Manually logging exercise reduced my step count

[DML100]

I manually logged a run on my app. It normally tracks but didn't this time. I had noticed my steps that day was roughly 13k but after putting in the exercise,  it reduced it to just over 10k ??? 

[Julia_G · Accepted solution]

Hi, @DML100 , if you log an activity manually it will overwrite the data that it detected during the same time period.  If you delete the manual log, your steps will be restored.

[Elapla]

I am sorry but this is not a feature but a bug! If Fitbit recorded some steps and calories and active minutes during a time frame, how can they be deleted or replaced after a user tells the app this was an activity? Today fitbit didn’t  autorecord my walk and if I add it manually I lose 36 active minutes, 3 km and almost 4000 steps and some calories. This means 4 goals not met. And it seems your solution is that users should not have Activity goals? Because adding them manually messes up all other data?! The steps were counted. I know, I was checking live! 

So please, what is the actual solution or when will one be provided?

[Endlesspath]

I have a similiar issue, in that although "Run" is supposed to be auto-recognized and entered, since 12 Apr 2019 it has not.   Even with the 1.6.39 update, the "run" auto recognize has erratically and rarely been entered. Strangely enough - steps, heart rate, floors, miles and minutes and related time are separately recorded; yet in track exercise, it shows nothing (auto recognize has walk and run set at 10+ minutes).

Something very buggy is going on now with the Charge 3 and autorecognition.

[Elapla]

I also didnt have this issues in the past. Both autorecognized and manually entry of excercises is off... I was hoping to get some resolution after an update today but no such luck...

[Elapla]

---

@Julia_G wrote:

Hi, @DML100 , if you log an activity manually it will overwrite the data that it detected during the same time period.  If you delete the manual log, your steps will be restored.

---

@Julia_G how does this answer qualify as a solution? When in fact it doesn’t  do what it was supposed too? Users want an excercise logged with actual data that was recorded. 

[Imrewired]

I am having the same issue and I agree this is a bug.  It makes absolutely no sense that logging exercise manually changes the total step count.

[Julia_G]

H, @Imrewired , this will only happen if you manually log an activity during the same time period that the Fitbit detects steps.  A amnual log takes precedence over the auto log - the program assumes that if you have made a manual log, then the Fitbit log must be in error, otherwise why would you make a manual log?  This is not a bug, just how it is designed.  You can always match your manual steps log to the auto steps log so the total count is not reduced.  Alternatively you can delete the manual log and leave the auto log if you feel it is more accurate.  Fitbit gives you that choice!

[DML100]

In my original post,  I manually logged a run because I wanted to see my heart rate. I wouldn't know how many steps I would have done as it's in blocks of 15 mins on the app. 

[rspringsgal]

Same problem here with walking. If I delete the manual log, then I show no exercise for today and that goal is not met. Even worse, it decided that I had taken 0 steps during my walk, so subtracted the steps during that time from the total. There is no place to fix the number of steps in the manual entry. This is a glitch. We are not amused. Please fix it.

[Hi_Dare]

I also feel like this is a bug, but I see a possible work around. When I record my activity in the log, next to where it asks for distance you can click the pull down menu to input step count instead. Thus if you can figure out how many steps you had in that time period, you can somewhat make it work, though you loose the minute by minute variation, and the calorie burn gets messed up. Theoretically you could fix the calorie burn the same way, but it doesn't seem to work the way it seems it should. Staircases stay the same and mileage gets fixed with the step count.

To do this, write down how many steps you had total for the day, then temporarily overwriting the data for that time period to see how many steps your daily total drops to, then subtract to get the difference which is how many steps you had during the time period, then delete the bad record and record it again with the proper step count. You can try this for calories, but I can't figure out how to get it to work properly.

For example:

Given: My daily step count is 9,481. I took a walk from 10:10 to 11:05 (55 minutes). My calorie burn for the day is 1,274.

Logging the activity manually, with an intensity of exercise walking, my daily step count drops to 4,086 and my calories to 1,071.

9,481 steps - 4,086 steps = 5,395 steps

1,297 cal - 1,071 cal =  226 calories burned

Raw stats

9,481 steps, 8 floors 3.89 miles 1,297 calories burned

Stats with initial Manuel Activity Entry Overwriting Data, set to exercise walking intensity.

4,086 steps, 8 floors 1.68 miles 1,071 calories burned

Stats with 5,395 Steps Added on Manuel Entry Overwriting Data

9,481 steps, 8 floors, 3.89 miles, 1,051 calories burned

Stats with 5,395 Steps AND 226 Calories Added on Manuel Entry Overwriting Data

9,481 steps, 8 floors, 3.89 miles, 1,138 calories burned

Note that the calories are still off. You could play with it till you got it to come out right, but this is also complicated by the fact that the calories burned is always changing.

[Hi_Dare]

I also feel like this is a bug, but I see a possible work around. When I record my activity in the log, next to where it asks for distance you can click the pull down menu to input step count instead. Thus if you can figure out how many steps you had in that time period, you can somewhat make it work, though you loose the minute by minute variation, and the calorie burn gets messed up. Theoretically you could fix the calorie burn the same way, but it doesn't seem to work the way it seems it should. Staircases stay the same and mileage gets fixed with the step count.

To do this, write down how many steps you had total for the day, then temporarily overwriting the data to get the lowered daily step total, then subtract to get the difference which is how many steps you took during the exercise, then delete the bad record and record it again with the proper step count. Theoretically it should also work for calories, but I can't get it to come out right.

For example:

Given: My daily step count is 9,481. I took a walk from 10:10 to 11:05 (55 minutes). My calorie burn for the day is 1,274.

Logging the activity manually, with an intensity of exercise walking, my daily step count drops to 4,086 and my calories to 1,071.

9,481 steps - 4,086 steps = 5,395 steps

1,297 cal - 1,071 cal =  226 calories burned

Raw stats

9,481 steps, 8 floors 3.89 miles 1,297 calories burned

Stats with initial Manuel Activity Entry Overwriting Data, set to exercise walking intensity.

4,086 steps, 8 floors 1.68 miles 1,071 calories burned

Stats with 5,395 Steps Added on Manuel Entry Overwriting Data

9,481 steps, 8 floors, 3.89 miles, 1,051 calories burned

Stats with 5,395 Steps AND 226 Calories Added on Manuel Entry Overwriting Data

9,481 steps, 8 floors, 3.89 miles, 1,138 calories burned

Note that the calories are still off. You could play with it till you got it to come out right, but this is also complicated by the fact that the calories burned is always changing.

[DML100]

I don't have a pull down menu on mine so would not work for me ☹

[AngyM888]

While this is messy, it works. I guess none of this is exact science, but the override on the manual activity is definitely buggy! Good suggestion, but I hope FitBit (Google) sees

that this is less than great.

[Cathy60]

I have a similar but opposite problem. When I log a run it adds 3k steps!

Really annoying.  It doesn't do it if I logg it as an activity I created myself so I have to use mywalk and myrun

[Vaneksa82]

Mine didn’t overwrite the data it deleted it completely. Auto recognize had 36 active mins but did not log my walk, I tried to update to 38 min walk and it deleted active mins to zero and deleted all the steps I logged. This is completely inaccurate data and clearly a bug. When will Fitbit be fixing?

[Julia_G]

Hi, @Vaneksa82 , this is simply how the system is designed.  If you manually log an activity the assumption is that you know better than what the device logged.  In that case your manual log will overwrite what was detected at the time.  You need to log the steps yourself for that time period.  Unfortunately, it is not possible at this time to log active minutes manually, so you will lose them for that time period.

Your steps and active minutes will not have been deleted entirely.  If you delete your manual log they will shop up again.

I hope this is clearer.  Welcome to the forums!

[Vaneksa82]

Your response is clear though not offering any new information nor solving the problem. Thanks for taking the time though.

[Bouxx]

Interesting as when I add manual activities it adds my heart rate (automatically) and my active minutes (automatically) it does not delete them despite it not being part of the manual activity log...

[HydeParkBooks]

My step count was not reduced Fitbit just failed to calulate my steps correctly I had 6000 steps before I entered the steps I had done while I wasnt wearing my Fitbit . It should have brought my step count to 7250 but it did not step count stayed stuck at 6000. This is at least the 2nd time theyve done it