Fitbit Versa 3 Not Auto Recognizing Exercises

[louis22]

i have a versa 3 and while it will track my heart rate, steps, miles, etc. it never recognizes it as a workout. i just spent an hour on a treadmill w a heart rate over 130 and it didnt mark today as a day i exercised. it counted all the steps and miles okay so i know theres nothing wrong with the watches tracking. i have auto recognition for exercise set to the minimum (10min) so i would’ve assumed at some point during an hour it wouldve recognized it?

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[LucioFitbit]

Hi there @louis22. Welcome to Community Forums.

I appreciate you share your experience. I'd recommend you have the latest Fitbit Firmware and OS of your mobile device, then restart your device.

Fitbit devices use a 3-axis accelerometer to track movement. Our finely-tuned algorithm interprets the data from the accelerometer to provide a step count. When you sync your device, your step count appears in the Fitbit app. 

Also check these articles, How do I add, edit or delete Fitbit data and activities?, How do I track my workouts with my Fitbit device? and How does my Fitbit device calculate my daily activity?.

[Domisaur]

I'm having the same issue and apparently, this has been a problem for YEARS. Got the versa 3 in December to help regain mobility and improve the severity of my disability, and hasn't auto tracked a single exercise. Miles, active minutes, heart rate zones, calories burned all work but not exercise tracking. 

I've scoured endless FitBit community forums and the "solved" one was a dead link. Fitbit is well aware that this feature has been non functional for over half a decade. I've uninstalled and reinstalled the Fitbit app, the compatible apps as well, I've removed the device from my account and added it, restarted my device, restarted the fitbit, turned the auto recognised to 10 minutes lowest setting, reconnected the Bluetooth,  logged out and in of my profile, used the online dashboard instead of the app. 

When I manually input exercise, it synced with the heart rate and active minutes data, which is exactly what should happen automatically. It just won't auto recognise. 

 I'm amazed that FitBit have had this issue for so long but are continuing to falsely advertise and release new products on a crappy non functional OS. The algorithm may be fine tuned, but not fine enough.

If there's a fix other than replacing the whole unit please let us know

[Maddy36]

I have had a versa 2 for years and this feature always worked. I moved to a Versa 3 this week and did a 2 mile walk at speed in my lunch break and am very disappointed it didnt log as exercise, but as you say did record the steps and heart rate. I don't understand why this feature that worked on the 2 doesn't work on the 3? This was supposed to be an upgrade not a downgrade. I loved the 2 and only changed as the battery stopped holding a charge for long (and is not replaceable) and no longer covered by warranty.