Inspire HR not tracking steps or active minutes when pushing wheelchair

[semisweetchick]

I've had my Inspire HR for a month or so. I had stopped buying Fitbit products because of their poor quality, but now my health insurance company will pay me cash for exceeding 10,000 steps per day IF I connect a fitness tracker - and Fitbit is the cheapest option among compatible trackers. 

However, per my last experiences with Fitbit products, the Inspire HR doesn't work well. Today, for example, I spent an hour pushing my mom around the mall in a wheelchair and the Inspire HR didn't record steps OR active minutes, which is ridiculous. It tracked other steps, just not apparently when I was pushing the wheelchair. 

What do I need to do? Start an activity like "walking" to get it to record this time when I'm pushing a wheelchair?

This is literally dollars out of my pocket.

[AlvaroFitbit]

@semisweetchick Welcome! Thanks for being part of our Community! 

Let me help you with your Inspire Hr not counting your steps while pushing a wheelchair. Your device will detect the movement on your arm and translate that movement into steps. There are situations in which your arm may be still but you could be moving or walking. This may happen when you are pushing a cart or holding bars while walking or doing treadmill. For added sensitivity you can try wearing your device on your dominant hand but select that hand as non dominant on the device’s settings to make it more sensitive to movement. Also make sure your hands are moving so the device can properly track your steps.

In your case I suggest you wear your tracker on your pant's pocket if possible when you are pushing the wheelchair so it detects movement and counts your steps.

Let me know how it goes.

[semisweetchick]

It seems to me that heart rate alone should indicate to my Inspire HR that I am engaged in activity, yet you’re saying it needs to register my hands moving (obviously impossible when pushing a wheelchair) OR I should hang the device from my belt loop (how does that register movement, as opposed to being on my wrist?). It’s absurd that the elevation of my HR does not trigger steps and Active Minutes. What, exactly, is the point of the heart rate function, then? Fitbit devices are trash, and I would choose a Polar or a Garmin if my health plan’s software integrated with them - but Fitbit appears to have a lock on that market segment.

BTW, same thing happened again this past Friday when my tracker again shorted my steps while pushing my mom’s wheelchair, so I didn’t reach 10k - again costing me real $$$ from my health plan. Thanks for nothing, I guess?