Wrong distance tracking

[Petra_d]

Within the pas 2 days, I used Fitbit to track my activity and both times the distance tracked was wrong, approxiimately half of the actual distance. First day, Fitbit said that I ran 5,4 km while the actualy distance was approx. 12 km. The next day, I decided to use also Runkeeper to track the run. Runkeeper recorded 25 km, which was in line with what also my boyfriend recorded using his Garmin watch, while Fitbit said the overall distance was only 11.18... (I used GPS in my phone to support Fitbit for both the activities and I have the latest version of the firmware installed). The journey map recorded by Fitbit is complete an copies the one recorded by Runkeeper, only the distance is wrong...

Do you please have any idea what might cause this? I really like the Fitbit watch, but this is annoying, since it impacts all the statistics and makes the watch use-less for activity tracking...

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @Hiccups47 and @Wobblyheed.

Thanks for helping out @Wobblyheed. That's correct, the updates for the app should appear on the Play Store for Android users and on the App Store for iOS users.

As for updating the Fitbit itself, you can find instruction on how to update it in this help article. Hope you find it useful.

If you have any further questions, please let me know. 

[KeepitRoz]

Wow i never considered the conversion.  Between miles and km. My distance tracker was fine until a month or so ago.

[LanuzaFitbit]

Welcome to the Forums @KeepitRoz! 

That sounds very bothersome.

Unfortunately there aren't any news on this front at the time. Whenever there are, we will be letting everyone know.

Feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

[aureliewillems]

I'm having the same problem. I've had this fitbit since Christmas and it always measured the distance wrong (where i run outside or on the treadmill). Did anyone send it back and get a refund ? Because it is useless to track your activity with a tracker that doesn't work properly imo. 

[KeepitRoz]

It started working shortly after posting.

[aureliewillems]

Sadly mine doesn't work properly , and i'm not even sure if it ever did work. It always measures my distance wrong. I contacted support but so far i haven't heard anything 🙂 ... Thanks for the reply anyway

[Hiccups47]

When my strap broke (twice), John Lewis replaced the whole watch both
times, as it was within the warranty. But when it breaks the next time
(which it no doubt will), I'll be left with a broken watch outside of
warranty, which will be useless. I doubt Fitbit will give me a refund, and
I certainly won't be buying another one.

I've not made any direct inquiries about the appalling distance tracking.
I've just been following the forum. The distance errors render the product
completely unfit for purpose. A refund should certainly be offered.

I'd also be interested to know if anyone has had any luck obtaining a
refund. The distance errors make Fitbit completely unfit for purpose. I use
mine to record my cycle to and from work each day, which is an IDENTICAL
journey every day. Sometimes it records the distance as low as 6.6km and on
other days as high as 8.5km. How can this be?!! I also use it to compare my
weekly 5km Park Runs, but it often records the distance as 4.4km or 4.6km.
This makes comparing my splits week on week, to see where I'm struggling or
improving, completely impossible. Helpful advice on obtaining a refund
would be welcome.

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Wobblyheed]

You can buy straps for less than £5 on eBay. The tracking problem lasted about 3 weeks before it was fixed with an update.

[aureliewillems]

@Hiccups47

Hi, my strap just broke yesterday (for the first time) .. This was the actual reason i contacted them in the first place but the distance bothers me !! So i'm curious about the refund as well... I would like to buy another one if possible because as you pointed out it is useless to track progress ... So if i get any information on the matter, i will post it over here 🙂 

@Wobblyheed

I don't think you understand the fact that mine NEVER worked accurately. So it has never been fixed by just doing an update. Which means that there is an error in the device itself if you ask me. If the solution was just updating the program, i would not ask for a solution/refund at all ..

Moderator edit: merged reply

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello everyone! 

Thanks for sharing your experiences on the matter.

@aureliewillems You mentioned that you have contacted our Support Team. Have you received any reply from them? I'm sure that they will be more than happy to help you out.

Please feel free to let me know if there is anything I can help you with.

[aureliewillems]

@LanuzaFitbit 

Hi, yes i’ve received an e-mail today. Wasn’t very helpfull though cause they just suggested to wear it differently (which i allready tried offcourse). 

Thanks

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hey @aureliewillems.

Thanks for letting me know. Did you also mention about the band breaking? I'm sure that they'd also want to look into that.

As for the distance situation, I'd wait and see what the Support Team says about the band before looking further into it.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

[aureliewillems]

@LanuzaFitbit 

Hi, 

yes i've mentioned it and i will be receiving a new band hopefully. 
They said they were gonna look in to the distance tracking so i'm just waiting right now.

Just wanted to let you know i’m receiving a brand new Fitbit as a replacement ☺️ Thank you for your assistence !

Thanks 

Moderator edit: merged reply

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hey @aureliewillems.

Thanks for the update. 

I'm sure the new band will not have any issues with the distance and that you will be able to move forward an reach all of your goals.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

[sgfdasfg]

So what is the link between the band and the problems with distance tracking? The band is a piece of rubber. How can that fix the fact that the device is unable to track GPS position. I have not received a refund yet. But I will. As a consumer in Norway you have very strong rights. Much better than the factory warranty. In Norway they divide devices into two groups. Things that lasts for a short period (defined by law as less than two years) like clothing/shoes etc and things that is designed to last for longer periods (defined by law as 5 year). If a device is made to last for more than two years, then it automatically falls into the 5 year group. This means that in Norway you have 5 year claim/warranty period. If a Fitbit has error/problem, Norwegian law gives you the right to get it fixed. And obviously the device is not working. A tracking device should be able to track. This fitbit is only able to count steps, very very inaccurate. It is useless as a tracking device for running or tracking progress. So all I need is the receipt. Then I can direct my claim to the store selling me the device. They have the right to do two attempts of fixing your device. If they do not succeed then you have the right to get a new device or your money back. I was hoping for a SW fix, but seems like the tracking problem is till out there. 

[aureliewillems]

@sgfdasfg

Hi ! 

The band and the tracking are two completely separate things ! I allready asked about the tracking when i first got the Fitbit 5 months ago but they gave me solutions like “wear it differently ...”. Then i did not know there was an actual known problem so i just manually adapted it every time. Last week my band broke so i started researching and found out that this should be covered by warranty. While researching i noticed a lot of people had the same issue with the distance. So i also mentioned this in the e-mail i send . I live in Belgium so these laws are not active here! I talked to them through mail and after persissting i was able to get a new Fitbit send to me. It just arrived today but i have not been home so was not able to test if this one has the same issues or not ... 

[MelleKing]

Today did another run.

MYLAPS GPS tracking tracked 6159 meters.

Fitbit charge2 tracked 5460 meters.

It is totally laughable to use fitbit charge 2 connected to your mobile for distance tracking.

Fitbit should be ashamed for not urgently fixing this. Unbelievable!

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hello @MelleKing, @aureliewillems and @sgfdasfg.

Thanks for sharing all of your feedback. I definitely understand how this can be very frustrating.

I will be passing all of this to the team so that it can be looked into. As soon as we have any updates we will be sure to let everyone know about it.

Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.

[Petra_d]

Hi,

I am the one who originally created this post, already almost 6 months ago. At that time, there already were posts mentioning the same issues date to October 2016... 

I would really like to know how it is possible that more then 1,5 years later after the issue was first discovered, there is still no solution to it !? I do not believe that if you were really trying to fix it, you would not be able to do so in such a long period of time. So what is the real problem behind? Could you please at least be honest with us and in case you do not plan to fix this at all let us know?!

Thanks,

Petra

[UltrarunnerRed]

I'm having the same issues. I typically use a very accurate Garmin watch to track my running but was given this Charge as a gift a few days ago. As a serious runner- this watch is a joke. It's widly innacurate for distance/pace/steps. It has tracked my distance by 25-40% off consistently.

In addition to the pathetic fact that Fitbit programmers can't figure out how to accomiaccom nutrition tracking for breastfeeding mothers (hint, simply add 500 cal to calorie needs. You're welcome, Fitbit) I would advise serious runners to look into Garmin, Suunto, Samsung or Polar watches. Use Cronometer if you want to track nutrition. As a bonus, you don't need your phone with you to hack the GPS with these watches and Cronometer has a far superior food database. 

Fitbit is not delivering and the "keep checking back" response is pretty unacceptable when you are continuing to advertise and sell watches that don't preform.