Inaccurate Distance Tracking when Cycling

[HarryJ87]

When tracking my cycle rides with GPS the distance is no where near accurate, can be off up to 30-50%. I've tried all the fixes in help forums such as turning on /off, uninstall and reinstalling app, hard reset of fitbit device, reconnecting Bluetooth etc

My GPS is high accuracy, not using WiFi, nothing is blocking signal on my route... Google maps logs a very accurate route and distance of my location so my phone tracking must be OK, however on fitbit the distance is totally wrong, but the route it shows on the map is correct.

Tried using with "always connected" either on or off, and "all day sync" either on or off, doesn't fix either way. 

Close to giving up and returning it for another brand of tracker, please help!!

[SunsetRunner]

Having the same issue going to give up and go for a garmin

[SunsetRunner]

I'm in the same boat, except mine won't even hold the gps signal. I end up with crazy routes and mileage. Today we rode 21 miles and my Fitbit said 2.39. I'm so frustrated. Never had these problems with a Garmin I had. I'm chatting with them now. If I don't get satisfaction, I'm going to ditch it and go back to a Garmin.

[SunsetRunner]

I'm in the same boat, except mine won't even hold the GPS signal. I end up with crazy routes and mileage. Today we rode 21 miles and my Fitbit said 2.39. I'm so frustrated. Never had these problems with a Garmin I had. I'm chatting with them now. If I don't get satisfaction, I'm going to ditch it and go back to a Garmin.

[HarryJ87]

Since I tried to follow fitbit troubleshooting.. Ie forgetting and readding device and uninstalling and reinstalling app etc... Now it won't maintain reliable connection to the phone/GPS either 🙄 keeps switching between saying "connecting" might connect for a second then go straight back to "connecting"...

[SunsetRunner]

It's just pants isn't it

[HarryJ87]

Currently trying to chat with tech support on twitter... Hoping they have a miracle solution. I certainly won't be recommending them if not 😂. Unfortunately mine was a gift, so the best I could hope for is to return as faulty and try a new device, but by the sound of this chat it's likely to be the same problems... We'll see

[HarryJ87]

The official response from Fitbit support... 

Thanks for getting back. We’re aware of it, but may not be able to provide a fix in the immediate future. We'll continue to monitor the situation, and keep our team informed of the impact to you and other customers. We understand that this isn't the resolution you're hoping for, but rest assured we're always working to improve our products.

We're sorry for any trouble. We appreciate your patience and look forward to getting you back on track. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

... Oh well ☹️

[indianwin2001]

Great help huh?

[SunsetRunner]

My official response back to Fitbit...

How do I return this (nice looking) piece of junk and get my money back so I can purchase a device from Garmin....who KNOWS how to design and build a true fitness tracker. 

[HarryJ87]

This is an old thread now, but as a last post before accepting partial defeat... I have found a couple of ways to get rides tracked that may be of some use to the others finding difficulty ...

Firstly, the issue of distance tracking arises when setting my fitbit device on my wrist to track excercise... However, if I go to the fitbit app and track excercise from there it seems to give accurate distance. It only gives you the option of tracking run/walk/hike so I set it to track run, then went out on my bike... At the same time I tried using my device to track bike in the usual way... When I got home, the distance the device tracked was wrong but the distance the app tracked was correct.

Alternatively I downloaded the app Endomondo from the app store which tracks cycling and this syncs to fitbit account, however this app doesn't put your GPS map on your fitbit account

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks good post. I gave up and got a garmin 245. Amazing watch no hassle. Fairwell fitbit connected GPS is the way to go. 

[SunsetRunner]

Thanks for the tip. I’ve decided to bag the Fitbit and go back to a Garmin. ☹️

[mt1868]

I have this exact problem as well. Glad to see fitbit cares and has worked to resolve this issue.

[Sadie_f]

Not as bad as some report but only 1 ride and 7% error in distance is till dumb (and climbing stats were off by factor of 2+ ??!). Over 10+ years I've used bike computer, polar HR watch, tried and dumped MMR (awful web interface back when it was new) and Strava (how much macho can you pack into an exercise app?).

However I'm not gonna jump to the Garmin or whatever. MMR as an app is accurate at least, and relatively low maintenance, I can run it alongside fb and fb still looks best to me for small form factor, battery life, decent sleep tracking etc.

I'm disappointed to feel so underwhelmed by this product, however it's serving the purpose well enough. My distance measurements by all other methods have been good to 1%. Climbing tracking variable according to whether my baro-altimeter vs GPS, however each was always consistent within it's basic limits.

Dear Fitbit, there's no excuse for being so sloppy on the core measurements while spinning cycles on frivolous and equally flawed features. Do better please.

[SJM-NJ]

Same problem here and from what I can see people have been complaining about this exact issue sine at least 2017.  In my case, today was a 23 mile ride, FitBit recorded it as 10 miles so off by over 50%.  Also, my pace was about 15 mph, but Fitbit calculated it as 5.3 mph because of the mileage discrepancy.  The crazy thing is that the map is exactly right.  Really disappointing situation!