Inaccurate tracking

[ftbtusr99]

Hello, I'm having some trouble getting my Fitbit sense to be accurate. 

I work as a mailman, and here we use bicycles with boxes on them to deliver the mail. This means that I'm getting on and off a bike a lot, sometimes riding and delivering from in the  saddle, sometimes just walking around, other times pushing the bicycle. My steps are often not counted when pushing the bike, and nothing is recorded at all when cycling, except if I keep cycling for several minutes. Also, sometimes "moderate activity" is recorded seemingly randomly, which I assume are when I'm exerting myself more than usual when walking.

How can I improve the accuracy here? Would it be better to pick the walking mode rather than just letting the Sense track everything automatically? I don't want to constantly switch between cycling and walking is the problem, it would disturb me if I had to switch modes several times at work.

[NellyG]

Hi @ftbtusr99 The problem is that biking is not a step based activity so you dont get a realistic number of steps (equal to the activity you have done)l and as you are on and off the bike it wont register bike either as it is not continuous enough. Also as you push the bike your arm doesnt swing so it wont 'see' those steps either! I would wear my Fitbit on my ankle in your situation as that way you will get your steps recognised when pushing the bike and on every pedal press. It is not ideal, but would give a more realistic indication of your activity than anything else I  can think of. The only downside side I can see is that it will be difficult to see the time! 🤣

[Gr4ndp4]

Hi, @ftbtusr99 welcome to the community, it must be very frustrating, I know postal delivery workers lead a very active life. I think your best way forward will be to adjust the auto-recognize settings in your Fitbit app on your phone. From the "Today" screen>touch your icon in the top left corner>Activity & wellness>exercise. Here you will find Walking & outdoor bike, on each of these tiles reduce the "longer than" values and ensure the slider in the top right is in the on position>touch "save", return to "Today" & sync. Your values will depend on experimentation on your part. You may also be interested in this third-party article How to make your fitness tracker count steps more accurately - The Verge I think all fitness trackers are subject to the same limitations.

I hope this helps.

Cheers