Versa 3 GPS

[vee]

I’ve worn various Fitbits for over 10 years and before that I had a Garmin (the first GPS device for runners). I was a marathon runner for 40 years so I do know my distances,  and haven’t had a big problem with any of the GPS distances until I got my versa 3. Why does it show shorter distances for the same route as everything else?  I bought the versa 3 so I didn’t always have to take my phone but the phone GPS is better. Can I disable GPS on the versa 3 and just use the phone?  of course that’s defeating my purpose but the distance (and pace!) would be more accurate! The charges and the Luxe all work better! I would wear my charge 4  but I can’t read it in the bright light!  But the Charge 4  GPS is for some reason better than the GPS on the versa 3. I understand about the stride length but that should not be a factor when using GPS and I always wait for it to connect before I start. It’s annoying to see shorter distances and  therefore slower paces than I’m actually doing. 

[N8teGee]

Hi @vee.

It seems as though recent Fitbit devices rely heavily on stride length and number of steps even whilst using GPS. The stride length is then adjusted periodically using the GPS data.

A simple test to try is to get in the car and start a walk/run exercise and drive a mile or so. You will likely see a map of you route but the distance travelled will likely be close to zero.

From what has been said in the past, this is intended behaviour. 

[vee]

According to MarreFitbit :     "Please note when you track an activity with GPS, your device calculates your distance using GPS data rather than steps. If you begin moving before you get a GPS signal, your device calculates distance using your steps until GPS connects."   So I am waiting to get connected. 

The steps seem accurate and would indicate a longer distance too.

I haven't tried the car test, but a few years ago I did in a boat and got the distance.  I was "running" at record speed!  That was probably through the phone not the GPS on the Fitbit, but still...the distance was accurate. My guess now is that the Versa 3 GPS just isn't as accurate. It does cut corners on the map.  It's upsetting to see a slower pace than I know I am going, and that will lower my fitness score. 

[N8teGee]

There has been some contradicting official statements over the years, with some responses saying what you posted above but at least one saying what I posted above. The general concensus amongst most users is the latter though.

[vee]

Thanks, isn't that annoying though! It should be one or the other! Going by stride length is tricky as I know I have different stride lengths depending on surfaces and circumstances.   

Regardless, I'm not happy that my Versa 3 is consistently giving me a slighter shorter distance than any other device. 

[SunsetRunner]

I have worn my Huawei device alongside the Versa 3:

Huawei:  7.13km / 8683 steps

FitBit: 7.03km / 8627 steps

Zooming in on the maps for both these devices I can see that are both equally as loose with their GPS tracking.  The slightly lower step count from Versa 3 would account for around half the 100m difference in distance measured.  

This doesn't bother me too much, it's the Versa 3's erratic HR monitoring during a run that I find to be more of an issue. 

[vee]

The odd thing is that the steps look fine (though I haven't compared with another device). They have me at close to 2100 steps per mile.  So a walk with 5200 steps should be more than 2.35 miles.   Same route was previously tracked with other devices between 2.45 and 2.5.   This is just one example of many.  I've had the Versa 3 for 2 months and it's consistent in being lower than all other devices. I really don't like that it is making my pace appear slower than it is. 

Since I bought it to get the built-in GPS I am very disappointed! 

[RyckiMallard]

This has been happening with a friend of mine! I am looking for answers. We both went on a walk, I have a versa 2 and she has a versa 3. We went the exact same distance yet hers was 5.06km and mine was 4.32. We also then went on google maps and mapped it out and mine was accurate. This has been happening for a couple weeks now, and we are looking for an answer! Super annoying. 

[vee]

So her Versa 3 gave extra distance, mine is the opposite. 
Yes either way it’s annoying because it’s not accurate! I thought my versa 2 was accurate, of course it went through the phone. But the Charge 4 has GPS on its own and it’s more accurate than the versa 3.

PS did you compare the maps that Fitbit gave you? A difference like that should be noticeable on the maps

[RyckiMallard]

Thats strange that if Charge 4 and the Versa 3 have different GPS. I hope they come up with a fix soon, one of the whole reasons of having a fitbit is being able to track these kind of things! 

We did compare our maps, but not very closely! I will do that tonight with her and see if there is any variation. Thanks for the tip!

[vee]

Rycki, did you check them?

[RyckiMallard]

Hi Vee! I did, Hers looked like she was walking across the street repeatedly, instead of walking in a straight line like she did. 

[Dopovo]

Hello @RyckiMallard, 

you might want to export the tcx file and upload it to a service such as www.mygpsfiles.com to check the exact distance compared to what reported by Fitbit so you can verify the hypothesis by @N8teGee .

Alternative you can integrate Strava with Fitbit. Strava imports from Fitbit directly the TCX file and perform its own analysis. 

[SunsetRunner]

---

@Dopovo wrote:

Hello @RyckiMallard, 

you might want to export the tcx file and upload it to a service such as www.mygpsfiles.com to check the exact distance compared to what reported by Fitbit so you can verify the hypothesis by @N8teGee .

---

Interesting!  I didn't know about this so I just checked this out using the GPS data from a few recent walks and runs.  It seems the Versa 3 can occasionally slightly longer distances when compared to MyGPSfiles' presentation of the data.  Interestingly the degree of error (under) was a lot more significant on the walks:

Run:

Versa 3:  11.97km. 

MyGPSfiles: 12.12km

Versa 3 under by 150m

Walk:

Versa 3: 7.94km

MyGPSfiles: 8.33km

Versa 3 under by 390m

Run:

Versa 3: 8.03km

MyGPSfiles: 7.98km

Versa 3 over by 50m

Run:

Versa 3: 9.62km

MyGPSfiles: 9.72km

Versa 3 under by 100m

Walk:

Versa 3: 4.40km

MyGPSfiles: 4.64km

Versa 3 under by 240m

[Rich_Laue]

Going back to an earlier comment by @N8teGee. in the past, users where able to alter the GPS recorded distance by changing their stride leangth. I haven't tried testing this recently, and may have changed. 

I have seen other posts of this inconsistencies, I think Fitbit's response will be that they say that accuracy is 10% and your worst case is 9%. Several are under 1%

I'm also going to try a bike ride, since steps are irrelevant 

[Rufous44]

@Rich_Laue when using biking Fitbit uses real GPS records.to provide the distance, when using running/walking/biking the distance measurement is primarily based on steps and stride as found out by the users and that Fitbit still insists to negate.

I hope the 10% declared accuracy isn't right because if would be quite embarrassing.

[Rich_Laue]

 @Rufous44 see this post above where a moderator says that GPS is primary. As pointed out by @N8teGee their is still some confusion with this. 

I'm curious and over a few days do some testing 

[Rufous44]

@Rich_Laue link not working