Fitibit Versa 2 uses which elevation data during work out GPS or altimeter?

[pratik041]

Fitbit Veasa 2 have barometer sensor also. Does any one have idea that Fitbit Versa 2 uses GPS or Barometer to show altitude during work out like walking, running and bike riding

Moderator edit: format

[N8teGee]

Hi @pratik041, welcome to the community.

I'm not 100% sure but I think GPS is used for elevation gain during workouts (if you are using connected GPS of course), as when I export the GPS data to Strava I can see the elevation gain there. As far as I know, the barometer is used to track number of floors. Whether it tracks elevation during workouts if GPS isn't present I don't know, this is something I would need to test. 

[pratik041]

Hi @N8teGee 

 I think GPS elevation is not that accurate as compare to Barometer unless signal is so strong what is your analysis as per your current usage and also can you please let me know did you get elevation data without using GPS?

[N8teGee]

I just did a test walk without GPS (I was indoors at home anyway), walked around the living room and then went upstairs. When I finished the workout the summary had elevation as 7ft, which is about right but also tells us the barometer is being used.

The only issue though is that once I dismiss the workout summary screen I can't find the elevation data again. It's not in the workout activities in the app and neither can I see it on the Web dashboard. The only time I see it is when activities are exported to Strava, but of course non GPS activities can't be exported to Strava so I'm unable to test this further. 

[pratik041]

Hi @N8teGee ,

Thanks, for testing it. Ok, so as per your test i can say that without GPS there is no way we can store elevation data which means Barometer is of little use only during workout because we can see instantly only and Do we can see the highest elevation and lowest elevation on the App or this also wipe out after the workout? Also how accurate is the GPS elevation?

[N8teGee]

Sorry my mistake, I can actually see the elevation gain on workouts that have been tracked with GPS but only on the Web dashboard, I can't see this in the app or for workouts that haven't used GPS. Now the thing I don't know is whether this data is coming from the GPS or Barometer (we know the barometer can be used from the non GPS test). As for accuracy it's something I really couldn't tell you. Perhaps someone with a little more experience and knowledge will be able to answer this one.

[t.parker · Accepted solution]

@N8teGee Using Fitbit watch and "another" watch in the GPS-altitude mode, the elevation was a very close match). So I reckon, it must be just a GPS-based elevation. There are solutions used by competitor companies that actually use both (barometer and GPS) to reduce the elevation error. Also, the barometer altitude is being calibrated when GPS is in use. I don't know if Fitbit devices do it. With a competitor watch, I can see elevation gain without using GPS (then the only barometer is in use and it's good to enable GPS for a while to let it calibrate the reference altitude). With Fitbit, I have never seen an elevation chart for non-GPS activities.

Here's interesting reading:

http://www.borgeltinstruments.com/GPSvsPressurealtitude.pdf