Charge 3 is counting steps while driving

[nakulp]

My Charge 3 is counting steps while I am driving in a car or bus. Also it's logging a bike activity for this.

Anyone facing similar issue? Any solution for it? 

[LanuzaFitbit]

Welcome to the Forums @nakulp.

Thanks for bringing this up and sharing the experience you've had. I'll happy to help you. I will be moving this thread to the Charge 3 board as I think it is better suited for it.

There is definitely something you can do. You can click here to read more about why this is happening and also what you can do to resolve it.

Let me know if there is anything else that I can help you with.

[pjfarr]

You can go into the app and "invalidate" the steps or activity logged during the time you were driving. If you know the time you started driving and the duration, you can do it by opening the app to the exercise tile, clicking the "+" to add a new entry, choose "driving" as the activity and fill in the start and finish times. The new entry will overlap the existing time period erroneously logged while driving and cancel it out. (That is, from what I understand. It's been a while since I've done this.)

Of course, all this could be avoided by adding a "pause" feature that will keep the Fitbit from recording steps etc. until it's unpaused.

[nakulp]

Thanks @LanuzaFitbit @pjfarr for your replies.  As per your suggestion of logging a "driving" activity to cancel out the extra steps counted, but doing this everyday and for each and every drive doesn't look feasible. Is there any permanent fix or a permanent workaround for this other than logging driving activity?

Also, @pjfarr how can I pause my fitbit as per your suggestion?

[pjfarr]

@nakulp

I was saying Fitbit needs to incorporate this feature. Currently the Fitbit can only be paused during exercise tracking.

[nakulp]

@pjfarr oh okay.  Yeah fitbit needs to do something on this driving issue. Any idea if the same issue is observed on other older devices like Charge 2 or Alta?

[pjfarr]

@nakulp

Well, I have the Charge 2 so that's what I'm going by. Have you tried taking it off and sticking it in a jacket or something while driving? (I haven't tried this, but am wondering if it will work.

[nakulp]

@pjfarr I will definitely try the jacket thing and let you know. 

[LEChaka]

Sure enough, the device is counting steps as my hands move around the steering wheel. Making turns and changing lanes is making those driving steps add up.  FYI, while my Fitbit wrist is still on the steering wheel, no steps accumulate. I just changed the wrist sensitivity by identifying my non dominant wrist as dominant. We shall see how that works. Would sure love this device to work, as advertised. Hopefully, an update will address the outstanding issues.

[lmmh100]

This logging car journeys as Outdoor Bike activity is driving me mad too.  I already wear my Fitbit on my non-dominant hand & no it does not resolve the issue.  Neither is my car a 'very bumpy ride' which Fitbit suggest is the cause of the issue.  My previous Charge2 & ChargeHR's never had this issue.  The workarounds offered by Fitbit are longwinded, not easy to do from the tracker itself and are therefore just not practical. I have been waiting and waiting since last October for Fitbit to fix this error - it clearly is an error - but to date, no joy.  I fear they have been spending all their time developing the new Versa, which is a smartwatch not an exercise tracker.  It's battery only lasts up to 4 days - the Charge 3 lasts all week - and the watch face is too big to be comfy left on overnight so not great for sleep tracking.  Come on Fitbit - sort this out before you lose any more customers.

[nakulp]

@lmmh100 completely agree with you. Me too waiting for the fix since long. ☹️

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello everyone.

I apologize for the delay in my response. 

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences on the matter. Perhaps you could support this suggestion to have a driving mode on the Fitbit devices. You can comment on them and vote to show their support. You can also read the FAQ to better understand how that board works.

In addition to that, while not optimal, there is also the Travelbit app that automatically created a driving activity on your account without having to do it yourself on the Fitbit app. You only need to turn it on when you get on the car and off when you are finished driving.

Let me know if there are any further questions.

[lmmh100]

But why can't Fitbit just sort the programming? It never used to count
being in the car as an activity - why the change? And btw when I do go
into my dashboard & delete the driving activities, it doesn't correct the
steps, stairs or calorie counts! Come on Fitbit. No more flannel. Just fix
it - please.

[Ohnoetry]

Drivebit no longer exists in the google play store, and the latest alternative is buggy and terrible. Reviewers report having questions and issues related to the fitbit app and the travelbit app together, and getting no support from fitbit customer service as the app is a third party product. It seems that a pause feature is the easiest fix to this ridiculous problem, but if third party developers can prevent false step logging there's absolutely no reason why fitbit can't fix it. I'm FLOORED that fixing this hasn't been top priority for fitbit instead of creating more mediocre activity trackers. These products have the potential to be great, but they just don't function consistently and conveniently. 

[MDan]

     Good day,

I’m also struggling with this irritating problem. I thought my information I inserted on the app was not correct but I inserted it all over again and restart the device as well and it still isn’t accurate.

I’m very disappointed in this problem and it seems as if I’m not the only one. All the features as great and I’m really enjoying it so much but this product cost a lot of money and its sad to pay so much for something that is not working!

[Ohnoetry]

All the fitbit products do this. It's insane to me that the way they tell you to "solve" this is by logging the driving as an activity,  rendering the goal setting and tracking feature absolutely useless. 

For a moderator here to suggest using a non-affiliated app (that no longer exists) that the fitbit customer service will not help with or properly adopt, is BAD BAD BUSINESS. 

I honestly feel scammed for paying for this tracker. If you want steps and distance, with an estimated caloric burn based on your gender, height and weight, you're better off getting a completely free app that does it all on your phone. If you need hr, you're better off getting a $75 garmin device that will also log false driving steps but for half the price. 

Edited for price accuracy. 

[MDan]

I absolutely agree with you!

If this is Fitbit's "most advanced tracker" I'm not seeing a future for
this company.

Sorry I'm done with Fitbit !!

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello everyone.

Thanks for sharing your feedback on the matter. 

@Ohnoetry You are correct that Drivebit doesn't exist anymore. I will be updating my previous post to reflect the TravelBit app.

Please  do know that we're always looking for ways to improve the overall Fitbit experience. Be sure to also support the suggestion to add a driving mode to the Fitbit devices as I mentioned previously.

Feel free to reach out if you need any further assistance.

[Ohnoetry]

Do NOT start suggesting travelbit. Are you serious right now? I just stated that it's a terrible app that Fitbit wont offer any support for and your bright idea is to start suggesting it to people?

[Ohnoetry]

Honestly, stop saying you care about our feedback, it's obvious you don't.