GPS accuracy during exercise

[wrebble]

Picture says more than thousand words so... picture first.

How can it be that the same lap is measured THAT wrong. It is 1,27 km difference which is BAD. Both lines run on the same road so it can not be just "difference". Step count is the same and also the time. Which one can I trust at all? It isn't the first time it has happened (at least once more). 

FitBit app is up to date. My Versa 2 is up to date.

I started my run the same way: opened exercise - choose "run" - wait FitBit to connect with "connected GPS" - start!

Also the settings are the same when I start the run. I activate "do not disturb" and "always on display".

Am I doing something wrong? Is the app so bad that it does not know how to calculate distance? Is it problem with my watch? I looked into it and it seems this problem has been with you for 3.5 years. Is there seriously no fix?

Anyways, I posted this in "App" section because it seems to be problem with an app. If not let me know.

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity 

[BornClimber]

Mate... Even Versa has this issue, not just Versa 2.

Not sure about Ionic or Blaze or Charge 4. They might have their own forum
channel about this issue though. Plus FitBit is also known to shut down
discussion threads.

[M3tr1c]

It's looking like it's something within the app and watch that's not translating properly. Using GPS on the phone within the Fitbit app works fine. When using the watch it's getting a calculation that makes it go way off tangent even though it's getting the right GPS reading. Not much we can do at the moment but wait for the mods to fill us in. Doubt there's anything we can do at this point as many have tried things like turning the watch and phone on and off and disabling things such as auto stride. I've tried all and they all have failed. 

[BornClimber]

@M3tr1c are you sure about the distance reading within the app being
correct? I would request you cross check it with some other app running
simultaneously or measure the distance on Google maps.

I did an exact 3 mile run this morning. Versa (connected GPS) measured 3.19
miles, the FitBit app, where I had manually started the run, measured 2.8
miles.
Obviously both are using the GPS within the same phone!

[M3tr1c]

Distance is measured at the trail we run at. My wife and I run up to the 2.2 mile mark and the fitbit app gets it at 2.19 or so which is close enough for us. When I run it on my watch it gets the distance of 2.2 miles all the way up to 3 miles which is way off of course.

Went for a walk yesterday thinking maybe that would work and it under shot that one. We got to the 3 mile mark and my walk showed 2.6 which shows that my runs are usually over and the walks are under. 

[wayneramp]

I switched from iPhone5SE to Samsung Z-Flip. The iPhone paired to the app
never had an issue, when I started with the Samsung it worked for a month
with no issues, then there was an update(both Android and FitBit) since
then the watch takes very long to pair, and when it does the distances are
extremely far off. I have been doing Virtual races that are marked and
measured. A 3 mile run can out .5 miles. The longer the run the worse it
is. Occasionally I see the watch complaining it is connecting..... I wear
the phone on my arm on my bicep on the same arm as the watch.

Recently I pulled out my iPhone and used that for a run. Boom perfect
tracking no issues. Today I used the Android on a 4 mile run and it added
about .5 miles.

I agree the watch is fine. The GPS on the phone is fine(I've run the
Fitbit app and Strava on the phone without the watch, very accurate) Its
something when the Watch communicates with the Phone. This is definitely a
software issue, at first I thought perhaps Android is putting the Fitbit
app to sleep but I have my doubts.

WayneR

[SunsetRunner]

Got to be careful what I say here as my last post was deleted! 🙄

I'm not sure whether this is a coincidence, but the last 2 walks I've been on have been pretty accurate. Well, when I say accurate, it's within 100m of the correct distance which is still not accurate but better than it was! All I did was turn off all the auto recognised exercises (in the app under Account/Goals/Exercise). Maybe someone else could try this and see if it's not just me?

I'm still buying a Garmin next time round though. My daughter's is super accurate!

[busterandwoody]

@SunsetRunner I tried turning off all the auto detect tonight for my run and the Versa went from one extreme to another...rather than 0.5miles short (on a 3miler) it was 0.5miles too far. I thought 10 minute miles were a bit extreme for me haha!! My daughter told me it was wrong...her Apple was correct as usual! 😞

[SunsetRunner]

My wife and I walk about 5 miles together every day and her FitBit Versa 2 almost always shows her distance as .5 to .75 miles less than my FitBit Versa 2.  We both use Samsung Galaxy S8+ phones.  I have rebooted both the phones and the FitBits multiple times but it has not resolved the issue.  Our FitBit map route match but the distances do not.

[M3tr1c]

Well odd behavior today. Instead of being over the in my distance at the trail I was actually under by .3 miles. I turned on auto-stride to see if anything changed and this was the outcome. Anyone else have this or was it just me?

[BaseballMusic]

I honestly don't understand how this is not fixed yet and even moreso don't understand how we are NOT getting a daily updates from the moderator on this. This should should have taken a couple days to fix max. Total Bush League customer service.  Congrats, Fitbit. You have officially taken something i use to alleviate the stress from my day job and turned it into something that further aggravates me. I'm about done. Unless this is fixed in the next few days I'm returning this garbage and getting a Garmin or something comparable. This is just ridiculous. 

[busterandwoody]

I am done too. Looking at alternatives. Been with Fitbit since 2015 but lately just more frustrated than anything with the issues!

[paularozen]

I turned off auto recognition for the exercises as someone suggested, but that did not work either, still well below the distance I did. I am chatting with fitbit almost everyday, everyday they ask me to do something different but nothing seems to be helping. If I start the exercise with the app, no problem, it is pretty much accurate comparing with other apps (like 100 or 200meters difference), but when I start the walk using the watch, then it is always well under, nearly 1km different. So frustrated at the moment. 

[SnugD]

Does Strava work through the Fitbit for accuracy? Just using Fitbit for run/walk, it does not work, but Strava on my phone is accurate  so I didn't know if I used it with the Fitbit if it would?

Also that shows me it's an issue with the Fitbit or Fitbit software. 

[Bart_NL]

@SnugD So I don't start a workout in the Strava app, I just start it on my Versa. Once I finish it on the versa, the fitbit app sends it to Strava. 

But apparently with wrong data.

So I deleted the automatically generated Strava workout, downloaded the tcx from Fitbit and uploaded it as a activity in Strava.

[BornClimber]

@paularozen it's great that FitBit is talking with you. At least they are
trying. Although trying doesn't mean they will fix it.

I am also surprised why Versa's failure is not a big thing in the news? Do
majority of users not depend on accurate GPS data or is this an issue that
only happens to small portion of Versa's? But it seems like a software
issue as TCX export shows correct data. So what gives? Frustration is
slowly turning into anger.

Just waiting for Google to takeover FitBit. Maybe then we will have some
smart engineer fix it in a day.

[paularozen]

@BornClimber Don't know if they are being helpful or really wasting my time because surely they must know about this issue and must know that all those steps they try does not work anything. Once again today, went for a walk after doing a factory reset suggested by them and still the same, watch showing much less distance than what actually is. Let's hope Google fix this whenever they get in charge. 

[BornClimber]

@paularozen LOL yes.... If they are making you do futile measures like
factory reset then I think they are wasting your time. In fact, I am
wondering if you are actually interacting with a real engineer trying to
solve the problem or just some troubleshooting Rep who is going through a
checklist. If everything fails then I think the Rep is authorized to ship
you a replacement without ever escalating to an engineer or real tech
support. Whether that new device works or not is up to question.

[wayneramp]

Its only broken on Android. I switched from iPhone to Samsung and that's
when my problems started. Now when I run I use my old iPhone.

[tecishere]

@wayneramp That’s is not true. I was using my Fitbit on my iPhone 7 with exactly these issues. The majority of people here seem to be Android owners but it does affect iPhone users too. The problem is that it is not consistently there.  

[paularozen]

@BornClimber i was speaking with them today (and yes, they are only reps, not engineers at all) and apparently now they cannot do anything anymore because my phone is not in their supported devices list, surprise surprise. So i told her i will make sure to get a supported device just to prove my point, because this is an issue that lots of people are having as we can see in this community. So i got my old galaxy  s7edge out of the draw, and will start to use it and i am sure it won't change anything.