Versa not counting Floors.

[Smileysmee]

Hello,

I have been up and down my stairs several times yesterday (when i received my new watch) and today, and steps are counting but not them floors that i am going up and down on.  any ideas why this will not count and sync?

many thanks in advance. 

Moderator Edit: Clarified Subject.

[Gadams99]

How many stairs are you going up?

[Jayelo]

And I have the problem of the Versa adding way too many floors or floors I haven’t even used!

[wtksk8r]

The unit uses the air pressure altimeter to count floors - and it only counts floors going up, not down. A pressure difference equivalent to about 10 ft is counted as 1 floor. Partial floors are not counted so if you climb 15 ft, you get credit for one floor. If there is a long pause before you reach 10 ft then it kind of resets and you don't get the floor credit.

Since it depends on air pressure it can get a lot of false floors when there is a lot of wind. When I work in the garden on windy days I can get up to 80 floors counted just puttering around.

I find the floor count to be most accurate indoors. The floor count is not used in the calorie expenditure estimate so having a false count does not have an effect on that.

[wfmiller]

Same here indoors, 13 steps and sometimes it is counted and sometimes its not. I found that when I reach the top floor if I lift my arm with my Versa over my head then it always counts it haha. Faking it out with a little extra altitude!!

[Smileysmee]

My home stairs consist of 17 stairs. On my fitbit one.. It was always counting correctly. This is my first watch fitbit so was excited to see my normal stats working but floors just have a zero.. 

I may just try that today. Strange thing to have to do but if it counts the floor why not. 

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Jo_H]

My Versa stopped measuring floors 3 days ago. I have restarted it numerous times per the instructions in solution and it makes no difference, yesterday it managed to record 6 before stopping again. I live and work in very hilly areas and walk up steep hills everyday, my old Blaze was recording between 25 and 45 most days. Wish I hadn't thrown it out, it was way more accurate than the Versa. Does anyone have any other suggestions as to how I can get the floors registering again or is my Versa defective?

[MarcoGFitbit]

Hello everyone, I hope you're doing well. Thanks for joining the Fitbit Community @Jo_H and @Smileysmee. 

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. Please note that Fitbit devices that count floors have an altimeter sensor that can detect when you're going up or down in elevation. As @wtksk8r mentioned, your device registers one floor when you climb about 10 feet at one time. It does not register floors when you go down.

Your device uses changes in barometric pressure to detect elevation change, and therefore requires that you physically change elevation in order to properly record floors, however sometimes it's possible for the altimeter to be blocked either by dust or if you're wearing the Versa too tight on your wrist. The Altimeter on the Versa is located on the bottom left corner of your tracker, please make sure it's not being blocked when climbing stairs or hiking. If you have already restarted your Versa as @Jo_H did, please perform an accuracy test:

1. Find a location where you have 2 flights of stairs in a row. Each flight of stairs should be at least 10 feet tall.
2. Put on your tracker and check the number of floors before you begin to walk.
3. Walk up the 2 flights in a row, trying not to stop at any point.
4. Once you reach the top of both flights of stairs, stop to look at the number counted.

If the number of floors counted is significantly off, please reply to me so I can determine which steps should we take next.

Thanks for your patience, additionally if there's anything else I can do for you, please feel free to reply. 

[guitarwoman]

Every fitbit device I have owned that tracks stairs has not been terribly accurate.  My staircase certainly goes up more than 10 feet, but there is a ending in the middle of it.  I think the Versa interprets that I have stopped climbing when I negotiate the landing, so not 10 feet and no stair count.  Not a big issue for me.

[Jo_H]

Did 2 flights of stairs and it registered 0, tried 4 still registered 0. If the Altimeter is the tiny hole at the bottom left of the back of the Versa then is is clean of any debris and not blocked by contact when the Versa is on my wrist. 

[Noellius]

I climbed 10 flights today, and it only registered 6. Then I climbed two floors at a time, and only about 50% of the time did it register 2 floors on my Versa. It has been really inconsistent (and I wonder if I should return my Versa and go back to my One). Please advise on how to proceed.

I should add: 

If I swing my arms while going up the stairs, then it registers each floor.

If I walk at a normal pace without swinging my arms, it doesn't register the floors (until I've climbed 2-3 of them). 

If I stop at the top of each floor (and I've semi-swung my arms) then it will register each floor.

I'm climbing floors with 12 steps (that equate to more than 10 feet vertical). I'm climbing the same floors in the same stairwell and getting different readings.

Frustrating. 

Moderator edit: merged reply

[Amarachi86]

Good morning. I have been having this problem for about a week. I use lots of stairs for work and not registered them at all, i am also having issues with me swimming it has not been registering that. I have fitbit versa and only had for about 2 half weeks

[Amarachi86]

Good morning. I have been having this problem for about a week. I use lots of stairs for work and not registered them at all, i am also having issues with me swimming it has not been registering that. I have fitbit versa and only had for about 2 half weeks

[Smileysmee]

Hi, Thanks for your reply.  I have tried doing the arm moving up when i reach the top of the stairs and it seems to work, but its not like I remember all the time depending on where I am and all that.  so yes it works if I raise my arm, but I don't think that we should have to do that.

Secondly, I tried going up two flights of stairs as suggested, but i do not get a floor count.  It remains at zero.  I do not wear my watch tightly either.  so the only way i get to count my floor is by raising my arm that was previously suggested and this works when I remember to do this.

overall, the rest of the functions work well. swimming is out by a few lengths each time, but I have learned to live with this now.

I guess I will just have to deal with this until Fitbit resolves this.  My fitbit 'one' worked perfectly fine with steps and stairs, almost accurate to the last step and floor.  But Versa, seems to be out of sync with the floors and swimming.  Hey ho, I like versa but wish it was more accurate than that which is promoted and shown.

[jcfilipino]

I use a stairmaster to complete my cardio workout. Why doesnt the versa count the floors on this one?

[wfmiller]

Your joking right?

[jcfilipino]

my ionic and blaze counted the floors everytime i use the stairmaster, now i updated to versa and it doesnt. its a legitimate inquiry to my lack of knowledge of the versa. thanks

[wfmiller]

But you are talking about a stairmaster not a flight of stairs?

[jcfilipino]

thats the same concept as saying that running on a threadmill cant be measured in miles because its not on an actual street or trail.

[wfmiller]

Look at message nine in the threads, I will quote the pertinent sentence "Please note that Fitbit devices that count floors have an altimeter sensor that can detect when you're going up or down in elevation". Your not going up in elevation with a stepper especially 10 feet or more!!