Fitbit for someone with a varying ability

[thegreatkazooNY]

I was born with a mild form of Cerebral Palsy and use a walker for mobility that I must hold onto while walking. I have the Fitbit Charge 2 and love it but there's one problem. Because I don't walk with my hands down at my sides, my steps are never accurately tracked. I'd like to see Fitbit come out with a device that would solve this issue and still provide all of the same features (as the watch) for those of us who have varying abilities. Health and wellness is important for everyone. I look forward to your response. Thank you, 

Lee B. Karasik

Photo with walker for reference 

Moderator Edit: Added Labels

[AlexandraFitbit]

That’s an interesting idea and could be useful, thanks for sharing this suggestion.

[Rhi_b]

I like this idea. I use crutches so my arm movements are not the same as someone who walks normally so my steps are not counted correctly.

would love to see something that would help those with different mobility issues.

I know several people that use self propel wheelchairs that would love to see something that would count their wheel pushes

[thegreatkazooNY]

I'm just wondering how I can find out whether or not my suggestion is being considered for development.

[sarcazm]

I too need to use a mobility aid about half of the time (an ergonomic crutch - sometimes 2 on really bad days).  I have a Fitbit Sense, and worked with tech support to try and do all sorts of things but my step count is wildly inconsistent between using the crutch and not using the crutch, and we did all sorts of troubleshooting to make sure I swing both my arms and you name it.  

So far the other questions regarding crutches or mobility aids of any kind have been regarding exercising, but this is REALLY basic and all of them have been marked "not currently planned".  My watch is the one full of health tracking apps and I can't even get it to do the most basic function a Fitbit should be able to do properly, which is count steps.  It can't count the same number of steps twice if I crutch, nor can it do the same thing if I don't crutch.  

I don't like to play the disability card, but I already have to make a ton of manual adjustments to accomodate me and some I can't even override.  This simple original Fitbit feature - step counting - should be inclusive.  Most people don't even know these boards exist and why should we have to rally enough votes for it to be fixed in the first place?  If anything Fitbit should realize this is a PR powder keg and be all over this. 

Also, all these requests from people requesting fixes and accomodations for their disabilities or chronic illness could likely be merged into one giant thread, multiple votes removed, and then you could really see how many people and for how long they have needed to fix these obvious issues with all sorts of hardware and software going back to at least 2014.

[mcsd94]

I have been a Fitbit user for several years. I only use it to track my steps. and the nudge to move if I haven't taken enough steps each hour.  

Due to hip surgery I now use a walker and the fitbit doesn't track my steps.  Was so proud of myself for making three loops around my house today and my tracker said 0 steps. 😞  My frustration was further compounded when I looked at this comment board and see that people have been writing about this since 2018 and nothing appears to have been done.  Fitbit has made advances in all the bells and whistles for able bodied folks, but the most BASIC function is still not equally accessible to people with mobility impairments. So disappointing.