Charge 3 - distance and pace inaccurate

[JcBelgium]

Hi all,

I love my Charge3 but for running it seems to be very unreliable.

I often do the same run which is approx 14.2km (validated). However regularly my Charge3 is *way* of in distance, for instance this week it said the run was 11.3km. So, obviously also my pace is completely wrong as well.

This has happened multiple times, and a friend with a Charge3 has the exact same issue.

So to be clear :

* I always use connected GPS. Smartphone has location services on and is connected via bluetooth.

* Fitapp app correctly shows the tour I ran - so it does seem to know my position at all times.

* Problem does not occur always, but it regularly does and in that cas Fitbit always underestimates distance and speed.

* Fitbit firmware = 28.20001.63.5

Any ideas anyone ?

This issue makes the Charge3 unusable for my training purposes...

thanks,

Jorgen

[AdamH0]

I get this problem too, and it happens on every run for the last few months. The discrepancy varies, I've had 1 km out on a 10km run. Usually the fitbit overestimates for me. Your example does seem particularly bad!

Are you using Android? Seems that most people with this problem have Android from the other forum posts. I run with my daughter, and she has Charge3 + iPhone. Her pace whilst running, and recorded distance at the end are much more accurate, and this is consistent run after run.

You should also try one run where you record simultaneously in Strava(or similar) and Fitbit. If using the same device you'd expect same track and distance. You will likely find a difference still.

I've been emailing back and forth with support for several days, and only get generic advice.

I've been told:

• Stride length is wrong;
• Fitbit recorded it twice as i manually started and it auto-detected run, so this explains the problem. So I disabled auto-detect for runs - no difference.
• Fitbit only uses step count x stride length for distance even when Connected GPS is used...;
• Strava & Fitbit use different algorithms for distance;
• How to enable location services on phone and give the app permission to use GPS;
• Fitbit uses step count to estimate distance until GPS signal is acquired, so this is why there's a difference (even though I confirm GPS is available in fitbit app before running..)
• I've been told by Fitbit support that a recording of 5.7km for a 5km parkrun is 'close'. "I believe the distance it tracked is still close to its predetermined measurement"
• Have been asked to supply precise details of activities, which are then ignored in subsequent emails.

I predict also that if you use Strava to 'correct distance' in an activity that the new distance will be more accurate. This of course doesn't help you whilst you're actually running.

Good luck

[AdamH0]

You might also find that if you zoom into the fitbit track that there's weird loops.

In this image the blue track is recorded in strava app, and the pink is fitbit. Same time, same run, same device.

Those weird backtracks in the fitbit trace seem to account for some of the distance discrepancies.

You'll see other people in the forums reporting similar issues.

[AdamH0]

This thread on the Versa covers the problem and is very comprehensive.

Spoiler: There's no resolution yet.

https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Versa-Smartwatches/Distance-on-GPS-map-doesn-t-match-with-exercise-s...

[JcBelgium]

I cannot understand that Fitbit chooses not to fix this issue.

It makes my Charge3 useless for running.

I switched to a Polar M430 which seems to have no issues whatsoever...

Too bad that a stupid unfixed software error made me switch, cause I really liked my Charge3.

[Carlo-g]

Got the same issue.  I'm doing the same run of about 5km regularly.  Today my Charge 3 recorded it at 5.27km and last time it was 6.13km.  That's a 16% variation!!  It makes it quite useless for keeping a record of my pace.

I'm using it with a Samsung S9.

I would not recommend this to anybody who wants to use it for serious training.

[AdamH0]

I've just spent 9 days pushing and pushing their email support to actually look at the problem rather than just giving me generic advice about stride length.

In the end they do acknowledge that it's a known issue and they're working on it, but no ETA on a fix.

They've been giving others the same message since September 2019.

[Carlo-g]

I have the same issue with a FitBit Charge 3.  I'm running the same route regularly, and I've measured that route as 9.5km using my bike odometer and using Google maps.  FitBit has reported it from as low as 7.4km to as high as 9.9km.    The track shown is correct, so I don't know how FitBit gets a 25% variation on the same track.  It makes the device useless for keeping a record of my running.  I will never buy a FitBit device again.

[BertM]

My Charge 3 recently (in the last week or so) started to do something similar on my daily morning run, where it completely got my pace wrong and hence gave me too much credit for distance.  The time and # of steps were roughly right though, but distance/pace was way off.

Today, after reading some of the reports here, I tried turning off GPS completely and the problem did not occur. For me, this works because I just run around a field at a local park, wanted to share in case it helps others too.