Charge 3 is showing accurate GPS map, but inaccurate distance

[SunsetRunner]

I've been using my Charge 3 for about two months now and noticed that often when I run, the GPS map accurately reflects my route, but the distance is quite a bit off. I tested this a few times by running the perimeter of Mile Square Park, a park so named because it's a square approximately 1 mile on each side (4 miles total).

Here are the conflicting data points (links to screenshots):

1. 3.93 miles: the distance according to Map My Run.
2. 4.01 miles: the distance my Charge 3 calculated, presumably based on my steps and stride length, when I ran the perimeter without connected GPS.
3. 3.35 mi: the distance my Charge 3 calculated when I ran the perimeter with connected GPS last month
4. 3.23 mi: the distance my Charge 3 calculated when I ran the perimeter with connected GPS today

As you can see in #3 and #4, the route captured by my phone's GPS seems accurate; it goes around the perimeter of the park, with no gaps. But somehow the distance is approximately 0.6 to 0.7 miles less than what it should be, which suggests that Fitbit is interpreting the GPS data incorrectly. Any idea what's going on here?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[C2ThaMax]

The first mile of the course I run 2-3 times a week is as perfectly straight and flat a road as mankind can construct, and despite the map always displaying the proper route (I always use GPS), the distance is often off by about 13%. It's enough of an error that the pace is off by over a full minute, which obviously makes the device useless for measuring distance and pace. The problem is compounded by the fact that the Fitbit app uses your running pace to grade your overall fitness level, as well as every other metric that relies on accurate distance data. I've measured the distance using satellite data on Google and have had consistent results using other fitness apps, so I'm certain the problem is within the Fitbit app. It just seems like such a simple process for a critical feature; I can't believe Fitbit hasn't resolved this in such an expensive product. Not only would I never buy another Fitbit product myself or recommend one to someone else, I would actively warn people against getting one because the device doesn't perform as advertised.

[October8]

Sent from my iPad

[Watched]

Yeah, this new year I finally gave up on it. I switched to garmin and am
very happy with it

[BlackBeard99]

I'm having this same issue and didnt realize it for quite a while until I manually measured my real distance on a map.  I use GPS with reliable signal, yet fitbit gets the distance wrong by large amounts.  I started searching and found this and other similar threads.  I can't believe it's been a problem for this long with as many reports I've found without a fix.

[Vijayan_Venkat]

Iam facing same problem with cycling as well. I use Strava, Google fit, maps and fitbit all from same mobile on a given ride. Except fitbit, all the other apps get the map pretty accurately, accurate to a fraction of kilometer as read on odometer. Fitbit is unreliable, sometimes good and most of the time the errors are around 20% or so. 

[seeeeee]

Hi @MarreFitbit,is there any update to this? It's been >2 YEARS now so it doesn't seem like it's the immediate future... is there a fix or should we all abandon the fitbit brandfoe something that works as advertised?

Any info would be good as it'll help me and tithe tons of others experiencing this to make decisions regarding what to do.

The issue with tracking from the app: no heartrate data!!? It's nuts and also a glitch apparently - after using app while wearing charged "functioning" device it says "not enough heartrate info" 🤣

These are currently my only 2 options, if I continue to stick with brand:

1) I can double track my exercises by tracking with my fitbit device to get the accurate map and hr, then laboriously use Google maps to trace my run to get the accurate distance and input the second corrected distance as "log exercise"  OR

2) I can double track my exercises by tracking using the app (on phone) to get the accurate distance and take the times and distance info and input those into "log exercise" to get the heartrate data (which is obviously there since it comes up this way - so why is it not enough when I track via GPS?!)

This is obviously very frustrating because these supposed exercise teackers aren't cheap, and many of us Pay for subscriptions. If this issue hasn't been fixed or even worked on yet I'll switch, please let me know whats being done!

Thank you!

[RDB303]

I've only just discovered this issue today, but I've had others with my Charge 3.

Today I thought I had improved my 5k time, most people here are saying the app is under reporting distance completed, but mine has over reported.

Over 6km my 5k time came in well below my previous best and I was chuffed. But I know GPS isn't perfect and sometimes corners get cut off when changing direction and buildings interfere with the signal. So I checked the map but it looked pretty much spot on.

The time was still too good, so I checked the distance on both Google Maps as well as Open Street Map and the discrepancy was huge. I knew the run didn't _feel_ fast, but every time I looked at my watch during the pace was great.

Turns out the Fitbit had measured the run about 1.6km longer than it actually was. My 6km became 4.4km and the pace went from a PB to something like the worst.

Seeing as this was with GPS enabled and the map was correct it's clearly a software error (calculation) or an issue with their map data; and it's still not fixed after 2 years (according to this thread - there are probably other older ones)

With the fact that auto-dim brightness has never worked. GPS was failing to even start for me for a while a year ago. The stock strap cracks and breaks within 9 months every time. Sync from watch doesn't work without internet connectivity. And many other things that annoy me:

When the time comes I will be replacing my Fitbit with something from a different manufacturer and I wouldn't advise anyone buy one because Fitbit just doesn't seem to care about issues or isn't capable of fixing them.

Edit: One of my other previous issues was that when GPS failed to connect (Charge 3 to phone) that the pace calculated on movement alone would be better than reality.
It feels like the GPS map is correct but the pace today was calculated without it and just on step data perhaps.