Charge 3 tracking steps while driving

[Den5gill]

I had two 4 hours drives this weekend and my Fitbit registered it was  Outdoor bike and 500 calories. What’s that all about?

Also I had charge 2 first and either than under stepped me ot this charge 3 is more sensitive as I do a lot more steps with this during the day. Can I turn it down?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[MarreFitbit]

Hi there @Den5gill, it's nice to see you around here! Remember that the wrist trackers count steps depending on the movement of your arms, when you are driving or for example when your tracker is close to a fan, your tracker counts steps due to the vibrations. You can learn more about how your Fitbit tracks steps by checking the article: How accurate are Fitbit devices?

If after taking these factors into account you still think your tracker is significantly overcounting steps, please try a step test:

1. Put your wrist-based tracker on your wrist or put your clip-on tracker on your hip or torso.
2. Walk 100 steps, making sure to count a step each time one of your feet hits the ground.
3. Pause, then check your tracker to see your step count.

As you know, there are 2 ways you can prevent this:

1. You can plug your tracker into the charging cable while you are driving -- the Fitbit will not count steps while it is charging.  

2. You can log the driving manually by following the steps in this article

I'll be around if you need further assistance! 

[Fabienne1987]

Dear Maria,

I am experiencing similar issues.

While i have been sitting in the passenger seat (not much arm movement) for 4 hours in a car (no bumpy roads - great German Autobahn) my fitbit counted about 3,000 steps!!!

It actually happends already twice and I had to override the step counts manually.

Is that normal or is my device broken (purchased Jan 2019).

Thanks for your help.

Fabienne

[MarreFitbit]

Welcome on board @Fabienne1987, it's nice to see you around here!   Thanks for the information provided. 

Please try a step test:

1. Put your wrist-based tracker on your wrist or put your clip-on tracker on your hip or torso.
2. Walk 100 steps, making sure to count a step each time one of your feet hits the ground.
3. Pause, then check your tracker to see your step count.

Fitbit devices have a finely tuned algorithm for step counting. The algorithm is designed to look for intensity and motion patterns that are most indicative of people walking and running.  When working at a desk, cooking, or doing other arm movements, a device on your wrist can pick up some extra steps if it thinks you're walking. Many of these situations—such as working or cooking—do include a few steps in-between stationary periods so the device tries to give you credit for those steps. For the vast majority of customers, the amount of stray steps accumulated is negligible when compared to the entire day. For a more technical explanation, see How does my Fitbit device count steps?

Let me know the results! 

[Brken0627]

I am having similar issues.  It’s very frustrating. I drive often throughout the day and it’s problematic to have to monitor whether or not steps are being added while I’m in the car.  My understanding is that earlier versions of Fitbit had an option either on the device itself or on the app to turn on a driving mode while in the car, which would suspend counting steps during that time.  If this is true, why is this not available on the charge 3? It’s a fairly costly advice and this glitch of counting steps while driving seems like something that should not be happening.   I would probably not recommend this device to anyone due to this issue.  I bought the charge 3 because I want an accurate step count, and so having thousands of steps added due to driving makes it a very ineffective tool. Is there any chance that fitbit is working on fixing this issue?

[Den5gill]

Thanks for your reply.
The step count is correct so obviously it’s counting a lot when my hand is
moving.
Haven’t done the car thing yet but as some one else has said it’s a shame
you can’t put it in car mood, I don’t particularly want to take it off
every time I get in the car.

[MarreFitbit · Accepted solution]

Welcome here guys @Den5gill and @Brken0627! I totally understand where your concerns are coming from. I'd like to give thanks for the feedback you've provided towards our product. Rest assured that our engineers and product development team use this information to further improve our products and services which lead us to release new Fitbit trackers. 

For both of you, please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on that feedback. 

I'd recommend the tips and recommendations I've suggested here.

If there's any questions present, let me know. 

[Tnkrbella]

I as well watched my fitbit charger 3 as I ran an errand driving. If my arm was on the steering wheel it tracked steps. if I set my arm on my lap was not calculated (as often). A bummer, being it gives inaccurate data. Until I hear of update I will take tracker off while driving. 

[MarreFitbit]

Welcome on board @Tnkrbella! Sorry to hear that you're having discrepancies with your Charge 3. As mentioned above, there are 2 ways you can prevent this while driving:

1. You can plug your tracker into the charging cable while you are driving -- the Fitbit will not count steps while it is charging.  

2. You can log the driving manually by following the steps in this article

You can learn more about how your Fitbit tracks steps by checking the article: How accurate are Fitbit devices?

Don't hesitate to ping me out if you need further help.

[phatlad]

When will this be fixed? This is UNACCEPTABLE.

WHY is it a problem in the 3 when it wasn't a problem in the 2?

LET US KNOW WHEN IT WILL BE FIXED.

This standard cut and paste response is NOT CUTTING IT.

[MarreFitbit]

Hi @phatlad! I totally understand where your concern is coming from. If you haven't experienced such a discrepancy with your Charge 2, please try the following step test:

1. Put your wrist-based tracker on your wrist or put your clip-on tracker on your hip or torso.
2. Walk 100 steps, making sure to count a step each time one of your feet hits the ground.
3. Pause, then check your tracker to see your step count.

If your device is significantly over counting steps, let me know so I can move forward. 

Catch you later! 

[phatlad]

The device is not overtracking steps when I'm walking or running.

The device IS overtracking steps when I'm driving. When I'm typing. This NEVER happened with the charge 2. As I said above, the standard, cut and paste responses ARE NOT ANSWERS.

We want to know WHEN WILL THIS BE FIXED.

[Brken0627]

I agree, I’d like to know when this will be fixed.



Sent from my iPhone

[MarreFitbit]

Hi @phatlad! I have reached out to our support team and created a case regarding your inquiry. Someone will be reaching out to you within the next 24-72 hours with next steps. 

Hello @Brken0627! I've seen that you got in touch with our Support Team recently. If you're still having discrepancy with the step count on your Charge 3, please feel free to reply back to your support case. Our team will be more than glad to further assist. 

See you later! 

[JavaneseMan]

Yeeah...i want to know too...i spent alot of money n high expectation about this product.....but reality .after 2 month no update firmware to fix the problem ...very disappointed

[Tnkrbella]

Does the fix roll out to all with the Charger 3?

thank you

[MarreFitbit]

Hi @JavaneseMan  and @Tnkrbella! Sorry to hear you've been experiencing step discrepancy with your Charge 3, please try the following step test:

1. Put your wrist-based tracker on your wrist or put your clip-on tracker on your hip or torso.
2. Walk 100 steps, making sure to count a step each time one of your feet hits the ground.
3. Pause, then check your tracker to see your step count.

If your device is significantly over counting steps, let me know so I can move forward. 

We don't have any specific date or time frame on when a new firmware update for Charge 3 may be available. 

Fitbit occasionally releases free feature enhancements and bug fixes for your device through firmware and Fitbit OS updates. For details about each type of update, see What's changed in the latest Fitbit device update?

I'll be around!

[Tnkrbella]

Hello Marrefit,

i finally conducted test you requested.

i went for a walk outside on the road. 

Out of 5 tests counting steps to 100 only one was accurate.hope this helps assess the discrepancy.

272 - 379

379 - 486

Walked few steps didn’t register

486 - 586

586 - 690

690 - 794

kind regards,

Coleen

[MMFitz]

Hi Moderator,

I'm a new charge 3 owner.

Thank you for taking up this thread. 

This really cannot be news to the developers, the forums are full of complaints, please let us all know when it's fixed with a sustainable solution. Currently I am taking the fitbit off for driving, but I am seriously considering returning it, this is a pretty expensive tracker with a serious defect that needs to be addressed.

Thanks

Maggie

[MarreFitbit]

Welcome to the Fitbit Community @MMFitz! I totally understand where your concerns are coming from. I'd like to give thanks for the feedback you've provided towards our product. Please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on that feedback. 

I'd recommend the tips and recommendations I've suggested here.

Hello there @Tnkrbella, thanks for coming back and for trying what I've suggested. I went ahead and created a case for you with our Support team. Someone will reach out to you soon to offer their assistance. Please keep a lookout in your inbox to the email address associated with this account.

Please let me know if there's anything else I may do to assist.