Treadmill accuracy issues

[MassDAD]

I have been using my Fitbit Charge HR for a couple of weeks now, and while I am finding so many aspects beneficial I have been encountering issues with accuracy regarding treadmill workouts.

Both step count and mileage in grossly under reported by my Fitbit, for instance today I did 3.83 miles of inclined walking and my Fitbit only recorded 5,608 steps and 2.4 miles.  I do not hold on to the rails at any point in my workouts and my arms swing naturally.  Every workout I've had on the treadmill I have had to delete the entry and manually enter the correct distance values, which then updates the step count.  It is winter in new England and not many brave souls are out logging miles in freezing conditions, I use my treadmill daily for workouts.

However, now I do not get credit for my manually enetered steps for daily challenges or badges.  

How can this Fitbit be so innacurate on both distance and step count on one of the most common methods of excercise?

[SantiR · Accepted solution]

Hello everyone! Thanks for sharing your experience with the Community. Your feedback is truly appreciated.

If you haven't done so already, please perform a restart on your Charge HR. This is always helpful.

Also, to better accuracy, it is always good to measure and adjust your stride length manually. Another thing you can try is checking the dominant Hand setting. That should certainly help with step count accuracy.

Now, if you are doing a treadmill activity, you should try to manually log that activity. This option provides accurate data too. Note that manually logged activities will not count towards challenges or leaderboards.

Additionally, if you are getting extra floors climbed; it could be happening because of pressure changes caused by thing like a gust of wind, a weather change, or opening a door. If your Fitbit device is not being affected by any of this, please perform a restart and check if that continues to happen. 

For more details, check this helpful article about Fitbit devices accuracy.

Hope this helps. See you around! 

[debby24]

I use a tread mill and elliptical most days and would like days. Due to balance issues I have to hold on to steady myself so the fitbit cannot use arm swing to assist in in collecting data. Can it still county steps?

[Rich_Laue]

@debby24 you may want to place the tracker into a pocket. No heart rate will be measured. Or try moving it further up the arm the further up the better chance it will count steps. 

[dgk53]

I wouldn't call that a solution.  I'd call that that an acknowledgment of a problem.  For whatever reason, the Fitbit cannot keep an accurate account of steps when the person is on a treadmill.  I don't know if other devices have the same issue, but this is something that one obviously needs to adjust for.  I'm okay with that, unless I find a more accurate device.  But no, this is not a solution.

[Bbgun007]

If you think miscounting steps on the treadmill is bad take a look at how many flights of stairs your Fitbit says you climb. My Fitbit is so inaccurate it is a joke. When a friend ask me about my Fitbit I told them to buy a Garmin.

[Rich_Laue]

@dgk53 devices like the Fitbit Zip or One are designed robe mounted on the core of the persons body and is not affected by holding on to the rails of a treadmill. Doing a search of the web I haven't found any arm based tracker that is not affected when holding on to the rails or a cart/pusher/stroller. Is it a defect in the tracker, or simply the fact that holding on to a fixed object prohibits the arm from moving? 

Personally I think it is a ridiculous idea of trying to count feet movements by looking at Beyond movements. I've been pleasantly surprised at how well Fitbit has managed to get as accurate a count as they do. 

BTW holding on may decrease caloric burn up to 40%, risk repetitive knee injury, as well as unteach the body how to balance. Just to name a few. 

@Bbgun007 when it comes to floor counting .since this is determined by atmospheric pressure, just as they still use in airplanes. Even in airplanes there is inconsistencies and the gauge needs to be calibrated several times during a flight. This is simply because nature does not keep the atmospheric pressure steady. 

An airplane is dealing with altitude changes in 100's of feet, not a 10 foot change where the weight ichange s equivalent to a square inch piece of paper. Pease do not search the web, for the terms "Garmon AND stair" you will find plenty of complaints since like Fitbit it is a problem with atmospheric pressire 

[debby24]

Yes, I understand that holding on is not ideal, but I have balance and visual issues, so if someone or something crosses my visual field when I' not prepared for it, I am likely to spin out of control and fall in the direction of observed or perceived movement.  Even without the visual issue, even walking with an even arm swing I'll drift to one side. So holding on is a safety issue, which is why I don't often try to get cardio workouts outdoors walking. I want so badly to improve and get my life back that I feel like if I don't monitor increasing each day then or at least weekly then I'll never make my goals. So maybe I'm reach at straws as the expression goes. Thanks for the sound advise.

[Bbgun007]

Just measure your minutes of active walking and don't worry about the number of steps.  Your Fitbit can accurately count minutes on a treadmill regardless of your hand position.  I know this makes it a very expensive stopwatch but it will give you a way to accurately mark your progress.

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[alydiacook]

Why is this put as an answered solution... Its not a solution at all when you buy a fitbit to be challenged and yet can't do any of the challenges or win badges.

I have a toddler & my only option is to jog on the treadmill I moved into my living room only to learn I wasted my money on this watch..

Also when you select treadmill why doesnt it allow you to add incline?

[Westcoastannie]

Put it on your ankle and it will work. You can buy an extended if you need it. 

[Rich_Laue]

I'm not sure what the prom Ken your having @alydiacook? 

Is it with step counting or distance? 

Are you still holding on to the support rails, reducing caloric burn up to 60%, possibly causing repetitive knee injury, also in teaching your body how to balance. 

There is no positives, only negatives to holding onto the support railings. 

When a user let's go of the railings the fitbitFhas no problems detecting steps. 

HoseverHi may also add that this is a problem with every arm based step tracker on the market. simply because they look at arm motions. 

Why post in an already solved thread and then complain it is not solved. To understand why the post was marked solved by the origanal poster a person must read the original post and the solution. IvnoringIthe fact that since then this thread has been hijacked .of course the solution to the now unrelated tgread will not pertain. 

Sometimes the solution is not about how to make it work, but about why it is not going to work the way the user wants it to. 

[Bbgun007]

You got sold a lie the same way I was sold a lie.

[Bbgun007]

Many of us just want the Fitbit to do what it is advertised to do. That's all we're asking. To explain to us that the Fitbit cannot do what it it has been advertised to do is an admission of false advertising. When My Friends Ask me about my Fitbit I tell them to buy a Garmond.

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[Rich_Laue]

Sorry @Bbgun007 Garmin being an arm based tracking device has the same problems. Just follow the link. 

The only type of step counter that will accurately count steps is one that attaches to the leg or the core of the body .

Or simply keep your hands off of the rails. You will do your body a big favor. 

[MawMawJ2]

I agree with the stairs issue. Each time a walk the same two hills, Fitbit counts it differently. Some days it'll only count as one, some days two, and some three. It's only two hills. I figured it has to do with how I'm walking. They're fairly close together, so if I'm walking briskly Fitbit might miss the short area where it levels out and count it as one continuous hill. Likewise, if I stop midway on a hill (like when my dog has to stop and sniff everything) and start again, Fitbit may be counting it as three stairs. I'm not sure. I did just get a new treadmill though. Hoping Fitbit will count my steps accurately.

[Bbgun007]

The customer service people tell our FitBit does not actually count the number of flights of stairs we climb. It actually measures a change in barometric pressure and reports a drop in pressure as though you climbed 7 to 12 stairs. This is one of the problems with its accuracy. Another problem is our FitBit does not use the number of flights of stairs you climb in the computation of calories burned. Climbing stairs is a fantastic calorie burning exercise and FitBit ignores this fact entirely.

I gave my FitBit to the neighbor kid for him to play with it. Since it is just a toy I thought he could get some use out of it. As for being a good tool to accurately measure your athletic performance we were both sold a bill of goods that doesn’t measure up to the sales hype.


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[Rich_Laue]

True Fitbit has never used the stair metric for calories, probably because of the inconsistencies in useing air pressure to detect altitude change. Especially when we are measuring the equivalent if a couple square inches of paper.

A little wind blowing by the arm could make Fitbit think you have climbed stairs. Walking in a negative pressure building, or having only one window open in a car. A fast approaching storm, to make a few ways to get stairs without walking..

@Bbgun007 that is why Fitbit looks at the changes in o the heart rate to determine calories. This will take into consideration how fit and efficient a person is

[LisaB920]

I tie the charge 3 to my ankle when I use the treadmill and elliptical - it records my heart rate and allows me to hold the arm rails if I need to.  It accurately records the steps and active minutes for both machines

[Ewsdebewl]

Can you hook it on your shoe laces?

[JackAugustin]

I had the same experience with my Charge HR. By placing the tracker around my leg, inside the socks to hold it in place, just above the ankle, it's step count accuracy improved tremendously. My Charge 3 step count is much more accurate when kept in it's normal position (the wrist).