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Step counting is getting less accurate

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‎10-29-2018 12:19 - last edited on ‎09-08-2020 18:22 by Fitbit Moderator

‎10-29-2018 12:19 - last edited on ‎09-08-2020 18:22 by Fitbit Moderator

I have had a Fitbit for a few years now. I started with the Flex. I then moved on to a Charge HR. Instead of dots, I could actually see the count go up as I walked. I really liked that as every time I checked the steps were increasing in perfect sync with my steps. I then move up to a Charge 2 - the band on the Charge HR was doing what it always does... bubbling up and pulling away.

I had the Charge 2 for about a year and a half when I bumped the device while working on a vehicle - the screen went blank. It still counted, but I did not want to have to look at the app on my phone to see any notifications or where my step count was at. By this point, however, I had already noticed that my step count was very slowly declining despite knowing that my average daily steps were increasing. I ended up purchasing another Charge 2. I was a bit chagrined to see the release notification of the Charge 3 about two weeks after I had received my new Charge 2. Anyways, I continued to notice that my daily counted steps continued to gradually decline.

By now I am fairly certain that the issue is not a faulty Fitbit device but rather the software on it. I no longer can watch my steps increase in perfect sync with my actual step. In one particular example I stopped to check where I was at - 9,998 steps. Great! I started walking and counting making sure to take good strides and slightly exaggerating my arm swing. I counted over two hundred steps before I received the 10,000 step notification. After clearing the display of the rockets and fireworks, I looked at the step count. I had 10,015 steps. Really?

Fitbit, you need to fix this. If you can not make these more accurate, I will expect my money back and I will use the money to purchase a better, more accurate competitor product.

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6 REPLIES 6

‎10-29-2018 12:50

‎10-29-2018 12:50

I am having the same issue.  I have to walk at least 20steps before it begins counting and then not accurate

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‎10-30-2018 07:13

‎10-30-2018 07:13

I am having the same issue which is why I am checking out the forums.  I have yet to see anything that can help me to determine what the problem is or how to fix it.  This is extremely frustrating - especially when you join a challenge and you know your steps should be way more than what is syncing to the app.  I've had my Charge 2 for almost a year and a half and it started missing steps around the one year mark.  So..........does FitBit have anything they can tell us as to how this can be fixed?

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‎11-01-2018 06:56

‎11-01-2018 06:56

Yesterday morning I finally found a Customer Support Link. At the very bottom of my Dashboard page there is a link called "Return Policy and Warranty". It is in small print of course. Then, on that page you may have to scroll just a bit to see the line with a link that says:

 

Still have questions about your return? Contact customer service here.

 

I clicked on that and and got to the "Get Support" page. One of the links was Live Chat, so I started it. I have to say the response time was excellent. The first thing they had me do was connect my Charge 2 to the charger and restart it. Then I did a step test of approximately 100 steps. I was told to walk 100 steps and count each step. I then checked the Charge 2 to see if the new total was my count plus the starting steps. It matched perfectly. The service rep said to count my steps for the day and see if it stays accurate. I can not focus on counting my steps while I am working. That is not realistic at all.

 

The problem I have with this is that the issued with step counting for me appears to occur once I get past the initial 2 or 3 thousand steps. Of course, I can not know exactly where it starts. I just know that my steps are not being accurately counted when my count gets closer to 10,000 steps.

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‎11-01-2018 19:32

‎11-01-2018 19:32

I have also been having the same problem with it, since I received my charge 2 as a birthday present 10 months ago, please release a software update or something to fix it.

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‎11-06-2018 00:47

‎11-06-2018 00:47

I’m HAVING SAME ISSUE...Driving me crazy...And agree with some of other comments, seems like after a few thousand steps, the count becomes less and less accurate...I’ve  tried everything...cleaned it, reset it, unpaired...I’m constantly, syncing it, which sometimes solves the problem for a minute or two, but then it’s right back to only counting a small fraction of the actual steps I’m takin....And I swear, PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE GETTING WORSE and WORSE...FITBIT PLEASE HELP

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‎01-28-2019 20:03

‎01-28-2019 20:03

I have the same issue, started just a couple of weeks ago. I’ve had the Charge 2 for over two years and it was pretty accurate and consistent. 

I noticed it was undercounting steps by about 15%, so today I found my old Omron step counter, which only counted steps, nothing else. So I walked for 45 minutes, the Omron registered 6308 steps, while fitbit registered 5051 steps. That’s a pretty big difference, fitbit is counting about 20% less than the Omron.

When I walk on the treadmill, 4 miles always registered about 7700 steps, now it’s registering about 5600. Nothing at home or with me have changed. My thought is that something happened to the fitbit. It’s frustrating that others have the same problem, and we do not receive any intelligent solutions. 

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