Ankle mode

[Dyann18]

Please make one u wear on ankle then u would get all the steps. When u are in a store with carts such as grocery, target etc it won't record all the walking one is doing with a cart. I have to try and push with one hand!! They can have pretty but functionally ankle devices some can be practically for a guy and pretty like an ankle bracelet for a women!!! Please develop this!! Soon!!

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity

[Rich_Laue]

I find i tap my foot a lot, this would make an snkle Fitbit unreliable. To me the Fitbit One is still the best, but not perfect for the wveryday non walk/run activity.

[Qstreet]

If you have the old flex & contact them, they may be kind enough to give you a XL size bracelet (not on sale, but available) that I have been able to use on my ankle.

I totally do not understand why they don't make an anklet. I tested it by counting & chose the most accurate option, which was pretty good. It's not like it's 100% accurate anyway...

[PureEvil]

I'm curious...

If the nature of the request is to make a new model (for the ankle), why not simply get one of the clip-on models (One or Zip) that measure steps independent of whether you're pushing a cart, stroller, or wheelchair?  While I know that many women wear outfits without pockets, you can also slip it into your bra.  No need for pockets.

The steps may be spot on when worn on the ankle, but your calorie count is going to be off.

[Qstreet]

Don't want a new Fitbit. Already have one & just want to wear it on my ankle like everyone gets to wear theirs on their wrist, or now as necklace.

Do not want to have to daily remove, re-pin, repocket etc. Tiresome, forgettable & easy to lose. Just want to wear it & forget it, as others can do.

Also am not an obsessive exerciser, so the parsing of every step Vs calories is irrelevant to me. Just appreciate the relative clarity of a high stepping active day Vs a home bound day, or the difference between being in NY Vs DC.

[tk71texas]

https://www.etsy.com/shop/GoFishSewingApplique?ref=s2-header-shopname

[Qstreet]

Nice! Thanks. A little too colorful for me, but great idea & good to know it exists.

[Mld2011]

I'm a server and I can never get an accurate count on my steps. It would be great just to have  a piece that goes on your ankle that counts every step accurately that you take throughout your day so you can set your goals better.

[TwistyDebs]

I also vote for an ankle fitbit adapter 🙂

[mmsuchy92]

The fact that FitBit Flex 2 is not 'compatible' to be worn on the ankle is ridiculous. I'm going to create my own modified ankle bracelet. I sit at a desk all day, typing and moving my hands around, and it tells me i'm taking steps! When I go to the grocery store or carry items long distances, I get no steps!

This is kind of a joke. I've also seen so many accounts of people who do wear it on their ankle and it works just fine. FitBit wants to argue with you and tell you the formula or whatever is designed to work on your wrist, yet they sell 'pendant' accessories so you can swing it around all day on your neck...how is that more accurate than an ankle bracelet??

**They will also tell you that you can manually enter what you've walked, but what good is this when you get up to walk 50 steps to the bathroom and back. I got the Flex so that I didn't have to do anything manually. If I wanted to count it manually, I would not have purchased this item. I would have spent my money on a $1 notepad instead.

[PureEvil]

@mmsuchy92,

If you really want an ankle bracelet, there's no need to create one of your own.  There are plenty of folks who'll make a third party accessory in order for you to wear it as such, just search Amazon and Etsy.

That said, the Flex 2 is calibrated to be worn on your wrist.  'Accounts of it working just fine' is a matter of perspective.  The steps will likely be accurate (the 'just fine' accounts), but other stats (like calorie burn) will likely be off (not really 'just fine').  If you want a tracker that will be less affected by wrist movement, consider getting the Fitbit One.  I have many Fitbit models and the Fitbit One is the one that I use most of the time.

When you wear the Fitbit Flex 2 in a pendant, it knows that you're wearing it in a pendant and it uses a different algorithm to calculate your activity.  This is the fine print from the Flex 2 pendant accessory (emphasis mine):

"A built-in magnet lets your tracker know you’re using a non-wrist-based accessory so it can track your steps. Certain features like auto sleep tracking and SmartTrack™ may be disabled in this accessory."

So, yes... it is more accurate than wearing it on your ankle because it uses a different algorithm to calculate your activity based on the fact that it knows that it's being worn as a pendant.  Which also means that you shouldn't buy third party pendants since they may not correctly re-calibrate the Flex 2 to be worn this way.

Personally, I'd rather slip Fitbit tracker into my pocket, or bra for the ladies, (like the Fitbit One) than wear something on my ankle as if I were on house arrest.

[Rich_Laue]

@mmsuchy92 FYI: the Flex 2 has a special sensor in it, and the different accessories are able to tell the Flex2 what it is mounted in. Then the Fkex w uses this information to decide on what algorithm  (program) to use.

[Qstreet]

If Fitbit is unwilling to accommodate the many customer requests for an
ankle fitbit due to their belief that it would not meet their stringent
accuracy standards (? whatever!) why don't they just offer an XXL fitbit
bracelet that we can choose to wear on our ankle AT OUR OWN RISK, no
promises made, none broken.

???

[dazanne]

I believe the fitbit should be worn as far away from the main organs if the
body, as is possible. This is for health, not accuracy reasons.
No fitbit should be worn near the chest ... especially inside a bra.
I am disappoined in the Fitbit organization being more interested in sales
than in consumer health. Ironic, isn't it?

[PureEvil]

@Qstreet,

You can already get ankle holders at Amazon or Etsy, so I'm not sure why you'd need Fitbit to make one.  Also, keep in mind that there are all these stats that a Fitbit tracks:

• Steps
• Flights of stairs
• Active minutes
• Distance
• Calories burned

So while steps may end up being what you expect, the amount of movement (up & down, forward & back) from your ankle will be significantly higher than your wrist, so it'd likely end up interpreting those steps as running steps instead of walking steps.  This will render your distance stat unreliable, since there is a difference in walking stride length and running stride length.  Since it's interpreting that you're running instead of walking, it'll also report your active minutes and calories burned as higher than they actually would be.  So effectively, by wearing it on your ankle you'll likely render most (3 of 5, so 60%) of your stats unreliable.

Wear at your own risk indeed.  The nature of this feature request is to make a model that is designed to be worn on the ankle and while 202 votes may seem like (your words) "many customer requests", there are nearly 4x as many folks asking for Pokemon Go integration.

@dazanne,

While I'm aware that there are many studies about cell phone level radiation, are there any conclusive studies that show any results from radiation from wearables using bluetooth LE?  Keep in mind that a Fitbit consumes significantly less battery (about 1/2000) than a cell phone; I imagine that radiation emission is comparable.

For instance, baking in the sun for hours is harmful; 10 minutes of sunlight exposure is actually benefitial (promotes Vitamin D).

[TwistyDebs]

I made my own anklet from a pair of leggings and a button!

Works like a charm. 

More accurate than when its was on my wrist and cost me a huge amount of £2.50 (Primark Leggings, cut and sew)

(My 2 cents worth)

Moderator Edit: Formatting

[Qstreet]

Thank you for the links! Very helpful information, which I'd checked out before. Unfortunately for me, find most of the choices even clunkier & less attractive than the Fitbit style option.

Appreciate the detailed parsing of functionality, but am only interested in relative comparison (day vs day) not absolute accuracy, so irrelevant for me.

And only consider if the Pokeman Go viewers had ankle Fitbits!

[CCCMistiq]

I wish there were Fitbit accessories that I could use around my ankle. I have an active job and I am not allowed to wear anything on my wrist at work. I also grocery shop frequently, so I'd lose a lot of steps there, too. If there were a Fitbit with heart monitor that was meant to be worn around the ankle, then would buy it. It doesn't matter to me if it was either ankle only or if it was able to be moved between ankle and wrist - now that Fitbit supports multiple devices, I wouldn't mind having an ankle-only device for times when I can't wear my wrist device.

Until Fitbit offers a genuine option to wear a Fitbit (with heart rate tracking) on my ankle, I found a solution. For now I borrowed my boyfriend's Fitbit Charge 2 (Large wristband) to check sizes and whether it could track heart rate on my ankle. I found that when I held his tracker to my ankle, it DOES track heart rate (although the strap is too short for my ankle) and I can wear a large band on my wrist wrist if I don't mind a lot of extra strap. Then I bought myself an identical Fitbit from Fitbit and a 3rd party band extender from Amazon to add 3" for when I need to wear it on my ankle...

[PureEvil]

@CCCMistiq,

Actually one thing you may be able to do is get a Blaze (I believe that it just uses a standard 22mm band) and just get a replacement band for a much larger wrist.

I will warn you though, that the rest of your stats will be off, it's really a question of how much.

[SmoothieSlurper]

True.

Sent from my iPad mini.

[BMatt]

I realize this is not what the Blaze or the other Fitbit trackers were created for but what if you created a strap that would allow you to wear it around your ankle. This would give you step credit for biking, and other leg based activity! I do a lot of biking and I am credited for active minutes, but most challenges are based on steps. Another idea is creating challenges that are based on active minutes or having the active minutes translated into steps.

Thanks 🙂

[Hmurray]

Is there any chance in the future that a Fitbit would be available to wear on the ankle. Where I work can be physical but due to been in the food industry I am unable to wear my Fitbit HR.

[Rich_Laue]

@Hmurray currently Fitbit has 2 models that are not designed to go on the arm, but can be clipped to a bra, shirt or waist band.

[Lueck767]

Great ideas. I've submitted an idea that could help address part of this issue. Check it out and vote for it if you like it. Thanks. 

Manually Select Activity Modes (Drive / Stroller / Elliptical, etc.)

[DCIgal]

Reading all the comments makes me hope that this will be something in the works. I have gotten such better readings by having it around my ankle but again like I mentioned in my tweet, I don't want to look like I'm on house arrest. If there could be something that looks more like an anklet that would be fantastic. I really do hope that Fitbit is listening and looking into the needs of their customers.

[ChristyDoodle]

I would love to see a Fitbit that you wear on your ankle in order to get in ALL of your STEPS. I've found that when pushing a grocery cart or a baby stroller or riding a bicycle steps do not count correctly. Also, sometimes doing things with your hands moving around when you are not walking counts as steps that you are NOT taking.

My suggestion would be EITHER:

1) having a simple one with only dots like the flex (since it's not like you're going to be looking at your ankle for the time) that would sync to your phone in order to see steps, calories, etc. This way people who have other watches would be able to wear them again.

2) having a two piece one... one with dots like the flex that you wear on your ankle that actually does the counting. The other piece would be worn on the wrist that syncs with the ankle one and does not do any counting while it's linked to the ankle one.