Over counting steps

[Leebee50]

Hi, so like others, my charge 2 is over counting, I've a small property and it's not 45 steps from bedroom to bathroom and I don't walk in my sleep, this morning I've woken to 168 steps! Mmmm something isn't right.
I bought the charge 2 yesterday, noticed before bed the steps were inaccurate, put it down to it 'getting used to my movements'. I've set it up as people have advised, less dominant hand, stride length etc.
Please can someone tell me if I've missed something, should I return it, was it a waste of money?
I know people that wear Fitbit and other brands and seem very happy, sadly I'm not and really like the concept of challenging myself, as I'm not confident to join a gym, but sure need to get fit.
Any advice much appreciated and thank you in advance.
Lee (soon to be fitlee I hope x)

Moderator Edit: Edited thread title.

[Julia_G]

@Azdebbie, it sounds like your timezone might have gone wrong.  You can check this on your app under account settings --> advanced settings.

[Azdebbie]

Oh yeah, I didn't even think of that, thanks for your info. Also another question, my steps are never accurate? I know I don't have 400 steps before I leave the house?? Also I hear that when you drive it tracks? Someone said to set your handiness different?

Sent from my iPad

[Bigmark]

Changing handiness settings for driving lol.

Do you drive on the left or right? Auto or Manual gear box. Power steering? Rough tracks bouncing around or a smooth fast road? Long trips or school runs?

Handiness won't change this massive over counting error.

Kind regards
Mark Jones

[Julia_G]

Fitbits are designed for averages.  For every post you point to that says Fitbit is over counting, I can find you one that says it is under counting.

I used to worry a lot that my Charge HR was over counting, because I noticed that I got  "steps" when I was introduced to people, when I spoke animatedly (I do tend to wave my hands around when I talk...), when I folded laundry.

I got so worried about it that I actually bought a Fitbit One (which is worn on yoyr body, so doesn't have the same issues as wrist worn trackers).  The Fitbit One was recently rated as one of the most accurate pedometers on the market by the Journal of American Medicine, so I felt pretty sure it would give me the "true" idea of my steps.

I set my One up with a different email address and wore both my One and my Charge HR together for a couple of weeks.

The results surprised me.  Although it is true that I sometimes got false hand steps from my Charge HR, it also turned out it missed some of my real steps, and the interesting fact was that over a week, the results were really close, and over a month, almost identical..  Furthermore, the more active I was, the more accurate my wrist tracker was.. 

So yes, if I sat around on the sofa all day and did nothing but eat pizza and drink beer, my "steps" weren't very accurate.  100 false steps in a 1000 step day is a 10 percent error.  100 false steps day in a 10,000 step day -- what is recommended -- is only a 1 percent error.  Big difference.

Having said all that, for most people I would recommend wearing your wrist tracker on your non dominant hand, and, if it seems to be counting too many false steps, change the setting to dominant.  So, for example, if you are right handed wear it on your left hand but tell the program you are left handed.

My other advice is to get up and move.  The more steps you take, the more accurate your step count will be!

[Azdebbie]

So what do I do?? I drive with my right hand and I wear my Fitbit on my left. I do go down a dirt road for not even a mile?

Sent from my iPad

[Bigmark]

I agree with you Julia regarding the error becoming negligible the more genuine exercise you do. I can't fault that.

Kind regards
Mark Jones

[SunsetRunner]

If it were only 100 or so steps then I would agree too but its not, it's thousands.

The non-dominant hand part doesn't work in my view for an average joe like me. I wear my normal watch on my non-dominant hand as I guess most people do. It's interesting that others report other manufacturers being more accurate. My take is that fitbit need to improve their algorithms and firmware. The kit itself is ok but the software needs to improve.

Keith Alderton
Sent from my iPad

[Bigmark]

Agreed.

As much as I take part in this over counting thread I still charge it and wear it and link it to my phone to see if my heart is still beating. And my non dominant hand is for my real watch. I gesture with both hands.

Anyway It's a great annoying alarm clock.

Also 18 months back I had a phone call that my recently separated wife and mother of my three sons had just had a brain aneurysm whilst teaching Yoga! Yes as fit asa flea.

Hours later when she was stable (fine now) I synced my HR Charge and despite me not hitting the gym my heartbeat had earlier peaked to beyond anything I've done in the past at the Gym or out running. So that part does work.

I think the firmware needs to actually say 'hey I can't work accurately because you're not working at all' and not count any steps until a 1000 within 30 minutes has registered.

Kind regards
Mark Jones

[Tuf5ty]

I have no issues with mine apart from when I am driving. Would be good to be able to turn it off and turn it on again when I am done. Just something simple. taking it off my wrist doesnt do that. It still picks up the movement of the car.


Its good to get your view Julia and I agree that over time it does average out.


I am new to Fitbit and wasn't sure even there was a way to do it.


Thanks.


Sent from Outlook

[Azdebbie]

Thanks for all the feedback! So my tracker is set to Phoenix time zone, my Fitbit is resetting during the day? I am also still unclear about how to set my handiness. Just trying to avoid so many over counted steps? Just a simple explanation please:)

Sent from my iPad

[MummyT]

I'm completely new to fitbit, I literally only purchased the sleek looking Alta yesterday after my Jawbone up24 band died.. now the Jawbone was pretty darn accurate in that it wasn't too sensitive and therefore didn't record hairdryers or brushing teeth - if I wanted to cheat with it for some reason, I had to REALLY swing it.

I'm finding the Alta soooo sensitive it's ridiculous, it's telling me I've exceeded 10k steps today but I know my actual steps are likely to be less than 5k. I've got it on my dominant wrist (as I wore my jawbone) as my 'non-dominant' wrist isn't an option..

Will the Alta settle down or is there a way I can make it less sensitive while it's on my dominant wrist?

I appreciate NO wrist worn trackers will be 100% but to be K's off is ridiculous!? I'm also trying to tell myself that it's not all about steps but general movement too (all movement is healthy right!), but I'd still like a better idea of my daily steps, otherwise what's the point in having it!

TIA!

[SunsetRunner]

Totally agree. I'm happy with the Fitbit One worn on the waist but Fitbit seem to have the wrist worn ones all wrong.

Sent from my iPhone

[saxonpaul92]

Honestly, this is an easy fix. I am not sure why fitbit is dragging their
heels on this one. The short term fix would be to hard-code a sensitivity
variable to "tighten" up the "banging" of the accelerometers. The long
term they should provide a sensitivity setting that will allow the end-user
the ability to adjust the settings to meet their individual experience.

It's obvious that they know there is an issue because their fix (temporary,
I hope) is to use it on your non-dominant hand and select the "Worn on"
option to the same wrist.

Unfortunately, it does tighten up number of steps but, it is still too
sensitive and in my case the auto-turn on to check the time no longer
works. Now I have to double tap if I want the display to turn on.

Overall I like the product but, it could be better with a simple firmware
update.

[MummyT]

I've got my husband's Up Move on today, clipped on my ankle.. at 10:30am the Alta was showing I'd done 2522 steps whereas the Move was showing 718. I expect a difference due to hand movements but that's a massive difference! 

[Profe550r]

I've had two Fitbits before upgrading to a Charge 2.  The information from the ChargeHR transferred automatically to the Charge 2.  Great!  The HR was pretty accurate in counting steps.  The Charge 2 under counts them by 20 to 25 out of 100.  Help, please.

[Rich_Laue]

@Profe550r wjen you say it undercounts 20-25 out of a hundred, is it every hundred or just the first hundred? Mine misses 10-15 steps in the first hundred, if i count off 500 or 1000 stepst it is still only 10-15 steps lost. I can live with this, but have brought ot tp the attention of Fitbit.

[MummyT]

I spoke to support via Twitter about the Alta over-counting by thousands, they advised me to restart the band. I found my old jawbone up24 band and have been wearing that alongside the Alta for the last few days and can now say I'm a happy bunny! I always found the Jawbone pretty reliable and after comparing the stats for the last few days I can now say the Alta is good enough. Yesterday my jawbone was showing 5258 steps vs the Alta showing 5361. I personally can live with that difference as I expect there's always going to be a difference between bands! Happy with my purchase again now!

[Profe550r]

Thank you. It does seem to be just the first 100. Hopefully Fitbit will
find a solution.

[Fat_Belly]

Hi - same problem, but had already correctly set right handed and worn wrist etc. I get th the fact that the HR Charge 2 may overcount due to wrist movement (e.g. washing dishes etc) but sometimes it's WWWAAAY over! Eg. iPhone 6 correctly shows about 2000 steps and Fitbit shows 6 or 7000 sometimes higher...when I know I've had a very sedentary day. They are linked and synced...don't they 'compare' and agree..?

[Profe550r]

Thanks for trying to help, but my problem with the Charge 2 Fitbit I just
brought is *UNDER* counting, not over counting. If I count 100 steps
myself as I walk and then look at the Fitbit, it will generally read
between 70 and 80 steps. I'm about ready to just make myself walk farther
than should be necessary to arrive at my 10,000 step goal. That's good for
me, but I can't help feeling a bit cheated.
Pr0fe550r