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".

[TiRider]

To add to this, please also allow GPS for those that have it (e.g. the Ionic) to also be correctly recorded in this mode.

[Anfa]

I previously had a Charge 2, which was fine and didn't count steps when driving. Now upgraded to Charge 3 so I can swim with my FitBit and is crazy how much it counts steps and Outdoor cycling when driving. The manual function of adding Driving as an activity on the App is not acceptable, when you drive so much it lists so many activities it's hard to see which are actual exercises.

There should really be a quick driving function on the Charge 3 to avoid the manual entering on the App. Please! I've always loved my Fitbit but this is incredibly disappointing when you've spent the money to upgrade but actually causes more issues.

[SunsetRunner]

I agree with everyone. I didn't notice that my charge 3 was tracking steps while driving until yesterday. I then realised that I had gained 100 steps in a 25km drive. It seemed to register as steps when the car was traveling uphill and/or over bumps, or traveling into a sudden dip (bump).  Please Fitbit can you fix this or at least make a disable steps button on the tracker.

[Vibhor]

Any feature if included for driving mode should be automatic..what is assisted gps there for ?...use technology and make it hassle free..thats what consumers pay u for...not for pressing start/stop buttons...

Kindly fix fake steps registering issue asap..

[JanetMMcC]

This discussion has been going on for four years, with thousands of people asking Fitbit to correct its products poor performance.  Log me as another who thinks a drive/don't count state is absolutely needed.  I drove about 20 minutes today, and the Fitbit logged 16 flights of stairs.  Unacceptable.

[ErinVO]

Fitbit always counts steps and floors while driving to fix this problem I think there should be a button on the face of your Fitbit screen to press when your about to drive so that it knows not to count steps until you take driving mode off again.

[SunsetRunner]

I have had my Charge 3 for 4 days now and each day it has recorded ridiculous flights climbed and steps taken. Having read this thread, little seems to have been addressed by the manufacturer and I really do not feel that customer workarounds are acceptable or indeed good product service. Unfortunately, I feel that This makes this product unfit for purpose. 

[MarcelBK]

Hey @ErinVO! Nice suggestion, thanks for sharing. We look forward to hearing what other community members think about having a driving button on the screen of the Versa.

[amcmc]

Need a "Driving mode" for travelling as the Charge 3 logs on miles while wearing when driving.Dri

[LuciaFitbit]

Hi @amcmc! That’s an interesting idea and could be useful, thanks for sharing it.  I've moved it into a similar suggestion, as the more votes and comments an idea has the more visibility and momentum it gains. 

[MikeSta]

I just got my fitbit charge 3 couple days ago. And I am returning it. Once fitbit figures out how to solve this problem this device is useless for me.

[CSKIP]

There needs to be fix to this issue, really this is a bug that should be fixed and I struggle to see why Fitbit need a feature suggestion to get this resolved!

It is strange that some fitbits have this issue more than others, which suggests that the fundamental design of the fitbit devices is inconsistent.

I would prefer that this issue is resolved in the firmware, as suggest by many above, to automtically determine the situation that should not be logged - e.g. driving.  However a quick fix would be to have a easy to use option on the device that does not impact the stats - keeps heart rate etc, but stops counting steps/floors.  

[ssoloski]

Is it possible to make a new feature that would allow me to toggle steps off while I'm at work? Right now I can't wear it while I'm there. Could just be added as a feature like the timers or weather  

Moderator Edition: Format and labels

[AlexandraFitbit]

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

[NeilO91]

It does seem strange that in 4 years there is no solution to this.  You can log driving as an activity but it doesn't educe your steps.  It would seem to be a relatively easy feature to add

[Synchro2003]

It really frustrates me that now I cannot compete in any challenges as my step count is incorrect. Even if I use drive bit to take off the driving steps it doesn't change it in challenges so I have a load more steps than I'm meant to have. Wish I had never bought this fitbit it's an absolute waste of money

[aanddmom]

Agreed!  I had been using the MOVES App, which was discontinued last summer, and the FREE phone app had no problem assessing when I was cycling, being transported, walking, or running.  Why can’t my >$100 fitbit figure this out?????

[SetxSpyder]

Because they are FITBIT and they have the name and don't have to care if their products work or not....

[LunaAbyss]

Perhaps you could also delete driving as an exercise. I am a transport truck driver, and with the stiff suspension I can easily log 3-5000 steps a day! If I take the time to log all my 13 hours of driving every day it does correct my steps but with frequent stopping it gets quite tedious. And my charge 3 ... it logged me doing 27 flights of stairs already today. I did 3 flights .... I don't know if it's getting in and out of the truck that did this? Perhaps we can have control on the sensitivity?  I wear my Fitbit on my dominant hand which is supposed to be less sensitive but it still records too many steps. It's important as a truck driver to make sure we are getting enough exercise everyday and that's why I have a Fitbit! Ps I changed from the Alta HR to the Charge 3 because I like all the added features (I love to swim) and I use it as a watch (and to record my steps) while I'm working all week! Thanks! 

[Vivi.T]

Hello! I have got a charge 2, and I found that when I am driving, the step counter is counting hundreds or thousands of steps that I haven’t done! I found that there is something where you can enter the time that you have been driving and it would minus it off, but I think that it’s just a hassle.

I suggest that you should be able to pause the step counter, just by holding the side button. Just like the stopwatch. This would fix the step counting problem, and save me time from entering the time I drive, time and time again.

Ok that’s all. Thank you.

[OmuGuy]

Now I've had my Charge 3 for three months, I've come to understand it's usefulness as a activity prompter (motivator) and I rather like the sleep tracking. As a general fitness tracker, however, it is useless because it doesn't automatically recognize motorized transport. A delivery driver, for example, may want to count dialy steps, but the only way that could be done is to put the device on charge before leaving the van! 
I sometimes ride a scooter. The rides are autorecognized as cycling (which I do more of). Steps are added to the daily tally and I haven't done any real exercise. Worse, yesterday, for example, I rode to CostCo and about 200 stair climbs were added to the daily total. I may have actually climbed about 400 ft on stairs, but the daily total was 252 (2,520 ft). I think it may have something to do with airflow across the barometer aperture when accelerating.
FitBit needs to send people out to ride bikes and to drive cars so data can be gathered and algorithms devised to ignore or cancel increments to steps and stair climbing during motorized motion.
Right now, as an activity/fitness tracker my Charge 3 is simply not fit for purpose.

[LanuzaFitbit]

Hi @OmuGuy.

Thanks for sharing that idea with everyone. I could definitely see other users thinking that this would be a very good idea.

Let's wait to see what other think about it.

[Tursiopsess]

I would like to turn off the stairs and/or edit manually.  My versa is incredibly inaccurate. I literally climb one flight of stairs 1—2 times per day during the work week (so 5-10 floors/week) and over the past month it has logged 780 floors! 

[keith.uk]

Maybe it should be "In vehicle" mode rather than "Driving" mode. That would allow for the use of public transport.

[LeahLiv]

Does it matter what it's called really? We just need a pause steps feature.
'Driving' 'in transit' 'don't count my steps' 'on a bus'.......it really
doesn't matter. As long as the step count is paused.