My Charge 2 is tracking floors when I didn't climb any

[katmomma]

My Charge 2 says I have climbed 13 sets of stairs today when I have not climbed any. What's going on?

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity 

[WendyB · Accepted solution]

Welcome to the forums!

It will count floors when its windy or cold. It does not add calorie burn. So I just ignore the extra floors

Hope to see you around!

[Garlicgoddess]

Without getting too technical, can someone explain why windy or cold conditions would cause the Charge 2 to think there are more stairs? Also, is there a way to "fake out" the system if your flight of stairs does not meet the 10 foot or approx. 17 stair limit? I make MANY trips up and down from my basement every day, it does not meet the minimum requirement. Yep I'm working my ***** off doing it :).

Thank you!!!

[atlantis4569]

I just got my fitbit today and I have to tell you that I'm pretty irritated by this. I've had it hooked up and synced for just a few hours now and it says that I earned a badge where I climbed 10 floors.(!?!) For a fitness tracker I would say that this is unacceptable. I can rely on my gear S2 smartwatch to be more accurate than this. This issue needs to be fixed ASAP.  And I wouldn't say that this issue is solved because it's NOT.

[Ppordengal]

Why is ignoring the problem an acceptable solution. My watch counted 70 floors climbed a few days ago and 40 today. It’s neither windy or cold inside my house. If “ignore it” is the best answer you’ve got why are you on here?

[atlantis4569]

Exactly! I'm STILL irritated with this and the fact that they say this issue is "solved". Just WOW.

[Rich_Laue]

Sorry @atlantis4569 the OP marked it as solved, if the solution did not help you then why post in a solved thread only to complain it is not solved. 

Have you restarted your Charge 2 - 3 times, or setup the Charge 2 as a replacement device? Both these steps have been marked as a solution in other threads. 

It could also be that the pin hole is clogged. 

It might however require reaching out to Fitbit support. Link found under help in both the web and app, along with in the upper right corner of this page. 

[atlantis4569]

No need to get testy or nasty.  At the time when I searched for this problem, this post was the only one that came up for me. 

As for your suggestions, I'll try them, even though I shouldn't have to. Fitbit should have already fixed this issue a long time ago without me having to do anything to my device. Especially since I'm not the only one with this problem.

At this point I've resorted to using my other smart watch, so I'm at the point to where I just don't care much about it anymore. I just know I'll never buy another one.

Good day.

[Rich_Laue]

not getting nasty, simply pointing out that it only counts up stairs, not downstairs. I noticed that going down 10 feet was mentioned. 

As for as counting stairs, this is based on barametric pressure. Yes the science is sound in ideal conditions, and is the way airplanes measure altitude. However 10 feet is a very small change in pressure and may be fooled easily. Even in airplanes during a single flight the alt insure may need ew calibration several times. 

[rockpool]

The other day my Charge 2 claimed that I had climbed 38 stairs, whereas I had done 6 or 8 at the most. I had been working hard in the garden for several hours (flat with no elevation) and gone for a 40 minute (flat) walk, and normally this shouldn't impact on barometric measurements, should it? So what's going on here? It's true that it was rather windy that day, but nothing out of the ordinary. 

When something like this happens as a one off (usually the recording is correct), is it possible to change the number of stairs manually?

[Rich_Laue]

Have you ever opened one window in a car while it was moving? Do you remember that pulsating noise. With every pulse the pressure in the car changes .

A windy day, if the watch is on the leased side of the arm. it will be in a sight pressure reduced area .

Even having a win do cracked open in the home as the winds below by. We can also add water heaters and furnaces to the list of items that will cause a reduction in air pressure and in a house 

What I'm saying is that tgetchange in air pressure needed to produce a stair cointcis very, very small, yes it is not hard for false steps to be countedc

[rockpool]

Thanks for the explanation, Rich, what you say makes sense.

I conclude that the stairs count works best indoors, away from furnaces and water heaters, which is where I most often climb stairs anyway, so it is not really a big deal. But since the stairs count is erratic when the Fitbit is used outside on a windy day, does anyone know if it is possible to change the recording manually when the stair count freaks out?

[md72272]

Another person rattling off some information from an online manual. Useless help from a useless forum for a useless piece of equipment.

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[Rich_Laue]

I'm not sure who the other person is @md72272 but if a user buys a Fitbit to help them get off the couch, and it has been doing this, then it is not useless.

Now considering that the floor count has never been used in any calculations and is only displayed, to encourage or annoy the user, I would simply remove it from the Charge 2 display.

My response above was not based on the manual or fitbits help docs, but was based on knowing how atmospheric pressure changes over the course of the day. Along with knowing a little bit about how air flows around objects.

Ever wonder how the back of a car or truck gets so dirty? As a vehicle drives down the road, there is a low pressure area behind it. It is the same when air blows around an arm. If your tracker is in this low pressure .... 

Oh you say the change can not be that much? Put your finger vertically close to a candle flame, then blow on the finger, the resulting drop in air pressure along with the resulting turbulalance behind the finger can put the flame out. 

[md72272]

Folks who recite manual information rather than helpful facts do not help do anything except pad their stats.  Rich_Laue is one such individual.  Why even come on the community if you do not intend to be helpful?

[Rich_Laue]

Another person rattling off some information from an online manual. Who hasn't learned out how to properly tag someone @md72272

The big problem I see is that the only solution really is to disable floor counting.

Even commercial airplanes experience what you are complaining about, yet it is still the best technology for measuring altitude that man has developed.

FYI this and my last two posts where not based on anything posted on this community or the Fitbit help pages. I grew up when people actually resoned, questiined each other using their thought process. 

I was wrong 6 of your 9 posts essentially the same without any rhetoric

[LesE]

My charge2 is registering floors 20-30 at a time when I haven’t climbed any. Just started yesterday. It logged 175 yesterday. I didn’t actually climb those. Any suggestions?

[LesE]

My chage 2 is behaving similarly. Logged 175 floors today. I didn’t climb any!

[Rich_Laue]

What was the environment like @LesE was it windy or an appealing storm?

[LesE]

I may have stumbled on to a fix for  the multiple erroneous floors logged issue. I seem to remember someone mentioning a small hole on the back of charge 2. The floor count is supposedly monitored by barometric pressure. The hole is on the back, the buckle end of the tracker, opposite side from the mode push button. That hole was blocked by debris, lint, body oil, whatever. Clearing that seems to have fixed the problem.