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".

[LMayhew]

This feature would be ideal for me, as a multi drop delivery driver, I can't spend all my day logging every short drive into the activity screen

[x0lani]

Or maybe a way to snooze the step counter. It could be through a phone widget. Or, if you have navigation turned on your phone, it could ask if you would like to pause the step counter.

I've had the same problem, BTW...

[varuscelli]

One of the main reasons I wanted a device that monitored floors climbed was that I live in a house where I walk upstairs many times per day as part of my regular routine, going up and down from my office area.  I also do extra stair climbing of the house stairs as part of my exercise routine.  I was really drawn to the feature of having a Fitbit device that automatically track this for me.  Being able to view cumulative stats for this activity was something I really wanted. 

I've been a Fitbit user for only a short time, but I find it extremely frustrating that only a few days of erroneous stats, which added thousands of false floors climbed, has so totally messed up my ability to accurately track my progress in this area.  My Charge HR was recently replaced by Fitbit, and it works fine now, so I can at least rely on current daily and weekly stats to be accurate.  However, my historical data seems permanently marred by the false floor counts. 

I'm adding my plea for Fitbit programmers to add the ability to delete erroneous floors climbed.  I don't mean that as in a workaround to adding something like "Driving" as a stat that erases good data as well as bad (and I've tried the workaround of using the "Driving" activity, but even it is not erasing all the floors...tried this a dozen times with variations on driving activity start time and duration, but it still leaves several thousand false floors climbed for the date in question, even if I use a duration of off the entire day set to "driving" -- but I guess that's another matter to be addressed).   

PLEASE:  add in a user ability to delete false floor counts.  And (as a bonus for better accuracy) please make it such that the user can specify the number of floors to be deleted.  If I climb 50 floors, and get false credit for 3050 floors, I'd like to be able to delete the 3000 erroneous ones and keep the 50 that I actually climbed. I'd settle for being able to delete all the floors for that day, but ideally it would be good to be able to specify the number to be deleted. 

I hate to say this, but (sadly) I don't think the Fitbit folks are going to do anything to help those of us who have had this problem.  I suspect they view it as a temporary glitch and those of us affected by it will just have to live with it.  I suspect the level of importance of adding such a feature as user ability to delete floors is viewed as low priority compared to fixing the actual problem.  I hope I'm wrong and that something will be done to correct the problems that the false floor data has caused for those of us affected by it. 

[6l134]

I've noticed that when I ride my motorcycle, it automatically counts hundreds of additional steps die too the rumbling. How about a mode for motor travel that disables the step count while engages in that activity, and then strips can easily be turned back on when I'm on foot again.

[stackhsc]

It would be nice if users could set a heart rate threshold below wich steps would not be recorded. This may have other aplications however for me i would use it to eliminate steps recorded while driving.

For example for me while driving my hr is typically below 75 and when walking it is typically above this. If users could set a personal threshold (im sure everyone would be different) then any movements below a given hr would not be recorded. 

I understand there are work around ideas out there however for me i drive rough roads daily, i am in and out of the truck numerous times and to remember to start and stop an app or a timmer is not realistic or feasable. Any workable solution for me would have to be automatic.

Moderator Edit: Added Labels

[KLMB]

How about adding a Car/Sleep mode for when your in the car or wanting to pause the step count?
Simple double press puts device to sleep except for heart rate monitor... Double press to resume...
Would stop tracker counting driving as steps and stairs!

[greynight]

I agree.  My Surge logs thousands of steps and dozens of floors whenever I drive for a few hrs.  Some kind of Drive Mode would be extremely valuable.

[mrstaffo]

Every day on my drive to work, my Fitbit One erroneously interprets bumps/potholes as steps and hills as stairs, saying that I've taken hundreds of steps and climbed several flights of stairs when I was sitting inactive the whole time. I know this probably isn't an issue in SAN FRANCISCO (I'm looking at you, Fitbit!), but in northern states that experience freezing winters the roads can be bumpy due to the expansion and shifting of the concrete from ice formation. Fitbit claims that their "engineers have worked diligently on your tracker's algorithms to make sure that it does not pick up false steps or activity recordings while in a car", however it's clear that these algorithms were probably tested on perfectly flat roads and under ideal conditions. 

Currently, the only way to negate this erroneously recorded data is to log the times spent in the car as an activity labeled "Driving". This becomes incredibly tedious over time, to the point where I've considered returning my device. Another workaround is to plug your Fitbit into a USB port and charge it while driving, which effectively disables it from tracking. This, however, is not recommended, as constantly charging when it's not necessary can reduce your battery's life. It would seem a simple fix to this vexing problem would be to incorporate a "Driving Mode" into a future firmware/software update that could be toggled on/off on the device or in the phone app. This feature has been suggested eloquently in past posts. One community member, MacWade, even went as far as to provide detailed images and gifs of what said feature would look like (click here to visit MacWade's post). He's done half the work for you, Fitbit! Yet months later, we're still no closer to having this simple feature. This is gotten so ridiculous and so frustrating and so hopeless for people that they have taken matters into their own hands by creating apps (unfortunately only on Android) which specifically address the problem. What is it going to take, Fitbit?!

This is a call to all Fitbit users: go to MacWade's post and VOTE VOTE VOTE for this feature until Fitbit can't possibly ignore it any longer. I would say vote for my post, but MacWade already has a head start in votes. Plus, he's got some pretty snazzy images and gifs to get his point across. I just have my words.

Get it done, Fitbit, or you're going to lose a lot of customers. We're sick and tired of workarounds.

[SilviaFitbit]

Thanks for the great suggestion. Currently someone already posted this idea here, you can go and visit this page and vote for the current suggestion as it already has 209 votes.

[nkotblove]

Yes I have Idea we'll I going to get a new fitbit for me and then I will give this fitbit zip for my Mother so she.... can use it for my Mother But she works at a desk job just an Office job

and sometimes she walks

I think my Mother like that

and thanks for everything

[mrstaffo]

Silvia,

Obviously you didn't take the time to actually read my post, or else you would have seen that I referenced MacWade's post and encouraged people to vote for his suggestion instead of mine, as he has a head start in votes. When is someone going to update us on the status of his feature request? Back in December a moderator replied to MacWade's post, saying he would bring the suggestion to the attention of the engineers and that he'd keep us appraised. Two months later and we still haven't received an update. What gives? I refuse to believe that such a simple feature couldn't be incorporated into the device firmware or software app. Can you PLEASE bring this to the attention of the engineers again?

Thank you,

Marc

[DesertloverOV]

I, too, have been annoyed by the inaccuracy of the floor count, so choose to ignore it. This, however, means I bought something of lesser value than advertised. Not good for future recommendations.

I started in the “Incredibly High Floor Count” discussion on February 6, 2015. Since then I’ve seen 211 posts on this same topic as of today (March 2, 2015). I’ve tried all the solutions and resetting seems to provide temporary relief by reducing the number of inaccurate floors counted, but then the errors start growing again. I would like the ability to manually edit the inaccurate information out of my record and replace it with what I believe to be a more accurate reflection of reality.

Please update the software program on the computer so we in the hinterlands can do this while you try to “fix” whatever is causing the problem.

Thank you.

[squinntz]

I personally work with heavy equipment.  I noticed today wearing my fitbit charge HR that just moving my machine from a short distance point a to point b, that the naturally occuring bumps dips and general motions were adding unwanted steps to my daily counts.  There should be an option on the phone at least, but ideally the device itself to suspend counts while doing such activities.  It really puts an incorrect reading towards my daily records, which I'm trying to keep as accurate as possible.  After I walked around at lunch, I left my device in my car and resumed work, and when I got home, it shows I was in zombie mode becuase my heart rate wasnt recorded for hours on end.  Someone in the developing department should really have seen this coming and knowing its an issue now, ammend it with a simple software update.  Realistically even an option to powerdown the device manually during such time periods would be better than nothing.  Thank you, whoever reads this

Adrian Shipek.

[Tyler420Jackson]

i wish the surge had a function that you could pause the steps on occasions like driving. I drive for work all around the bay and sometimes I'll rack up a few hundred steps and a dozen floors while driving. I always wished there were a way for the watch to sense that I'm traveling at 70 mph and I can't walk. I've turned it off and on before but ice forgotten to turn back on. An automatic sender would be nice. I also agree w watchfaces. more would be cool.

[Cavscout87]

I have the same problem when I drive down bumpy roads in a box truck and I agree with you there should at least on the app have a tracker off switch like they have for the heart rate tracker

[Cavscout87]

I agree and have the same problem

[squinntz]

hopefully by us posting these comments they will redesign some things.  I mean its not hard. just put a pause on the counter.  OR AN OFF BUTTON! haha ammirite

[Dangerman90]

Actually man, I have the same problem and I live in San Francisco. We have potholes and light rail system tracks and hills and tons of stuff that makes gfs app say that I've climbed hundreds of stairs

[NocturnalNature]

I, like many others here, am experiencing way too many steps and flights of stairs logged while driving. I am in EMS and I drive 50% of the day. I work 24 hour shifts and this provides a huge challenge in keeping my counts and averages accurate. I would love to see an option for driving like the sleep function. I personally wouldn't mind if it is on my app vs on the FitBit Charge, itself. I don't mind on short emergency drives if I don't have time to click a feature in the app, but on long trips I would love to be able to tell my Charge that I am driving (or riding). Going into the app and repeatedly logging previous drive time is not an option. Once in awhile may be ok, but this makes FitBit practically a deal breaker. Even driving to work (30 minutes) logs approximately 1,000 steps!

I would think that many people who drive a lot (business men and women, truckers, medical supply delivery people, EMS workers, etc) use FitBit as a way to increase their physical activity. The company is doing us a great disservice by not fixing this issue. A co-worker asked me my opinion on mine today and I had to be honest. I told him if he doesn't plan on wearing it at work at all, then he should get it.

[Jljohnson]

I drive a 1 ton dually and am getting readings of over 15000 steps from my Fitbit and 3000 from my phone also I climb 10-15 flights of stairs a day at max but my Fitbit claims 80-120. This is crazy. Can we get a double tap function or hold the button till we get a second beep to set the Fitbit to a vehicle mode where it stops calculating this movement. Link it to the phone gps and set it to stop calculating when we are moving more then 5mph it might not be 100% accurate but it will be much much closer to reality!

[CatF]

Hi.

I'm sure I'm not the only motorcyclist who wears a fitbit. At the moment, the only way I can avoid large amounts of incorrect data is to either manually enter a Driving activity or start an activity track and change it to Driving later. Either way, any badges that I earn while riding stay on my profile - this has spoiled the daily climb competition for me a bit as I have an unearned 175 floor badge on my daily commute!

It would be great if I could set a default activity so that when I started tracking, fitbit could assume that I was driving rather than fell running and ignore data. Rather than just deleting it later.

[SunsetRunner]

I too would love to see a way to manually delete/edit steps and stairs climbed.  I recently noticed on a road trip home that I received 1,000's of steps and 100's of stairs climbed between the two trips.  I as many of you have, got the same explanation from customer service that you can negate these steps and stairs by adding the "Driving" activity for a particular time invterval.  This is not a true delete, and in my opinion is a brief hack/fix for such a problem.  I am a software developer and this should not be that difficult to implement.

My experience with Fitbit's customer service via Twitter has been mediocre at best.  I'm told that the erroneous steps and stairs climbed could be from the condition of my car, or the terrain I am driving on.  I live in the upper Midwest and as anyone up here knows, this time of year the driving conditions are not always the best (bumpy roads and potholes).  That sounds more to me like Fitbit has not fully tested their products.  I also removed my Fitbit Charge from my wrist for the second half of the trip and it still recorded countless steps and stairs.

If we are not able to actually delete our steps, and removing the device has no effect, then allow me to turn off the device so that way when going on longer trips in the car I don't have to deal with this problem (obviously allowing us all to delete these steps and stairs is the ultimate goal).

Thank you!

[garyyo]

It would be nice to not have to enter the activity at all.. I have a Charge HR and it would be nice to have a setting similar to sleep that tells the device to not log activity.. This would also solve the problems with the Badges you describe.

[garyyo]

I have a Charge HR and when I go for a Motorcycle ride I get a crazy number of steps not to mention multiple flights of stairs logged... 

It would be nice to be able to put my tracker in a mode that doesn't track any activity similar to how sleep tracking works.  I know you can add a driving record but this doesn't back out things like Stairs Climbed...

[wlmorin]

I use an iOS (also available for Andriod) OBDII device called Automatic that records my vehicle's trips and I use the website IFTTT of which there a Channels for Automatic and Fitbit. I'm sure there is a way to have my trips from Automatic sent to Fibit as an activity to show the time spent in the vehicle, but I could not find a recipe nor figure out how to create a receipe on my own. Perhaps someone in the community familar with IFTTT can help. I got this idea after learning that Automatic Link and Jawbone's Up have a partnership that shows how many steps you would have taken if you had walked instead of driven.