not 2) more floor even if I don't pause but keep moving, and if I pause at the landing then continue to the top (16-17 stairs) sometimes I'll get a floor and sometimes I won't.

But when I was at the gym last, it was before I knew that pausing hiring an ascent messed with recording the climb. I've been going up and down several times before and after working out because I have never steps at home!

Thinks, Pat


Sent from my iPhone

[KelleyBee]

Hi Derreck, Glad to see you here. I am new to Fitbit, was drafted over Christmas. 😉 Anyway, I have a Charge 2 and it is not giving me credit for my stair climbing. Ugh! Due to physical limitations, it takes me long to climb stairs and the work doing so is strenuous. I read your post that if we stop while ascending stairs it will not see it as a flight of stairs. I get that, and I thik that is ok. Fitbit is not the end all for fitness tracking. However, I think there is a flaw in the software, both computer and app, if I cannot go in and edit my stair climbs for the day. When will Fitbit be correctling this oversight?

[JPettet89]

Hi all, I too am new to Fitbit, got my charge 2 on Xmas day. I don't have any quibbles as I love it! My only issue is that I have not had a single stair count register since I've had it. I've read some of the resolutions and issues others face. 

In my line of work I'm situated on the forth floor of a building which is separated on each floor by two sets of 20 continuos stairs (40 per floor) so it shouldn't have an issue of logging it. I'm do the stairs multiple times a day too so gutted that it's not registering it! The Fitbit clearly registers my steps and HR increase when climbing them that's for sure! I've done the restart twice and it's not worked? Is there anything else to try before I ask the wife for the reciept in order to exchange (I still badly want one so I and willing to give another one a go) I've set mine up via my iPhone 6 in case that's causing the issue as it's sync'd with the motion and fitness setting

any help would be greatly appreciated 

[sailorlady]

I presume that you already read that the tracker won't count any stairs if you  pause on the stairs. With that in mind, if you change the pace partway up, it may get confused? You could try going slower up so that you consciously maintain exactly the same rate, and see if that works. Granted, it seems like you should be able to move naturally, not think about your tracker, but that might at least tell you something. Also, though the altimiter should be taking note, I wonder if carrying something (coffee? laptop?) between floors so your arm isn't moving as much? 

You might also try changing it to the other arm. I found that it counts my steps slightly more accurately on my non-dominant hand than it did when wearing it on my dominant hand. Stooooopid, I know, but for me it works. 

[Brandisco]

Derreck:  did 1 & 2 above - the problem isn't fixed.  My new charge 2 tracked flights fine for the first week I had it, then nothing.  Is this a solvable problem, or do I need a new fitbit?