New sense 2 swimming

[MLK74]

Will the new sense 2 track swimming lengths etc.  I currently have a charge 4 and the screen keeps going dull so looking for a new model.

[Rich_Laue]

It is advertised as having this capability.

Please remember, as your fellow fitbit user we may have to wait and see. You may already kniwyas muchhas we do. 

[Dopovo]

Specifically this is what the store description says

"Track 40+ exercise modes and use built-in GPS◆ for real-time pace and distance—even in up to 50 meters of water."

So my understanding from this sentence is that you can use GPS in up to 50 meters of water.............. (color me confused)

[datalore]

Also confusing that the manual lists a gyroscope as one of the sensors, but it is not listed on the specs page of the website. Even with the hefty discount my insurance company gives fitbit has lost me. The original Sense did count laps on the watch yet another feature they appear to have taken away. 

[t.parker]

@MLK74 yes and no. It works like in Versa 2/3. It doesn't show you laps count on the screen (like previously Sense could). This feature has been removed. It counts laps in the background and you can check it later in the app. The same happened with Versa 2 which lost this feature (original Versa could count laps on screen).

[TyrionGo]

Thank you for this answer. I can stop looking for that. Lap count in the background is not accurate, as it was in my Versa 1. Is there a way, to correct the count in the background?

[Triletics]

@TyrionGo No, there is no way.

[TyrionGo]

Well, I might have figured a way to get the count in the background approx. right.  Count your laps during your training. Divide the no of laps counted by your Versa 2 by the number of laps you have counted, and correct the length of the pool in your Versa 2 by multiplying it with the result of your division. This way, your watch might be fooled in counting the right no of laps. Maybe the wrong distance, I still have to test this. You might narrow the difference down by using the distance in yards (0.9144/m). I shall report whether this theory/test works.

[MLK74]

Thanks !  Will give it a go but I tend toLose count as my mind wonders off 🙈


Sent from Sky Yahoo Mail for iPhone

[TyrionGo]

I know, happens to me as well. Test with a limited no of laps. Maybe 10 laps. That's sufficient for a rough estimate for the correction. Correct the watch to the virtual length of the pool and see if it works. Succes!

[Rich_Laue]

I don't think GPS is turned on during swimming, and without GPS the tracker doesn't know how for you swam. 

I thought the lap counter looked for the change in direction. 

[TyrionGo]

Hi Rich,

Versa 2 connects to GPS through your app/phone. So your laps cannot be monitored.  I suspect, that the lap count is mainly driven by time. In case a sensor could detect your direction, the lap count in the background would be correct, with turning points of 180 degrees.

[Triletics]

@TyrionGo no Fitbit uses GPS for pool swimming. @Rich_Laue is right. Those watches use inertial sensors to figure out whether you turned around or not and estimate distance using number of turns and pool size. GPS has nothing to do with it and even for Versa 2, that wouldn't work in the water because a) using phone GPS requires BT connection which won't hold in the water, and b) if you leave phone at the pool side then you're not moving according to phone GPS.

The laps number can be miscounted due to many things and I've seen that happening on all my Fitbits. The algorithm Fitbit uses isn't great. It doesn't detect proper stroke, sometimes just turning around (without push off) adds extra length and then another length after push off, drills confuse it, temporary stops confuse it (for example, if slower swimmer in your lane forces you to significant slowdown or even stop), changes style mid-length. For me, it usually overcounts length (altgough sometimes it delivers correct count). Sense 2 is a bad choice for a swimmer (to be honest, Fitbit is a bad choice for a swimmer).

[TyrionGo]

Ok. Thank you for your answer. All is clear now.

[outcry]

The old sense you could see lengths while you swam which was great. The new sense 2 sadly does not, Had I known that 2 days ago whe ln I replaced my old sense that died I would have looked at other watches as it now only displays a timer on how long you swam. You can later check the app one the phone to see how many you did, but that is useless if you're trying to hit a goal every day . Hopefully the developers realize that we don't need a timer but a way to see how many lengths/meters we are at while swimming