Charge 3 counting steps while cycling

[kmaus]

Hi all,

I am new to Fitbit as I bought my Charge 3 this week and still figuring things out. However, I noticed that my Charge 3 continues to count steps while cycling. Is there a way to stop this?

I want my Fitbit to only count my real steps, as I commuting 5 times a week 20km to my work. For the past 3 days, I am over 15,000 steps on a daily basis, which I don't think is accurate.

Many thanks for your help!

Moderator edit: subject for clarity

[Anders101]

@AlejandraFitbit,

I do not think that you realize how bad it is. Let me give you an example from last week.

Before I started my bike ride to work I had:
Stairs: 9
Steps: 735
(I am not sure if the stairs were counted during sleep or during breakfast, though I know that they were counted before I saw any stairs.)

Arriving to work I had:
Stairs: 73
Steps: 6713

Which gives:

Real stairs: 9

Real steps: 735

Fake stairs: 64
Fake steps: 5 978

During the day I participated in a dance class which gave lots of real steps. Before leaving work the counting was:
Stairs: 134
Steps: 17 152

Translated ->

Real stairs: 70

Real steps: 11174
Fake stairs: 64
Fake steps: 5 978

When I left work I took a detour with my bike to get some exercise, when arriving home the counting was;
Stairs: 277
Steps:  31 540

Translated ->

Real stairs: 70

Real steps: 11174
Fake stairs: 207
Fake steps: 20 366

Looking at the data is it the real steps and stairs that are negligible instead of the fake stairs and steps. What goals can I set when the majority of the data is fake? What point is it to receive badges when it is mostly based on fake data?

And keep in mind, if I had not been on the dance class the number of real steps would have been about half.

 Tell me, what use of Charge 3 do I have except measuring time and calories?

[BlueSunshineDK]

All of us have the charge 3, so I am not sure what the ddepending on device-comment was about, Alejandra.

The charge 2 knew how to not count a lot of steps during bikerides. It  added a few steps during bumpy rides, but not excessively. The charge 3 adds a lot of steps and it doesn't make sense that it doesn't work as well as the charge 2. I use minutes as goal for activy tracking and would like my Fitbit to accurately count how many minutes of my activity are steps and how many minutes I have been biking. If someone needs an overall activity to stepcounter convertion this should be possible but optional. 

[Ann70]

I swim too and it counts steps whilst I swim 🙄🤦🏻‍:female_sign:. 

[Sathyak]

Thanks for posting this info! I've been hearing from my friends who uses Charge2 works fine and not excess steps which biking, this is issue with Charge3. But Fitbit doesn't acknowledge this as bug and they keep saying it's expected, and this is not acceptable.

[Ann70]

Reading your comment has made it all make sense to me now. I swim and it adds steps and I’d never thought of it as converting. Also I’d noticed if when I walk to my leisure centre to swim and it’s windy it adds floors. I’d assumed it was to do with how we walk differently when it’s windy. I’m happy now. Thank you. 

[buckowens]

Has something changed recently on the way steps are reported? I'm looking at recent cycling activities and the details indicate that 0 steps were recorded during the activity. However, a few thousand steps were recorded when I look at the step count itself. I'd rather not have any steps counted but, up until a few days ago, I could look at activity detail on the website (steps are not broken out on activity detail when viewed from the app) and subtract out from my total the steps that were counted during the activity.

As it is now there's no good way to get to a step count that does not include pedal strokes.

[Anders101]

For me this is no change, that is how it has been since I bought the Charge
3.

[buckowens]

thanks @Anders101 . i just checked and it looks like the details for no old cycling activities are displaying steps when in the past they did. steps were displaying in the Impact section of the activity detail even though they column was N/A on the Activity Summary page.

i'm on the side that thinks steps shouldn't count while cycling and used this info to get the count i felt was accurate.

[Baltoscott]

---

@Sathyak wrote:

@RiseAndShineI would agree if this same behavior seen with Charge2 too, but Charge2 never counts steps while biking, only Charge3 has this bug, can you comment? 

---

@Sathyak -- I disagree that the CH2 does not count steps while biking.  Both CH2, and CH3, and every other wrist based fitbit tracker, will count some steps while biking outside.  My sense is that is related more to how bumpy the road is than anything else.  The CH3 seems a little more sensitive to bumpy roads than the two CH2 models I have had, but no more that 10% different. To me that is pretty close to the same.

I have also compared the Fitbits I have owned over the years to several different wrist-based Garmin trackers and three Apple Watch models.  Apple and Garmin also increase the daily step count when you ride a bike outside, but both companies seem to do it less than Fitbit. 

[Brydee]

Welcome to the club!

[buckowens]

to update my previous post, i can no longer see how many steps were counted during a cycling activity. until recently i could see that when i looked at activity detail in a browser. i can no longer tell how many cycling steps contributed to my daily total.

i think of this as a reporting issue, not a recording issue.

[JLee31]

OK, I get it from all these posts.  Fitbit is a Step measuring product for Corporations.  It is not a Health Product for Sports minded people wanting to measure their specific activity.  AS SOON AS EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THIS they can then take there $s and buy the actual product they want.  CHARGE 3 Corporate step converter, not athletically geared GOT IT.    Charge 3 is a dramatic service shift with better battery life.  Wow, I feel burned as an athlete needing real performance data.

[Baltoscott]

---

@buckowens wrote:

to update my previous post, i can no longer see how many steps were counted during a cycling activity. until recently i could see that when i looked at activity detail in a browser. i can no longer tell how many cycling steps contributed to my daily total.

i think of this as a reporting issue, not a recording issue.

---

@buckowens — if you want to figure out the step count for your bike ride that is still possible.  Just create a manual activity for the same time period (call it something like ‘step count’; see attached example I did for yesterday’s bike commute home).  You can keep the manual record or delete it after you figure out the step count; it does not affect your daily stats, just provides detail about the time period you are interested in.

[5morganpk]

Yes, Exactly.  I ride for my exercise.  I can't run so the 100 to 150 miles I ride per week are my exercise.  It drives me nuts that I can't get steps on my blaze as it picks up that I am cycling.I have to put my watch on my shoe to count as steps.  

[Anders101]

Ah, that was a new way to use the watch, as a cadence counter! 🙂

[NotAFanOfThis]

I’m not a fan of these extra steps I’ve been getting since changing to a Charge3. I’m also not convinced the calorie count is accurate either, as I routinely get an extra 1000 calories when I cycle to work than I did with my old Blaze.

Can someone from Fitbit comment on this, as I’m close to requesting a refund on this issue.

[Rodpud]

Man I came on here to see why my Fitbit hardly gives me any steps for miles on miles of a bike ride only to see all of you clowns wanting no steps for your cycling work out? Wtf is wrong with you people?  A ten mile bike ride should def count as steps heck it’s one good work out why should my steps be counted against me cause I worked my rear off on a bike?  Ridiculous.   On bike setting it didn’t give me manySteps at all I was disappointed if I walked or ran I woulda had way more.   What’s the point of the setting if it’s not gonna convert accurately 

[Rodpud]

Charge 3 here btw.  Still mind blown on peeps who ride to work who actually think that’s counting extra steps lmao.  You are working out it’s not extra.  Mine is giving me next to nothing makes no sense 

[PaulSadlier]

Were you ‘Treading water?’

[Ann70]

Hi, no. I swim 40 lengths none stop.

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