Charge 3 tracking too many steps while I am sitting on the couch

[SunsetRunner]

I am sitting in my living room. I know I have about 6000 steps so far today. Suddenly I get a congratulations that I have 10,000 steps (fireworks). I was surprised. I look a few minutes latter and the step number was back to 6,000ish. About 20 minutes latter, another congratulations for 10,000 (birds and banner) but the steps read 45,000ish. now that could not have happened! 10 minutes later and it is back to 6,000ish.  I am about to step out and get the 4,000 needed to really have 10,000.  I believe the other evening, I did the same and at some point, I got a congratulatory vibration. I sat the rest of the evening. When I synced the data just after midnight, I did not have 10K. Should I replace the Fitbit? I upgraded from Charge 2HR to this Charge 3 in December (about 1 month ago). Do I have a lemon?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[MarreFitbit]

Hello there @SunsetRunner, welcome to the Community Forums. I'm sorry for the late response. I totally understand where your concern is coming from, I'll glad to help you and to figure out what's going on with your step count. 

First of all, I'd recommend to restart your Charge 3 by following the steps in the article: How do I restart my Fitbit device?

Next, 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 or in a night stand. In these scenarios, your tracker counts steps due to the vibrations. To get more information about this, check the article: How accurate are Fitbit devices?

If you're having discrepancy with your step count, first make sure the wrist placement settings are correct. Next, double check that you entered your height correctly. Since we use height to estimate your walking and running stride lengths, you may want to measure and manually adjust these values if your legs are longer or shorter than average.

For the steps logged when you were not wearing your Charge 3, please note that you can't delete steps and floors, instead, log a non-step-based activity such as driving to override the steps or floors. Find more information at: How do I delete steps and floors in the Fitbit app?

If it still seems like your device is overcounting steps, try a step test. While you perform your step test, make sure you: 

-Walk at a normal pace
-Don’t hold anything in your hands
-Put your arms down at your sides, swinging naturally
-Count 1 step for each foot
-To avoid getting an additional step when you bring your feet together, after you reach 100 steps:
1. Freeze in a split-stance. 
2. Move your hand up gently to check the step count on your device.  

Here’s the step test:

1. Restart your Fitbit device.
2. Put your device on your wrist or put your clip-on device on your hip or torso.
3. Walk 100 steps, making sure to count a step each time one of your feet touches the ground.
4. Pause, then check your device to see your step count, and write down the number of steps you took and the number of steps your device counted. 
5. Perform the test 2 more times, walking 100 steps 3 different times. Each time, write down the number of steps you took and the number your device counted. 
6. Add the number of steps over or under that your device counted for all 3 tests. If your device counted 30 more or 30 fewer than the 300 steps you took, please let us know.  

[SunsetRunner]

All activities you suggested were completed. I must not have described the problem very well.

Overall, the Fitbit counts steps just fine - no problem. However, throughout the day, it sends a congratulatory 10,000 Steps notification.  It may say 10,254 or it has said 45,000 or 13,453. It jumped form 175 this morning to 12,225 in about 3 minutes. If I sync the information, the Dashboard will display what the watch is saying (i.e.12225) But when I click on the Dashboard Icon - The real number of steps (i.e.175) are recorded in the daily list.  Don't bother to answer this problem. I am certain that I have a bad Fitbit watch.  I will contact Customer service or the warranty company or somebody and get it replaced.