Versa 2 is under counting my steps

[RichardMW]

I am mostly staying at home during pandemic.

I have a route set up in home that is about 42 steps. I typically walk it 6 times to hit 250 steps / hour.

Mid afternoon, the Versa 2 hourly counter reports 38 - 40 steps on this path. This is accurate.

First thing in the morning it seriously under counts. 25 - 30 steps. Serious undercount.

I tried walking faster in the morning and that sometimes helps. Not always.

Has anyone else experienced this problem?

Are there settings that might help?

Yes, I turned off automatic stride length and entered an explicit value based on a measured distance.

Moderator Edit: Clarified subject

[MarreFitbit]

Hello there @RichardMW! Thanks for sharing the details about the issue with your Versa 2 and for already turning off automatic stride length. 

Sometimes, when you start walking, your steps may not update on your device right away. After about 10-15 continuous steps, you'll notice the steps catch up and start updating in real time with each step you take. For more information, see How accurate are Fitbit devices? and What can I do if my step count seems inaccurate? 

Let me know if you have any questions present. 

[RichardMW]

Maria,

I am aware of the problem of the FitBit not displaying an update of steps on the Versa 2 for about 15 seconds or so.

I wait for the update and it still is undercounting steps in the mornings by about 30% - 40%.

By mid afternoon it is counting correctly. I suspect it gets confused in the morning thinking that I am still asleep.

[RichardMW]

Here is an update.

I slept very well last night.

Just after waking up, I walked slowly a known distance that I had previously measured as 300 steps.

FitBit recorded 89 steps in the hourly setting. 89.

An hour later after 2 cups of coffee and a cup of water, it recorded 200 steps. Better, but not accurate.

If I repeat this in a few hours, I know from experience that it will report about 300 steps.

Same distance, different step counts reported depending on how recently I woke up.