09-15-2016
20:15
- last edited on
09-09-2020
10:26
by
MatthewFitbit
09-15-2016
20:15
- last edited on
09-09-2020
10:26
by
MatthewFitbit
Went on a run today with my Charge 2 on one wrist and Charge HR on my other wrist. Also had RunKeeper to measure my distance. I started my run with about the same number of steps on both FIT devices.
After the run, my Charge HR had almost 2K more steps than my Charge 2. In addition, my GPS map on FitBit matched my Runkeeper map which is about a 3.5 mile run BUT FitBit pegged the same route as 1.73 miles >.>
Why doesn't this device work as advertised? I really like the design and feel of Charge 2 but if it can't do its job accurately, all is for not and I will be shorting FIT as it appears to be a widespread issue (I have maps and photos if someone from FIT wants the data).
Moderator Edit: Edited thread title.
Answered! Go to the Best Answer.
02-21-2017 23:23
02-21-2017 23:23
@TurtleSpeedYou will find the plotted routes are diagrammatically correct. If your distance is increasing it could be what I have posted below and @Kobalto and @Glennbest have posted earlier..
We have found when using Connected GPS on a North/South route the results are near to perfect. Then, immediately stop the North/South activity and commence the East/West route and find the distance is gaining about 1ft/second or 30cm/second. We are in the Southern Hemisphere and interested in some testing from the Northern Hemisphere.
When I do the testing it is so obvious, because, about 20 seconds into an East/West test my walking pace is at a level I have never achieved at my age. Change to the North/South route and I'm back to my exercise walk pace. My Surge Fitbit on my opposite wrist has the correct pace on both routes and plots the distance correctly.
I have duplicated this a few times now. I have 300-400 metres line of sight to my 4GX tower. The Sony Android V7.0 phone which hasn't given me any problems with all of my Fitbits has full network signal bar strength. There are no break points in the plotted route and I'm walking on flat pavements with negligible overhead growth in suburbia with no stoppages. So I eliminated the phone and the Network
I have tested my routes with MapMyRun and Polar and also activated the Connected GPS for a typical motor vehicle trip to the supermarket in a mainly East/West route for for 1.5+ miles (2.5+ km's) and this was the result. You couldn't get a straighter path. There is virtually no distance because the Fitbit didn't detect my movement. Aim to test the Connected GPS before my walking tests.
@TurtleSpeed wrote:> A connected GPS receiver uses its built-in connectivity (either GSM/GPRS or CDMA – GPRS is preferred and is more suitable for live tracking) to connect to a wireless provider (e.g. Sprint).
This may be true but that's not what I am seeing in the FitBit app. The key point is the fact that the map and the tracked route of my walk / run are all *correct* from what I see in the FitBit app. The only thing that is *not correct* is the distance (and potentially other stats that are based on the distance). Since the logged route is correctly shown on the map, I don't understand why the distance is wrong. I can easily check the distance by using Google Maps. As long as the route is correct, the distance should be correct - this is not the case with Connected GPS.
> What fitbit did not do correctly. Was to fully explain how to use it.
Perhaps but I am inclined to disagree unless someone can tell me why the distance is wrong while the logged route is correct.
02-22-2017 03:24
02-22-2017 03:24
After changing the stride lengths to the measured figures the walk distances were indeed closer. It looks like the Charge 2 calculates the distance by stride length x number of steps rather than by actual GPS tracking so it's a bit misleading if that's the case.
There are many apps that use the phone GPS to work out the distance of your walk, hike, run whatever so why is the Fitbit not using this?
02-22-2017 03:31
02-22-2017 03:31
02-22-2017 07:33
02-22-2017 07:33
On my walk today. I did just like the article said. Start the fitbit app. Then the fitbit charge 2 was started in the walk. mode. I made 1 mistake. I did not wait for the charge 2 to lock in. When it locked in. It buze you and you have a picture of the phone with a check mark in it. Then you push your button and it starts. Mine was .02 off and that because of what I just explained.
02-22-2017 12:34
02-22-2017 12:34
02-22-2017 13:11
02-22-2017 13:11
Account tab at bottom right of app > Advanced settings (at bottom) > Stride Length (at bottom)
02-22-2017 13:57
02-22-2017 13:57
I’d like to share some results of tests I’ve made with the data of 7 runs, comparing distance calculated with excel vs what Charge 2 says (as I’ve done in previous posts). The first column shows the error of the Charge 2 assuming 1 degree longitude = 93 Km (which is the right one for my location) and the second one assuming 1 degree longitude = 111 Km (this is incorrect. 111 Km is right for latitude, not longitude).
Date | Charge 2 vs excel, assuming 1º long= 93 Km | Charge 2 vs excel, assuming 1º long= 111 Km |
12-feb | -9,3% | 1,3% |
13-feb | -11,1% | 1,7% |
15-feb | -10,9% | 1,0% |
18-feb | -7,2% | 2,9% |
19-feb | -12,0% | 0,9% |
20-feb | -11,7% | 1,3% |
22-feb | -11,1% | 0,4% |
These seven runs were made through different tracks, lengths and speeds. The comparisons were made exclusively with the data downloaded from fitbit.com, so it has nothing to do with inaccuracies of the GPS, Bluetooth, etc. In any case the GPS reception and connection with phone was fine, representing well the real track, @Rollerskier even when the map is zoomed. I isolated the very few points where connection was lost (in these points, it probably relies in stride legth, but I haven't tested this yet).
Now with 7 runs, I think results are very consistent, showing that Charge 2 is incorrectly translating the coordinates information into distance and pace. And given the small error of the second column, it looks that the main source of error is wrong interpretation on longitude coordinates (likely the Charge 2 converts longitude as if it was latitude). At least, as @Glennbest and @Colinm39 also pointed out, running north/south will have just a standard error, while east/west direction has a big discrepancy. This also proves than the Charge 2 is not relying in the stride length, at least when it uses the Connected GPS feature, as in that case the second column should not have a small error.
@hawkeye1952, I'm not sure if what you did was starting the tracking with the Connected GPS feature of the Charge 2, or with the Fitbit App. You can do it with both at the same time for the same exercise. That will give you two separate records of your exercise, with very similar information on steps, calories, but different information on distance and pace (as we've discussed, the one with Connected GPS is wrong, while the one from the Fitbit app is fine).
By the way, the A-GPS (Assisted GPS) just uses the cell towers data just for the initial positioning. But once the initial position is approximately determined, it uses the GPS satellites to fix its position. So both GPS and A-GPS base their location on satellites, but A-GPS can get the initial positioning very fast, usually in just a few seconds, while non assisted GPS can take sometimes more than a minute to fix. Nevertheless, this shouldn’t affect the Charge 2 Connected GPS feature: if you check the track in a map, its very accurate and clearly GPS based, the problem is that distance and pace are wrongly calculated.
02-22-2017 16:26
02-22-2017 16:26
My concern is that this issue is clearly not resolved but the "accepted solution" is to upgrade the firmware... there is no new firmware for my Charge 2 (most up-to-date). Why is this thread marked as "solved"?! Is FitBit not recognising this as a problem at all?
02-22-2017 16:42
02-22-2017 16:42
02-22-2017 16:50
02-22-2017 16:50
It's not solved. In the historical posts someone has ticked the firmware upgrade as a solution. Look at the post 17th October 2016.
This needs to be addressed by the Moderators...
02-23-2017 11:23
02-23-2017 11:23
Hi there - I'm having the same issue with a brand new Charge 2. It's firmware is up to date, and I just ran 9km, but it only tracked 6.73km - that's a fairly large difference! Can I at least edit the run? Was it a GPS issue? Please assist.
02-23-2017 12:37
02-23-2017 12:37
Hi @leelindalee,
I beleive there could be two reasons:
1. Your Charge 2 was not connected to the Phone GPS while running. To check that the Charge 2 is connected, a phone icon should appear in the Charge 2 during the run, and after the run you should see a map in the phone app with the rute you used.
2. The Charge 2 was properly connected to the Phone GPS, but you are experiencing the same issue as we all, where the distance and pace is incorrectly calculated. Its funny that the distance tracked is less than the real one. The problema is usually the opposite. It may be due to your location, where do you live?
Unfortunately you cannot edit the runs.
02-23-2017 13:56
02-23-2017 13:56
Here what I have found. I took a walk on Wednesday. I started the fitbit app up first. Then start the charge. At the top was the phone icon and it showed it was searching. I started walking. Then it buzzed me and it showed the phone icon with a check mark in the phone icon. Then it said push button to continue. I already had the other program. When I finished it was .01 off. That is the closet I have had it. I had as much as .10 off.
02-23-2017 14:47
02-23-2017 14:47
This is what you get when your phone is connected thru the fitbit app.
02-23-2017 15:09
02-23-2017 15:09
02-23-2017 18:15
02-23-2017 18:15
For Australian's looking for guidance on how to return the Charge 2 for a full refund.
ACCC - Consumer rights and obligations
ACCC - Proof of purchase (if you have lost your receipt)
Note, for major failures the supplier must offer a refund, major failures are defined as:
- The goods are unfit for their normal purpose or the purpose specified to the supplier and can't be fixed in a reasonable time
- A consumer would not have bought the goods had they known about the problem.
Note that company return and warranty policies do not overwrite consumer law.
I'm going to return mine to JB HiFi this weekend without a receipt, I have made print outs comparing routes between Strava and Fitbit as well as examples of problems identified on this forum.
For some reason this product still seems to be getting positive reviews on websites like Wearable, clearly the device does not consistently do what it claims to. If Fitbit are not going to acknowledge that there is a major problem while still selling it, its up to consumers to flag this on these sites.
The fact that the Charge2 is still on the shelves, and this issue is still marked as solved says a lot about Fitbits priorities.
02-24-2017 05:50
02-24-2017 05:50
Hi,
Just want to inform you all that I got the replay from Apple system engineers today regarding GPS accuracy problems with iPhone 7 for both the Apple app Maps and 3.party apps for tracking.
I have provided information based on their request regarding iphone7. Both system-log files and different positions documented with screen snap shots. These are tested many times so you can see the variation on the map documenting your position standing at the exact same street corner.
The phone has also been sent in for technical evaluation and possible repair but no parts are found faulty and replaced when I received it today.
THE REPLAY SAID THAT APPLE has received many complaints with iphone7 and GPS-accuracy issues related to 3.rd party tracking apps using GPS signals from iphone7. So I am far from being the only one reporting this at a global level. Apple does not know what is wrong but is investigating this and that a fix will be given in the future iOS update.
As I have written before the GPS tracking distance with both Fitbit Charge 2 sync and only the Fitbit App is within 1% deviation when I use iPhone 6+ (5,5") in Norway. I can live with that.
However, with iphone7 and Fitbit I can see variation between 10-50% more than the real distance due to wobbling at a very detailed level. So there is no point using Fitbit with iphone7 until Apple has fixed this GPS problem with the 3.party apps( probably their own Apple app Maps as well but Apple does not admit this).
02-24-2017 06:57
02-24-2017 06:57
This is not a solved issue. I bike to work most days. Every time is use Strava my ride is always 9.8 miles. If I use the fitbit app instead of Strava (and yes I start a bike ride on my Charge 2 and make sure it connect to the app) my distance varies widely. Sometimes its 7 miles, sometimes it 8.5, yesterday it was 0.4 miles! The problem must be within the app, not the watch. All the watch feeds to the app is HR I assume. I have the latest firmware. I have restarted my watch and my phone. Again, never had a problem with Strava or MapMyfitness, just FitBit.
02-24-2017 10:14
02-24-2017 10:14
Another test today.
Started Fitbit run from App on both phones iphone7 and iphone6plus(5,5").
True distance is about 3,2 km.
So you can see yourself the results.
I believe the problem is a combination of phone and App - how the GPS data is communicated from the phone to the app. Can it be that a pair of longitude and latitude data in the phone (1 record) are getting mixed when read by the Fitbit app so they not correspond? Longitude from 1 data point and latitude from the next data point? Then you would have a deviation in one direction while the other one is right.
02-24-2017 10:40
02-24-2017 10:40
Hi @Rollerskier,
I understand you were not using the Connected GPS feature, so it looks like the iPhone7 has other issues with GPS as you've pointed out in previous posts (on top on the Connected GPS problems). I'm using an IPhone 6s, and it does the job when I start tracking from the App. Actually when I go for a run, I turn on tracking from the App and from the Charge 2 (with connected GPS) at the same time. That way, I can get the pace/distance from the App using the cues every Km, and I get the heartbeat/time anytime by looking at the Charge 2. After the run and sync, the App shows the two records, so I delete the one started from the Charge 2 as it is always inaccurate in distance and pace, and I keep the record started from the App, which is fine.