Fitbit Versa not tracking calories correctly when swimming

[Ashlk]

Hi, 

I have upgraded my fitbit change 2 to the versa. I swim quite regularly which was the main reason I upgraded.

However when I entered my swim manually it was calculating around 300-400 calories burned, I used the versa for the first time and did the same amount of lengths in the same time and it only calculated 103 calories.

Surely this isn't right? Can someone help? 

Moderator edit: format. 

[Julia_G]

@Ashlk, when you enter an activity manually the program will calculate what an average person doing that activity for that amount of time will burn.

Your Versa will calculate your calorie burn based on your detected heart rate.  The best thing to do would be to check your recorded heartrate on the app during that activity.  If it seems too low, then your calorie burn is probably too low.  

The Versa is the first Fitbit tracker with HR detection that can be used swimming, so I am not sure how well it works under water.  Does your HR graph seem reasonable ?  (I'm asking because most people who exercise regularly have a pretty good sense of how high their HR goes for a given amount of effort...). 

Just at a guess I would agree that 103 calories sounds very low for a swim session.

[NellyG]

@Ashlk I have moved your post to the Versa forum

The heart rate reading then you swim is not at all reliable and (mine at least) comes out unrealistically high. So from that you would expect the calorie burn to be high rather than low. My guess is that the Versa recognised you were swimming (did it get the time of the swim right?) but did not count all your laps. I have worked with my swimming trackers for a year and a half  now (flex 2 and Ionic) and I have managed to get my lap count very accurate but doing my turns in a waybthatvthe trackers can 'feel' the turn. There seems to be two ways of doing your turns so the tracker knows you are doing a turn. The first is pause at the end of each lap for 2 or 3 seconds (which can get annoying lol) or give a really strong push off with your feet when you start the next lap. The thing NOT to do is swim around the lap end, or to make it gentle and ripple free. The tracker needs you to tell it you have started a new lap.

Let us know if any if that makes sense to you!

[Ashlk]

Hi, I checked the hr monitor it didn't confirm if it was peak, cardio but the graph is high throughout my swim Indicating I was at peak. Which makes it even stranger that my calorie burn was only 103. I started the exercise manually rather than waiting for it to auto recognize so the time was spot on. 

[NellyG]

If you started it manually in the exercise app then you shouldnt have gotton a heart rate graph as the app usually turns the HR monitor off as it is unreliable in water. You should only get a heart rate graph if you let Smart Track detect the swim.

Have a read of my post above re number of laps. Was the lap count low?

[SilviaFlower]

Someone from Fitbit could answer to this? I see all over the Fitbit forums for all the trackers that track swimming the same problem: calories too low. For at least 2 years and the problem does not seem to be addressed. Disappointing, to say the least.

I am starting my swimming session specifying Swim in the Exercise tab. After the session ends, it shows a very low number of calories.

I manually record a swimming session in the Fitbit app with the same parameters - distance and time. Boom! Number of calories way higher - see attached picture

Distance: 0.77 miles

Time: 43 minutes

Fitbit Versa says 196 calories

Fitbit app says 307 calories

Fitbit moderator? Your input?

[jumppete]

I have the same issue--calorie burn is significantly lower when I track a swim using my Versa as compared to entering the swim stats manually in the Fitbit app.  The Versa seems to log my heart rate as very low during a swim. Really disappointing since I purchased the Versa to track my swims. From everything else I read, I would say the higher calorie burn is more accurate, so I basically end up using my Versa to track my time spent swimming, then delete the activity and re-enter it manually. 

[AndreaFitbit]

Welcome to the forums @jumppete! I'll be glad to assist you with your calorie burn while swimming inquiry. 

Heart rate is not recorded while you swim with your Versa. In order to correct calorie burn tracking I would recommend confirming that your personal information is correct on your profile and restarting your device.

Please let me know how it goes.

[Injuredrabbit]

Yep, exactly the same thing here. So Fitbit tells us to make sure that our personal info (height, weight) is correct. Yes, it is. I can't figure out how to attach a screenshot, but yesterday I manually entered my swim -45 min, 1600 yds, 327 cal. Today I will the watch while swimming. Happy that it recorded laps accurately, but other stats were 43 min,1804 yds, and only 253 cal! Seems like it should be an easy fix yet this has been going on for years with various iterations and generations of Fitbits, and yet they still can't get it right.

[jumppete]

Yep, not sure why they won’t just admit that it’s a problem. 🤷‍:female_sign: Clearly we have all tried restarting our devices and confirming that our personal information is entered correctly. 

[SunsetRunner]

I got a Fitbit versa 2 a week ago, I entered everything correctly but steps and Cal's burnt are way out, rang Fitbit and followed their emails instructions but still wayyy out.

I walked downstairs, made a coffee done a few bits in kitchen, walked back upstairs and my watch is showing I've burnt 742 Cal's.

[BlueAngel77]

It runs all day with calories that you need to stay alive, in most cases around 1500+ so it’s not just additional calories burned for exercise.  . 

[SunsetRunner]

My Cal's dropped by about 409 after syncing, come on Fitbit, sort it out, these watches are supposed to among some of the best 😡