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".

[WvdR]

Please repair the software to actually record steps in stead of a too eager workaround that’s causing fake conclusions. If that is too hard to achieve, it shouldnt be too hard to develop a rule that if you are doing more that 30 km’s an hour, you are probably not walking. So come on, you overachievers! This request is here for a year or three? Set yourselves a new goal 😉 and finish the work on a solution within two months!

[Ton]

@WvdR 

[rasapu]

This Driving mode On-Off feature should be implemented on Charge 2 model. I drive my motorcycle everyday to work and adds hundreds of  steps and 40/50 floors which I remove it by logging once every week which is time consuming makes this device not so smart. Request to implement this feature though a firmware update. I see this a 4 years old discussion and no implementation in majority of models...what a level of procrastination.

[Ton]

@rasapu

Please allow me to correct you...

1st, the discussion is 5 yrs old not 4.

2nd, "procrastination" means "putting off or delaying or deferring an action to a later time". As you can see from this post https://community.fitbit.com/t5/Feature-Suggestions/Add-quot-Driving-Mode-quot-Feature-to-avoid-erro... such an action is not even grazing their minds.

There is nothing else to be said. Best move on to other brands.

[Aenkill]

This is such a simple feature to implement, I don't understand why it's not planned to be implemented. I used to use Drive Bit but then I've noticed it posts everything to Endomondo as "Other" activity, which makes my calendar look so messy, as I log driving twice a day! I think Endomondo calendar is better, gives more options to see overall stats etc. so I'd prefer it stayed "clean".

I stopped using Drive Bit for driving as it doesn't add that many steps for 20min drive to work so I can live with that. However, motorcycle is a different story, it adds way too many steps and I also had to disable auto recognition of cycling as it was logging motorcycle rides as cycling.

[sshouston]

I doubt anything is going to be done about it. But you can go and vote for
this feature (it should be considered a bug though)...This feature request
is not in the top 10 suggestion list even...

[Stevenew]

It will never get to top 10 in feature list because of the fact that it is a bug as you say. There should be a fix your product heading and this one would likely be top by a long way.

[Wesstrom]

Charge 3 - the ability to turn the device on an off when driving just a power option is all it would take. 

[YojanaFitbit]

Hi @Wesstrom! Thanks for sharing. I've moved it into a similar request. Hopefully we will have support from other users since more votes and comments an idea has the more visibility and momentum it gains.

[JanineK55]

This would be amazing to have on the Charge 3 please. It's my first ever fitbit, and a lot of it is great.... But this sort of manual entering seems like such a basic fix? Why does fitbit keep asking people to vote fir stuff? 

[JanineK55]

This would be amazing to have on the Charge 3 please. It's my first ever fitbit, and a lot of it is great but then I noticed how many steps I got just driving to work it's crazy.... And this sort of manual entering seems like such a hassle and it adds to my weekly exercise log too so I look like I've done exercise every day?

This is a pretty basic fix to add such am option. Why does fitbit keep asking people to vote for stuff that seem really straightforward and would address user needs? Like I get there'd be a backlog but it's a little underwhelming. Similar with having Spotify sink, and I was told that music control was a feature of the charge 3 when I bought it. 

[WallyWalrick]

@YojanaFitbit The point is is that it should be an easy NATIVE thing to do via the Charge 3. The driving app is a third party phone app while logging the time as an exercise 'driving' takes time.

[Bros3n]

Yes! Please make this happen  we are ranchers and I often need a quad to check cows or to go get a new calf, and it logs so many steps. It works if you add "driving" as an activity, but it shows that as an exercise  and sometimes I forget check the time and then my fix is not accurate   I'd love to be able to just push a button on my watch  

[FMF99]

Goes for a short motorbike ride...

Receives email from Fitbit

"Fantastic!
You've climbed 50 floors
With a floor count this high, you're a beacon of inspiration to us all—making you the perfect recipient of the Lighthouse badge!"

Thanks Fitbit (I think).

[Bros3n]

Lol right?? I ake the tractor out to feed cows, also walk 22 flights of
stairs and walked 4500 steps

[dbeck36]

I ride a motorcycle that vibrates a fair amount. When riding I have noticed that quite a few false steps and floors climbed are added to my daily total. It would be nice to just be able to disable the Fitbit for these periods of time.

[LuciaFitbit]

Hi @dbeck36, thanks for taking the time to share your feedback with us. This feature suggestion already exists so I’ve moved your post here. Don't forget to add your vote!

[SunsetRunner]

I just got off the phone with customer service and I am unsatisfied with results.  I ride a motorcycle almost everyday and the fitbit is inaccurately classifying it as cycling and adding steps.  Yesterday it  added 30k steps while on 4 hr motorcycle ride. I called customer service and the first suggestion was to log the driving activity daily to subtract the steps but that is an estimate and will not be accurate also a pain to have to manually subtract steps daily.  The Rep then suggested I not wear the fitbit on my wrist while riding and that doesn't work either as I took off my fitbit this morning and put it in my saddlebag on my way to work and it still added 3k steps.  I asked if I could easily power it off while riding and power it back on when stopped and he said that is not possible on the charge 3.  Last I asked if they could do a software update that could tell the difference between riding a bike vs a motorcycle using the heart rate as a determining factor and he said maybe.  Fitbit, if you don't to recalibrate the device to tell the difference between riding a motorcycle or a bike using heart rate then please make a "motorcycle" mode that the user can easily turn off or on in order to get an accurate step/calorie count.  

[JuanFitbit]

Hi @SunsetRunner Thank you for sharing your feedback and your suggestion. I moved it here, so gets the attention needed. Please don't forget to leave your vote. 

[ladyfromthewood]

This feature suggestion is SO old.  I'm sad that I purchased a new Inspire HR after reading how other companies have a fix for this problem and Fitbit has ignored this feature request.  I want my heart rate to count (after all, riding the 4-wheeler is core strength) without counting steps.  We can turn the heart rate on and off, why not be able to turn the step counter on and off in the same way?

[Sandishmily]

It's really too bad that people are completely unaware and uninformed about this issue until they have bought a fitbit and see the forum. There should be a way to warn potential buyers BEFORE they buy. I have a Garmin now and i can turn the activity tracking off. Now i don't just have an overpriced watch but a activity tracker that gives me accurate stats that i can use! Loved everything about the fitbit except this major issue which made it completely useless as an activity sports watch

[Bros3n]

Is your Garmin water proof? That was the main reason I bought the fitbit. I
wish I had done a little more research

[Sandishmily]

@Bros3n it's waterproof up to 50 meters, however i haven't tested that out yet. 

[ladyfromthewood]

I think I'll make a public post on Facebook to warn at least my friends.  And if they share, well, power to the people.  And I will also share on Sparkpeople, which is one of the biggest fitness and weight loss communities which I have been a part of since 2015.  Their site allows connectivity with Fitbit but also Garmin, Apple, and many others.  Maybe someone will be spared this problem BEFORE they regret buying.  A company that puts off addressing customer requests/complaints onto the customers (do this, do that, jump through a hoop) for so long even after being told those steps are not working or are extremely inconvenient, well... obviously doesn't care if it loses customers.  I was really excited about my new Fitbit Inspire HR and was hoping to write a glowing review.  Now, I'm just sad that I have to talk about this and the too-high HR readings (which is another issue I see has been ongoing for way too many customers.  "Move it up your wrist" is not a solution when a band is going to naturally move to the smallest part of your arm.  Another example of "blame it on the customer.")  Corporations who forget that consumers are people and not just dollar signs will lose their target market.

[fantasticmio]

I would like to have a setting where I could tell my fitbit that I am crocheting (or knitting, etc.. ) so that it can continue to track my heart rate, but stop counting steps.  Today I logged over 20,000 steps while sitting on the couch most of the day. (I had hoped telling it I was riding a bike would help, but it did not).

Moderator edit: Subject for clarity.