Fitbit not tracking distance accurately

[LizzyLeRoux]

Hello, 
I got my fitbit Inspire 2 yesterday, and today I went for a 5km organised run. However, my fitbit says I ran 7.63km. It also has a tendency to say I have walked a few hundred more steps think I have, also the calorie burn seems unnaturally high. 
I'm quite confused about this, I'd really appreciate help, thank you. 🙂 
And in case this matters, I'm right-handed, and I wear my fitbit on my left wrist, the phone GPS was on, but I don't think it made a difference since I forgot my phone at home.  

[Heather-S]

Hey @LizzyLeRoux. If you forgot your phone at home for the 5K race, then your distance would definitely not be correct as it needs the phone for GPS to determine the distance. That would probably explain the difference in km.

It's not unusual for your steps to maybe be a bit higher than you think because the Fitbit is based on your wrist movements. So if you're folding laundry or doing the dishes, you might end up with a few extra steps, but it's fairly negligible. These aren't perfect devices and there are limitations, especially since it's a wrist-based tracker, it's going to rely on your arm movements. 

As far as calories burned goes, your Fitbit uses your daily BMR calories (the base amount of calories your body burns to keep you alive) and adds in any extra calories you burn from movements and your heart rate. Fitbit does not separate your active vs. inactive calories. It's always a good thing to make sure your height and weight are entered correctly into the app as well since that can affect your calories burned too. I hope that help explains it. 

[LizzyLeRoux]

HI Heather, thank you for your answer. The only thing is I did take my phone with me when I ran yesterday and the measurements were off. Please would you mind telling me how I connect my phone's GPS with my fitbit? Thanks very much. 

[Julia_G · Accepted solution]

To add to what @Heather-S has said, when GPS is not available, your Fitbit will calculate your distance based on the number of steps multiplied by your stride length (how much ground you cover with each step).  Your app calculates a stride length for you automatically based on your height, but you can personalise this and significantly improve the accuracy by calculating your stride length yourself.  Instructions to do this are below:

HOW DO I CALCULATE MY STRIDE LENGTH?

To measure your walking stride length:

1. Go to a track or some place where you're sure of the distance.
2. Count your steps as you walk across that distance, making sure you travel at least 20 steps.
3. Divide the total distance (in feet) taken by the number of steps to get your stride length.
4. Your running stride can be calculated the same way if you run instead of walk.

HOW DO I CHANGE MY STRIDE LENGTH?

To change your stride length:

FITBIT APP

1. From the Fitbit app dashboard, tap or click the Account icon (that’s the small person icon/photo top left)
2. Tap or click Advanced Settings.
3. Tap or click Stride Length.
4. Adjust your stride length.

FITBIT.COM DASHBOARD

1. Log into your fitbit.com dashboard and click the gear icon.
2. Choose Settings > Personal Info.
3. Under Advanced Settings, find Stride Length.
4. Click Set on Your Own and adjust your stride length.
5. Click Submit and sync your device.

I hope this helps.  Welcome to the forums!

[LizzyLeRoux]

Thank you very much! I have fixed it, it had my running stride as 111cm when it's actually 57cm. 🙂

Oh, and, I don't suppose you'd mind telling me how I connect my phone GPS with my fitbit? or however it works. 🙏 

[Heather-S]

@LizzyLeRoux When you have your phone with you and you use the "Run" workout option on you device, it will connect to your phone's GPS.  There's nothing you need to do. You can make sure GPS is on by going into the settings of your Inspire 2 and Phone GPS should be set to ON. Aside from that, as long as you use "Run" or "Walk" or "Hike", those activities will connect to your phone GPS automatically unless it's turned off in the settings.

[LizzyLeRoux]

Thank you very much!