Inspire HR: Step accuracy

[franskemper]

Hello,

I am using my Inspire HR only a few days, but find that the step count is way off. Only today I put the Inspire to charge and already the count show 1.662 steps. (1.32KM) We do not have a small house, but to walk that many steps will not happen. This was my confirmation of suspecting the same during the past few days. Since I used the Inspire, it gives me consistent way more steps, and distance, than I actually did. Is there any way to fix this?

Thanks.

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity 

[CindiLi]

We both wear them on our left (non-dominant wrist).  I even changed the app to show I was wearing it on my dominant arm in the hopes it would be less sensitive to movement.

I had her check specifically after she dried her hair today and it didn’t add any steps and she also checked after doing dishes and again it didn’t add any.  

I am seeing quite a few people with this same issue so it seems like there is a SW issue with the Inspire.  I actually had purchased the Alta HR and had it for about a week when i saw the Inspire came out.  I was excited about the touch screen and other functions so I sent back the Alta and ordered the Inspire.  I am wondering if I made a mistake now but am hoping these types of issues can be corrected through firmware updates.

[SergioUSA]

I am replying to your post just to let Fitbit know I do have the same problem with my brand new Inspire HR.

I had used 2 Flex devices since 2015 so I know the Inspire is way off.

I will be returning it this week-end.

[markwbd]

Hi Leesa, it is perhaps telling that you got 50 steps whilst washing your hands. Any hand movement seems to be registering as a step. Don't know if this is fixable in software or just an inherent problem in a wrist worn device. As there does not seem to be a community wide revolt on this, I can only conclude 1. most FitBit owners don't move their hands much... or 2. Something else is at play. So questions for those with this problem... 'Do you have GPS tracking enabled?' Personally, I don't want my every move monitored, so I don't, maybe this is the root cause?

[lauranerf]

I tested my Inspire HR step and distance tracking against my treadmill this morning. When I started, the HR showed 264 steps and .11 miles. I paused the treadmill at .18 miles, and checked the HR. It said 674 steps and .28 miles. Minus the initial .11 miles, the HR read .17 against the treadmill at .18.

[SergioUSA]

Hello Lauranerf,

I think the Inspire HR is working well when you do exercise.
The problem is when you are doing other "non active" activities.
It is too sensitive and it will result in having too much steps count, burned calories etc...
I had to remove exercise autodetection to get it down a bit but it is still way too high compared to my last 2 Flex.
But why pay 100$ for a device if you cannot use its features?

[markwbd]

Hi Lauranerf. I did a straight line test, counting my steps and then comparing with the Inspire HR. The Inspire HR was slightly high, but probably within acceptable bounds. I agree with SergioUSA that the Inspire HR seems to work OK when one is actually exercising, it's just that going around one's daily life seems to present problems. It is disappointing as it is by no means a disposable purchase. I'm not seeing any Fitbit SysAdmin input to this debate either. :-((

[Crazylady59]

I used my Apple Watch not my phone and also battery only lasted a day.  Which pace is an Apple download I also used to compare.  

[markwbd]

Hi Monale and Crazylady59. You may see there is another thread in the forum on this issue. The consensus, so far, seems to be that if you move your hand the Inspire HR is treating this as a 'step'. We can identify that when you are exercising it does seem to be recording correctly. So if you went out for a long walk, the chances are that your phone and the Inspire would match. But if you wash the dishes, or your face, chances are you'll find you've walked 50 steps whilst standing at the sink! It's a problem, but I see from your original post that Fitbit's attitude seems to be 'we can't tell whether your Inspire HR or your phone is accurate as we use different algorithms'. Hmmm, I think we know what that means.

[CindiLi]

I also started a thread on this.  I feel like this is a particularly bad issue with the Inspire HR as my sisters Alta HR does not count steps while she washes dishes or dries her hair etc as it does on mine.  It counts about 500 steps while I dry my hair and it did another 500 yesterday when I gave my small dog a bath in the kitchen sink.  The movements made are certainly not as if I’m exercising.

Besides that it is not logging my sleep correctly.  I am hoping I just got a faulty unit and will exchange it as I really love the design and overall functionality .....if it worked correctly.

Good tip to turn off autorecognize.  I’ll try that on the new one and this one for now.

[markwbd]

We can but hope it is 'teething problems', often the case with new products. Generally I'm not an early adopter, perhaps I should have waited until this was 6 months in the market and any 'bugs' had been ironed out. 

[fkemper]

Actually I solved the matter by a factory reset of the device and starting a clean sheet on app and account. Now it is accurate. A pity I had to find this out myself and no useful support from FitBit. Nevertheless, I am happy as I really like the slim model and it offers all I need.

[markwbd]

Glad you sorted your problem out. Would you mind telling us in a little more detail exactly what you did? I'd love to give it a go. Thanks so much.

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Ohnoetry, nice to see you around. Thanks a million for reporting this information to our team.

We really appreciate the time you've taken in order to troubleshoot the extra steps you're getting when doing different activities.  

We don't want to create frustration in our customers. Please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on what you share here.

Since those steps didn't solve the issue you're having with your Fitbit Inspire HR, I've requested to our support team to create a case on your behalf. You should soon receive an email from customer support at the email you used to register with the Community Forums. They will keep assisting you with this inconvenience.

I'll be around in case that you need more details about it.

[fkemper]

Glad to. 1) Removed the device from app. 2) Deleted app completely. 3) Reset device: https://www.wareable.com/fitbit/how-to-reset-fitbit-6808 4) Deleted fitbit account and opened a new one. 5) Start setting up from scratch.

It helps if you clear the phone's cache, and computer's browser cache.

I also removed other blue tooth devices from my phone, this solved the pairing issue I also had.

I hope it helps, and let me know if you have any questions.

Cheers...

[CindiLi]

I would too love the steps you took.

[minhnkim]

Hello,

We experience exact same issue. Fitbit Inspire HR steps count is out-of-whack.

This is a product defect for sure.

My wife wears the Inspire HR on left wrist and Charge 2 on right wrist. Within few minutes Inspire HR has 50+ steps more even when she just sits still. The steps count from Inspire HR is way higher than Charge 2. I will test the Inspire HR against my Apple Watch 4.

I hope a Fitbit engineer is reading this because this is a defect that can be produced over and over. If the fix is not soon enough, we will return the Inspire HR.

[Crazylady59]

Took mine back

Sent from my iPhone

[Monale]

My post got moved here by a moderator, that's why there is another post from me somewhere and it looks like I just jumped in the middle of a discussion.

Anyway, day 1 my new Fitbit showed almost double the steps than my iPhone (which I know is not too far off but pretty accurate concerning step counts).

Day 2 was much better. Did a morning 10k run, and there was only a couple 100 steps difference. That would confirm what others say here that tracked exercise activities are quite accurate. The total step count for day 2 on my Fitbit was 28'909 vs. 27'585 from my iPhone (10k run plus another almost 10k walk, no HIIT/cardio etc.). Not too bad...

Today, day 3: iPhone shows 11'182 steps and Fitbit 14'566. I assume the difference comes from me doing about an hour of HIIT/cardio exercise with dumbbells and some jumping rope. Guess the hand movements got counted... But at least it's closer than the first day which really shocked me! I never owned another activity tracker, so I have nothing to compare it to...

[leesa]

This morning I logged 800 steps while I put on my makeup and dried my hair. With my previous device (the alta) I had to run around the house to meet my 250 steps for the morning hour. I am so disappointed as my alta won't connect to my phone anymore and I was hoping to find another device that is about the same size as the alta. 

[phatlad]

It's also a massive problem on the charge 3