Too many stairs

[2byoung]

I just upgraded from a Fitbit Charge 2 to a Charge 3.  With my charge 2, I averaged @10 floors a day for over 2 years. With my Charge 3 I climbed 62 floors today and the day is not over—my exercise routine has not changed, I live in the flat Midwest and not in the Rockies.  What is happening? Is there a fix!

[torygk]

Same problem I'm apparently climbing dozens of staircases each day while taking a walk

[Heather-S · Accepted solution]

@2byoung @torygk I'm not sure what the issue is, but my Charge 3 is definitely more sensitive to floors climbed than my other Fitbit devices.  Perhaps the altimeter location inside the Charge 3 lends itself to over-counting floors or perhaps it's too sensitive compared to other Fitbit devices.

Luckily, the floors metric doesn't add anything to your calories or steps, so it won't impact the rest of your stats.  I just count mine as extra badges for the floor and largely ignore the inflated floor counts.  

Happy Stepping!

Heather

[LinPay]

My Charger 3 is doing the same thing.  I noticed it gives me stairs when I walk outside.  Yesterday I didn't climb any stairs but walked outside and it gave me 20 stairs.  My walk was mostly flat, no real big slopes or hills.

[sko_tang]

@Heather-S  I don’t think we should try to second guess what’s leading to the erroneous and erratic floor counts of Charge 3.  It has been reported in too many threads. Some moderators have suggested possible causes as air pressure changes, wind, etc. which everyone knows cannot possibly explain the whole truth. 

From my experience I know indoor floor counts are fairly accurate. Outdoor activities result in wildly inaccurate counts usually in the high side. 

I have already earned ridiculous badges for floors I have not climbed. Even if this stat does not mess up the calories count, it is still a constant eyesore that the problem has not been fixed for months. I know I can hide the tile but that does not solve the fundamental problem of Fitbit does not come clean and just admit “We have a problem with the altimeter in Charge 3.”

Many users, me included, bought the Charge 3 at least in part for the floor counts. Would I have bought it without the advertised floor counts?  Probably not.  Would I buy another Fitbit when the company is clearly dodging the issue and refusing to come up with any sensible remedy?  Probably not. 

Perhaps it is impossible at this stage to correct the design flaw or the algorithm with a software and firmware update (which I stopped doing when I read all the horror stories of units being bricked and became non-workable), but we need an official statement to this effect. 

Users accept the fact sometimes there are design issues that cannot be fixed.  Give us the proper tool to correct that: changing the corresponding time to driving to negate floor counts is ridiculous.  Make a sincere statement so that users may have some faith in a future purchase. 

[2byoung]

I agree totally. My question is this: does anyone get an accurate floor count using charge 3? If not, then I will send my charge 3 back for a full refund and go back to using my charge 2.

[sko_tang]

Hmm, it seems a post I made in the last couple of hours on this very Charge 3 floor counts / altimeter issue topic has disappeared.   I will try to think of it removed by accident rather than on purpose as there was not even a notice saying "your post has been removed due to . . . "

If someone wants users comments stifled they should not have a community forum to start with.  And there certainly is no reason to stay now.

Anyhow, if my comments offended anyone personally, it was not my intention and I apologize.  Goodbye.

[Annegla]

Is that true?  Flights of stairs don’t add to you calorie count?

 I’ve been so upset with my charge 3. It registers 100+ flights of stairs a day when maybe I do 10.  I’ve used my Fitbit in the past to count calories and loose weight.  I assumed the stairs showed up as additional calories.  

I've done the reboot of the Fitbit on the charger with no success.  Is there something I can clean or dry out?