Elliptical stats are wrong

[Mannyrunner]

I just got my Fitbit last week and I am new to it but it seems to be tracking my running activities very well. I used it for the first while using an Elliptical and was very disappointed with the results. The Elliptical itself measures distance and calculates a calorie burn and although the Fitbit should calculate calorie burn better the distance is so far off. On the Elliptical I went 4.4 miles in 40 minutes but the Fitbit only measured 1.65 miles. Nowhere close. Could I be doing something wrong? There doesn't seem to be anyway to edit it either.

[nfisher16]

What I found personally — (though still would like a more direct way to edit) is that if you manually enter or track or it auto detects an elliptical workout with charge 2 or 3 and then you manually add a “walk” workout during that same time of the distance you went (if the elliptical you are using has that info etc) it will readjust the elliptical workout as well to match the distance of the walking workout and adjust your steps accordingly to what they “should” be roughly...this is typically what I do...it is a little annoying but it seems to work and is the best way to compensate the situation so far I’ve found!

[shsriz]

one must also consider the fact that ellipticals have difficulty levels which surely the fitbit cannot track e.g calories burned at level 1 on elliptical can not be the same as at level 10. Secondly i use elliptical regularly for approx 35 mins but the calories burned shown on my fitbit is different everyday, yet the machine which supposedly tracks it much better is showing approx the same data in terms of calories, distance etc. Finally on the issue of counting steps it should count, since the movement is some what similar to jogging on a motorized treadmill, which is also counted

[Nadir_k]

Ill try to take a stab at this one. I have the inspire HR and I'm sure that its giving me a general estimation of my Elliptical stats. 

An Elliptical is like a bicycle, the distance covered is calculated based on how heavy the gear (in this case Load) is and not just how many cycles, strides you take. 

The fit bit has no way of knowing the intensity of the work out and the weight selected so don't expect it to magically know the distance covered. I do agree that its messes up the stats as the calories on my fit bit are under reported and probably calculated based on the steps/strides. Hope this makes sense.  

[greentea777]

Thanks!

good news I am getting it in! 👍

[jbl101abn]

I've been taking the band off my wrist and hooking it to one of the elliptical bars during my workout. It counts steps accurately that way, however, not sure if it knows you are "working out".