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measuring distance

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‎09-27-2019 05:43 - last edited on ‎09-08-2020 12:16 by Fitbit Moderator

‎09-27-2019 05:43 - last edited on ‎09-08-2020 12:16 by Fitbit Moderator

Hi, 

 

I appreciate this has probably been asked a million times - but how does my fitbit measure distance? 

 

Last night, my husband and I went for a run. We ran the exact same route. 

 

According to my fitbit, (and double checked with google maps) we ran 6.27km.

According to his Polar (and double checked with onthegomap.com) we ran 7.89km

 

Can any one explain why these would be different? Am I missing something obvious?

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‎09-27-2019 05:58

‎09-27-2019 05:58

Hi @thirty30fit - I ran into the same issue with my hubby who is much taller than me. Our difference came down to stride length. I’ve copied how Fitbit measures distance below. If you follow this link, it will explain how to manually set your stride. 

===========================

HOW DOES MY FITBIT DEVICE CALCULATE DISTANCE?

Fitbit devices calculate distance by multiplying your walking steps by your walking stride length and multiplying your running steps by your running stride length. We estimate your stride lengths using your height and sex. If your Fitbit device uses GPS and you track 1 or more runs using on-board or connected GPS, we evaluate that data to automatically update your running stride length. For best results, run at a comfortable pace for at least 10 minutes.

If you prefer to measure your walking and running stride lengths yourself and enter them manually, see How do I measure and adjust my stride length?

Note that when you're tracking an activity with GPS, Fitbit calculates your distance using GPS data rather than steps. If you begin moving before you get a GPS signal, the tracker will calculate distance using steps and stride length as described above until a GPS signal is found.

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