Charge 3 inaccurate distance and pace for the same route

[LCHolland]

I walked the same ~4.63 mile (per my vehicle and "MapMyRun") out and back route three times this past week.  My time and steps were within a few minutes and about 130 steps over the 3 walks.  My mileage and pace however, were woefully off.  Here's the data:

Day             Steps       Minutes    Distance      Pace

Monday        9604       81              4.7mi             17'11"

Wednesday  9738       85              5.1mi             16'36"

Thursday      9734       83              3.57 mi          23'13"

I thought perhaps my stride was off, thus making the distance shorter, but the number of steps between Wednesday and Thursday is a difference of 4 steps, yet the mileage is a difference of 1.42 miles.

The watch and phone were fully charged.  The watch is ~ 8 months old.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[MarreFitbit · Accepted solution]

Hello @LCHolland, welcome to the Community Forums. We apologize for the late response, due to recent events affecting our operations, we're taking longer to respond.

Thanks for the details provided about how your Charge 3 has been tracking your distance and pace, I'm here to help you.

Fitbit devices calculate distance by multiplying your walking steps by your walking stride length and multiplying your running steps by your running stride length. We estimate your stride lengths using your height and sex. Track one or more runs using on-board or connected GPS, we evaluate that data to automatically update your running stride length. For best results, run at a comfortable pace for at least 10 minutes.

If you prefer to measure your walking and running stride lengths yourself and enter them manually, see Can I change my stride length in my Fitbit account?

Note that when you're tracking an activity with GPS, Fitbit calculates your distance using GPS data rather than steps. If you begin moving before you get a GPS signal, the tracker will calculate distance using steps and stride length as described above until a GPS signal is found.

Keep in mind that your device uses your step count to calculate distance until it finds a GPS signal. In this scenario, your total distance calculated for the workout may be slightly less accurate than if GPS data were available for the entire duration. For more information, see How accurate is GPS?. After reviewing this factors, please go for another activity and see if the distance improves. 

On the other hand, I was wondering if the mobile device you're syncing with is included in our list of supported devices? You can see the list at: Which phones and tablets can I use with my Fitbit watch or tracker?

Fitbit products are compatible with most devices that have the following operating systems: Apple iOS 12.2 and higher, Android OS 7.0 and higher, or Windows 10 v1607 or higher. Please keep in mind that when a device is not supported we cannot guarantee its functionality with the Fitbit app. It might work at a certain time and then it can stop working out of nowhere after an update. This is because the app is not optimized to that device and any change could impact the performance.