Option to turn off step count (or add "Driving Mode") to avoid erroneous steps/floors

[MacWade]

I just got home yesterday from a driving 6 hours in my car and I checked my Fitbit. I was really suprised to see it had given me almost 8,000 steps, 3.24 miles, 134 floors, & way more calories thank I burned while I was sitting in my car.  I looked on the forum to see how to easily delete the steps, miles, floors, and calories so my data would be accurate.  The only way people are fixing it is by manually logging the activity "Automobile or light truck (not a semi) driving" and entering in the duration.  I think that is a cumbersome way to fix the issue everytime I drive because I have to make sure I write down what time I get into and out of my car so I know the start time and duration.  And how does it automatically know the calories burned when everyone burns calories when they are sedentary at different rates.

I think they should add a "Drive Mode" feature that when turned on it won't add steps, distance, floors, & will only add calories burned equal to you sitting in a chair.

You could access the "Drive Mode" either on your Fitbit One or on your phone app to turn it on/off.  If you have a Fitbit One you could press the button till the "Drive Mode" icon appears then hold the button down for 2 seconds to turn it on or off.

On the phone apps you would just go to your device under "Account" and there you could turn it on or off.

You could also have the option to give you an alert when you unlock the phone that reminds you that it is in "Drive Mode" so you don't forget to turn it off when you get to your destination.  It would also be cool if you could use Siri to turn it on by saying "Turn on Fitbit Drive Mode" or "Turn off Fitbit Drive Mode".

[s9876]

As a new user, can I say this feature is essential and I don't understand why it can't be added immediately. The thousands of extra steps and tens of extra floors added when I am in the car are making the Fitbit totally useless. The workaround with the driving activity is clumsy and doesn't seem to work for me. The drivebit app adds the activity but it also does not reduce my steps or floors.

[petitmiam]

I've noticed this too. Even more worrying is I took a flight overseas and got over 100 floors that day on my logger.  I wasn't using a transmitting logger that time, but next time I fly I'll be taking my Fitbit Flex.  How about a drive/fly mode that also turns off the transmit function.  I'd hate to be responsible for crashing a plane, I know there is some controversy over whether transmitting devices actually interfere with communications, but I'd really like to err on the side of caution here.

[pamzella]

Amrita,

As of November 1, this workaround has stopped working.  There is no way to clear floors from driving, etc. 

[pamzella]

I know this doesn't apply to anyone but One users, One users, you can read my more detailed post in the One community.  (https://community.fitbit.com/t5/One/Calling-all-One-users-who-pay-attention-to-stairs-floors-climbed...

I request a user-editable solution to the understandable technology limits.  An option to eliminate steps/floors together, or floors without losing steps.  I have no complaints about the way the technology works, I just want to be able to override what gets counted erroneously.

Moderators, I am asking for a real solution.  Please don't be so quick to call this a duplicate and post the old "workaround" (http://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/Can-I-delete-data/?q=delete&l=en_US&fs=Search&pn=... again.  It has stopped working as of or sometime shortly before November 1 and it was never a solution for anything but specific driving conditions.

I mean a solution that allows walkers in changing weather the option to keep their steps, too.  Make a distinction that driving an auto is not an "activity" and should not, then, show up towards "tracking activity" minutes, one of more recent "features" added, because it's really nothing like running or swimming. 

[Zorak]

I have had my Fitbit Flex for less than a week, and twice already it has failed to reset itself at midnight.  I have already tried resetting the device multiple times, changing time zones, etc. all the desperate "try this and hope it works" suggestions people have made.  Googling and searching these forums shows this is a regrettably frequent occurrence.

There absolutely needs to be a way for the user to manually reset the data when the device fails to do so itself.

NOTE TO MODS: DO NOT CLOSE THIS WITH A LINK TO THE "AUTO/LIGHT TRUCK ACTIVITY" PAGE.  THAT IS *NOT* AN ACCEPTABLE WORKAROUND.  It is at best a hideously ugly hack and makes for a terrible user experience.

[_Michele_]

I realize that this will not work for some people, but the ones it would work for, it would be the best solution.

For those of us with Bluetooth in our vehicles, having the fitbit recognize this connection and setting it to "driving" mode where it does not count steps/floors would be ideal. Of course this would only work for paired vehicles, and not work if using a vehicle (even if it has Bluetooth) that is not paired with the fitbit, just as it should be. Winters here get very cold, and many (environmentally unfriendly) people leave their vehicles idling all over the place, especially parking lots. If I park farther away from the entrance to get in a few extra steps, I wouldn't want them to not be counted because the fitbit detects random Bluetooth connections throughout the parking lot and thought I was driving.

[SunsetRunner]

the suggestion.

[lonelybikerguy]

I constantly get false readings while riding my motorcycle. It tracks steps as well as floors. I just got a badge for climbing 25 stairs in a day during my half hour ride to the store. A button to temporarily suspend tracking would be most helpful because having to log an activity via the website is a hassle of a work around. Thanks guys!

[Draca]

Ive had 2 flex, 1 force and now 1 Charge.

i have NEVER had this problem...

i have NEVER had any of my fitbits log steps or stairs when i'm driving.. NEVER.

in fact it sounds implausible, severely unlikely.

Unless you are running an excavator, tractor or something that vibrates terribly or driving very rough terrain.. but otherwise on regular roads i don't see this happening (which it never has to me).

same on a flight.. if you don't take any actual steps during pressurization of the cabin the fitbit is NOT going to register any stairs.

but adding a "driving" mode as long as its not in the way is not a terrible idea.. for the times you are driving offroad or that old tractor

[brentc133]

This "driving mode" or whatever it could be called would be a huge plus for fitbit. It could be activated when doing any type of activities that result in false steps. I really like the idea of it showing as a lockscreen notification so it doesnt get forgot. Could even activate it with an optional timer.

Fitbit, please do this very soon!

[jk_bnmbl]

Love all these ideas, and I have one to add if you're listening @FitBit.  Since most FitBits are paired to phones, and the phone likely knows when it is in motion, could you tap in to the gps function of the phone to deactivate the logging on the fibit if you're moving over ## MPH/KPH? Of course it is a user selectcle feature (on / off and speed threshhold) but for me personally I am pretty sure anything over 10 mph is not me.

Also, I have a charge, wonder if I could use the activity log feature (long press the display button) to record a drive?

This plus a manual drive mode would be awesome.

Lot of great ideas here fitbit, would love to see some of these implemented.

To Draca, I have a lifted Jeep and a MINI, both of which are not uber smotth on the road, so yea, it logs lots of steps, even if I am driving on road.

[Oknowwhat]

I frequently snowmobile and the bumpy trails register as climbing stairs with the force and can show 50-100 floors climbed. Since my heart rate is not high during this activity I would hope the charge hr will know to exclude these stairs. Nobody can climb this fast without an incredible rise in heart rate and your software should be able to know this.

[Stolichy]

Been wearing my new Fitbit Charge for a couple of weeks and was wondering - why does the activity button need to default to workout.  If this was a user definable default activity - say driving - I could set it to log those times to whatever I choose.

I drive around my worksite frequently during the day - and as it's a rather bumpy place - can really rack up a ton of steps in a short time of driving.  If I could just use the button to start and stop the driving activity, ideally they could just come off the counter each time and not adversely affect my step count.

Seems like the button would be best used as a start/stop for counting steps, and then let the user decide what should have been happening during that time, be it driving, biking, cross country skiing, skateboarding, etc....  That would be perfect.

Moderator edit: labels.

[RickyFitbit]

Hmmm. Being able to define the activity would be helpful... I'll pass this along! 

[Stolichy]

Wrap that "definable activity" up in a "step negation" bow and you'll have given me just what I want for Xmas.  🙂

[Okifit]

I agree. My steps counter was going crazy while sitting in the passenger seat.

[n5xbs]

Drive mode is a sorely needed feature. Yesterday while driving a school bus (my job) I logged over 13k steps and 107 floors climbed. While the badges I received were cool, I certainly did not earn them. Can't wait until this critical feature is added!

[SunsetRunner]

Any update?

[stevew_68]

Can we please have the ability to delete old weight data from our profile. I opened my account over a year ago when I first bought my Fitbit but only started using it seriously less than a month ago, but it still shows my Wright from back when I started, which reflects when I get a weight loss now, it say I have lost xx lbs in total, but that's taken from my original weight over a year ago. I want it to start a few weeks ago. I also don't want to create a new account as I have loads of friends on this account now.

[MikeF]

I'm all for this but I'd rather see it on the band than the phone. Triple tap maybe or an alternative use for the button long press function with something on screen to tell you that you've done it. If you could configure an automatic timeout to catch the situation where you forget to re-enable it then even better.

[Vandy-Olmstead]

I live in a two story house with a basement.  There are mornings when I will have to visit all three levels in my house, climbing stairs multiple times.  I check my Force and find out I must have imagined the trips because it shows "Zero" for the floors climbed number.  Sometimes I counts the flights and sometimes it doesn't.  I reported it to Tech Support and got lots of explanations: moisture, atmospheric pressure, shorter distance between floors (8' instead of 10') but no solution.  I suggest the ability to edit the count onlline.  I expecially feel that way when the the Fitbit email tells me I'm short on my goal of flights climbed.  I climbed them.  Force didn't count them.  LET ME FIX IT!

[Rich_Laue]

Is there any advantage to fixing them? I'm not sure since the stair count is never used for any calculations.

[Vandy-Olmstead]

Sent from my iPhone

[Ohio-Bob]

I have a One and the stair count is useless.  Any time I walk outdoors in even a light wind the count goes crazy.  Today I got 37 flights of stairs just walking 4 miles on fairly level terrain.  Some days it's given me as many as 75 flights!  I wanted to make sure I climbed ten flights a day when I bought the One, but there's no way to know using it if I go outdoors at all.  I stilll need to track it manually.

This is frustrating and it's something I always warn people about who ask about getting a fitbit.

I don't want to remove steps, just remove the false floors.  Without that option the One shouldn't even have a floor tracker.

[gorillaNosh]

Is there something wrong with your tracker? My one is very accurate with stair count. How does going outdoors affect your stair count?