Fitbit Versa Exercise Modes

[SunsetRunner]

I am planning on getting a Versa bt I need to know a few things first...

Does swim tracking require a phone?

If it doesn’t, is it more accurate with a phone?

I heard the phone-free run tracking is inaccurate by about 10%, is this true?

Thanks,

jamig7

[NellyG]

No you dont need your phone with you or near you when you swim and it makes no diffrence at all if it is near or not. I find the swim tracking on my Versa to be excellent.

The only reason you would need your phone near you for ANY exercise is if you want to use GPS tracking as in run, walk, bike activities. You can track the activity fine without using GPS. I never bother using it as I dont need a map of where I have been or a distance calculated, but if you want these things then you would use GPS (though for walk or run the Versa does work out distance based on the number of steps). 

As far as the accuracy of the distance tracking of the Versa based on steps taken and not GPS, it is not an accurate measurement butba multiplication ofbthe number of steps you take times your stride length. As your stride varies it can never be accurate, but is a pretty good approximation.