Charge 3 counting too many steps

[Pkitass]

My Fitbit charge 3 

counts my hand movements as steps.

I wear it on my non dominate hand but every time I move my arm up or down it counts those movements as steps. 

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[Seagu77]

Well, after all "cures" failed Fitbit only proposes to replace or return. I feel that it will not be solved soon. And probably not via firmware but via hardware change. I missed the return window and so just threw away $140. It is such a pity because I have read all this reviews where Charge 3 was rated as #1, plus my friends loved their Altas. I am very disappointed with reviewers!!! Don't make my mistake and if it overcounts sreps return it before full refund window expires. Probably it will be worth buying in one year. 

[Beebs1274]

Hi guys,

Very frustrating as I bought one yesterday evening and have gone through a couple of generic fitness trackers already. I have found that after a nights sleep I have clocked up 530 steps!! I have been recently diagnosed with MS and I really wanted a FitBit as I need to build up my muscle strength for the future. But I never thought it would not be as sensitive. I never expect FitBits to be 100% accurate. It has been reset and the height and weight is correct - unfortunately 🥴 I hope someone can help me out.

Kind Regards

Bianca 

[Seagu77]

@Beebs1274, you could do the following:

1. Full restart (with charger and long press of the button). Than check if  overcounting persists (will most likely do)

2. Open ticket with Fitbit

3. Than if you are ready to try another device  (people say that some work correctly) - replace. Or return. 

Alternative way - return for full refund now))) 

[NewbisFB]

Here's a quote from their support department, following my request for a refund for this issue. Fyi they still deny its an issue . If you look at the policy they have for returns it clearly outlines the most pathetic warranty I have ever heard of for any product I have ever purchased .essentially charge 3 is a piece of rubbish and so is the fitbit warranty

"

First and foremost, please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience that this has caused you.

About the refund, to explain:

- If you bought your device from fitbit.com, we accept returns for 45 days from the date of purchase. We can also exchange a device for the same model in a different size or color within 45 days. We're unable to exchange devices for a different model. 

- If you bought your device from a partner or another retailer:
If you didn't purchase your tracker from fitbit.com directly, please contact the retailer or partner about returns and exchanges. This information is generally printed on your receipt, though you may also find it on the retailer's website. Note that we're unable to influence retailer policies. We can only exchange or refund items purchased from fitbit.com.

Looking forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Kirk Neil S. and the Fitbit Team

"

[Seagu77]

Oh, yes, it is so true. It is a reasonable advice to everyone: do not miss the full refund window! Don't wait for those ridiculous replies from fitbit, go to your retail and return. I have missed mine unfortunately ((

[SunsetRunner]

So I recently bought Fitbit Charge 3 since I want to improve my mobility and health. As many other users I too experienced that it is counting way more than actual steps I had walked in a day.

Initially I was excited seeing the “improvement” in my daily steps only to later realise that it counts steps while driving too. Quite disappointed because I felt fooled by the stats shown on the app and device.

Request the team to do something about it as I am sure all health conscious folks here would be interested in seriously monitoring their progress rather than being misled by false data.

[Beebs1274]

Please please can the recording data be sorted out? No one is looking for 100% accuracy but I don’t want it to be so sensitive that if I cough or drive I’ve suddenly done 250 steps! We’ve all paid enough of our money for this product. I’ve paid for generic ones before and they are more accurate. The only reason why I changed mine was because the sensor burnt a very small part of my wrist!
I have MS (as mentioned before) and I’m in enough pain as it is.
I really don’t want to return this product but will have to if I have no choice!


Sent from my iPhone

[EzraM]

I share a lot of the concerns everyone has articulated in this and other posts, but I wanted to clarify a few things as I have decided to do a bit of research since the Charge 3 was my first fitbit and prior to that I was just using my iPhone in my pocket.

I was extremely frustrated with the extra steps, but have now concluded that the driving issue is an issue with ALL/MANY OTHER Fitbits...Perhaps the Charge 3 is a bit worse, but they all have issues. 

I decided to buy two additional step counters to compare.  

1) Fitbit Alta HR

2) Vivosmart 4

Some observations over the course of about a week:

1) Driving: All fitbits add steps for driving. After a 30 minute drive the Fitbit HR has 228 steps and the Charge 3 had 324.  The vivosmart had less, but forgot to record the steps.  Some have said in this thread that the other fitbits don't count steps when driving, but that is absolutely not true - yes the Charge 3 counts more though in my observations. 

2) Electric Shaver: Both the Charge 3 and HR gave me 200-300 steps for shaving as I have it on my dominant hand.  Vivosmart didn't give any steps

3) Treadmill walk/jog 30 minutes: Vivosmart HR gave me between 200 - 1000 more steps than Charge 3.  The HR gave me significantly less steps about 30-40% less / 1,000 - 2,000 steps less. As a reference the iPhone in my pocket gave more steps than the Charge 3, but was closer than the other devices

4) Sleep tracking - Not related to step counting, but I had to point out that I think the Vivosmart sleep tracking sucks... Doesn't track wakeups at night and didn't seem to calculate REM correctly (1 minute all night, each night?)

Conclusion - they are all not accurate, but they seem to balance out depending on what you do (I work out every day for 30 minutes).  Also, I like the display on the Charge 3 and size and I have decided to stick with it (yesterday was my last day to return) when weighing the pros/cons. If I go on a long drive I will take it off and/or clock it as a driving activity.

[NewbisFB]

Thanks for your in depth assessment, it's just hard to believe in 2019 they cannot develop a fitness tracker that doesn't add steps when you're not walking  In fact I don't believe this as most of the false steps are from activities that don't mimic walking movement motions whatsoever. Some are even added on at the same time the device is tracking that you're doing something else (such as sleeping or weights)  

Over time the false steps caused nearly double the real steps (and I don't drive or use electric razors and toothbrushes)  So it made dieting, calorie tracking in particular, beyond useless. I found wearing it a joke or a gimmicky toy. The only thing it was good for was heart rate (it's not really useful monitoring Heart rate with this anyway) and sleep tracking.  Whilst it "appears" ROUGHLY accurate for this activity I don't trust it there either. I would like to see comparisons made by objective organisations between a valid medical device and fitbit to see if it really is accurate in regards to sleep stages or if they are just a piece of trickery.

In Conclusion 

I decided the inaccuracies made it useless and way over priced  I got a refund, bought a Alta HR and saved $100. It's probably inaccurate too (I'm still testing it) but it's much cheaper. I'll probably end up just wearing it at night for sleeping and give up tracking anything anything else as it was just more hassle than it was worth and the fitbit app is pretty crude software at best.

I don't think fitbit have great management     innovators or designers and developers  Apart from Apple I don't think anyone else is anywhere near where they should be in this industry .I hope another company comes along and takes all of fitbits matket share  They deserve to lose! Keep your eyes on Google, Samsung, Huawei here.... 

FYI, This clearly is a massive issue for many users  This clearly is something Fitbit are not capable of overcoming  So.....

1.Why don't they just add a pause button for steps so we can easily manually override this problem

2. Why don't they have a minimum distance of 25 metres (calculated by phone gps) before step counting activates 

There's dozens of "workarohnds" if they can't get the technology to work correctly, they've been aware of this inadequacy for years, yet they have done nothing but make it worse, AKA Charge 3...

I just don't get it .. 

Moderator edit: merged reply

[ryan4157]

I'm sure this will get deleted, but I posted on the feature section that they should fix this. Go vote for it! 

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/Make-the-Fitbit-charge-3-count-steps-more-accura...

[NewbisFB]

Will do ,however I don't class them as features  They're hacks to make this rubbish device useful  I'm nowhere near as annoyed since I got my refund. That's the only true known fix thus far. 

[nsyncable]

Same problem here, just mine worked fine for a month, until a few days ago. I had trusted it, tested it several times, never had an issue, and then all of a sudden, it started adding steps like crazy. Maybe twice as many as actually walked. So yesterday, when it should have counted around 20,000 steps and 10 miles, it counted 45,000 steps and 2.54 miles. Go figure.

I have contacted Fitbit Support twice, and now they are sending a brand new replacement under their warranty, but after reading the posts here, I am not sure if it's worth it. I have lost trust in this thing, not only the steps counter, but all other features, too. I am very disappointed. I got the Charge 3 as a gift from my daughter, and she got herself one, too. Then yesterday, hers started acting crazy, too, out of nowhere, after 6 weeks of working just fine. Sounds like a software issue to me, maybe has to do with some recent update?

I'd be sad to return my Fitbit, I loved it as long as it was working correctly.

[Michele2019]

Mine too

[Gerrymagic]

My charge 3 pvercounts on walks by 10 per cent. Did a long walk and counted my steps manually, 500 a time. The tracker gave 545, 580, 570, 545, 620.

Guess I will have to do 11000 as a goal instead of 10. Also adds on thousands for car rides.

For the money, should be better.

Tied dominant setting/ non dominant wrist. 

[Outtoplay]

For the record, it isn't when  you   walk that the  issue occurs. That is fairly accurate.  It's the misintrepritation of non-walking movement.  I scored 200 steps yesterday laying on the bed watching the Walking Dead on Netflix... ; )  

[MTglass]

Same issue here.

Used to be just the odd day but now it miscounts all the time and by a large amount.

Have done all the things recommended and its still the same.

Been onto support.

Did a few tests and another reset but still miscounting steps told there was nothing wrong with it even though every time I move my arm it adds about 10 steps and it now counts double what it used to a month ago.

Told there is nothing wrong with it so how come it worked ok for months before?

Very disappointed the steps part is basically unless now.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[SunsetRunner]

This is a 25 minute motorcycle ride yesterday. Screen shot of start and finish. Fitbit needs to reimburse people for these useless devices  

[MTglass]

Well after the phone call to support it worked ok for a couple of days but now back to ridiculous over counting.

On friday it said 13k steps which was about right and was not counting 10 steps every time I moved my hand.Yesterday I had the same routine and it read 26k steps.

At a loss as to what to do as they say with the tests they have done it is not faulty but it clearly is.

Any ideas?

[NewbisFB]

I would say if it's not over counting than it's faulty  They all over count . .

[IndyAmy]

Now that I've read a bunch of these threads today.... Good to know the Charge 3 was a total waste of money. My Flex 2 was always really accurate. I bought the Charge 3 because it was supposed to be better/newer/etc. What a waste.